New Jersey was The Place!

Eighty-four years ago today Camden, New Jersey shot to fame.The mother of a young man named Richard Hollingshead found it very uncomfortable sitting in the seats at movie theaters so Richard came up with an idea which stuck for a long time!

Richard’s brainchild was to build Park-In Theaters (later known as “drive-ins”) where patrons could go and park their cars in a large park and watch the movie on a very big screen in the comfort of their cars. Hollingshead came up with the idea of an open-air theater where patrons watched movies in the comfort of their own automobiles.

He experimented with sound and projection techniques and came up with a fun evening’s entertainment, charging 25 cents per car and 25 cents per person, not to exceed one dollar.

The idea certainly caught on and drive-ins popped up all over the country.

Apparently there are still a few operating drive-ins but not too many.  It was always a fun way to watch a movie!