Call it the lustful Pine Grove drive-in!
The Pine Grove Drive-In was opened on May 19, 1952 with Betty Grable in “Meet Me After the Show”. Those days were tame compared to what occurred later in the theater’s life-span..
Initially, it was operated by Eston Artz and Tri-States Buying & Booking Services. After some interesting history, it was closed on September 24, 1995 with Christopher Lambert in “Mortal Kombat” & Steven Seagal in “Under Siege II”.
From what was known about this outside venue, its last dozen years or so it was operated by the Walter Finch and his partner as part of their small chain of X-rated Drive-ins.. Other locatations they had included at various times the Temple Drive In in Williamstown, the Route 222 Drive In Fleetwood, the Strinestown Drive In north of York, and the Midway Drive In between Hummelstown and Middletown…
At one point, this theater in the middle of a rural landscape had dusk to dawn triple X films..
For 300 cars strong!
QUAINT OPENING
The Pine Grove Theatre launched May 19, 1952 with the film, “Meet Me After The Show.”
The Artz’s promised a luxurious experience for film lovers in the open air.
And kids were NOT forgotten.
As a matter of fact, the Artz family was so prone to the family experience, they even had a plan to warm baby bottles!!!
Fishwrappers of the time said that you should not even venture to sleep on weekends!!
Instead..head to the Pine Grove Drive in!
The Pine Grove drive-in continued throughout several years .. it gave people fabulous experiences coupled with hot food.. and maybe also warm milk for moms.
CHILLED MILK
Things began to change..
For 21 solid years, the Pine Grove drive-in opted for the more … risque flicks.
Triple X to be exact..
There is proof to show that the Pine Grove venue went from dusk to dawn featuring sex under the stars:
On August 3, 1979, the Pottsville Republican and others reported about the plug being pulled for a bit of time on the Pine Grove Drive-in!!
PLUG PULLED
The Republican reported this during the Carter Administration: An injuction made by District Attorney Richard B. Russel against the owners and a ticket seller at the drive-in was approved following a directed jury verdict this morning.
The court and jury agreed in chambers that showing DEEP THROAT and THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES were obscene.
The court concludes that if the films were shown again, criminal action can be taken against Finch and Witmer!
The owners agreed to discontinue showings..
x x x
Only a few years later on April 27, 1974, the Pine Grove Drive-In was raided again!
This time for showing the film TEENAGE MILKMAID!
On June 21, 1978, another jury had the glory of viewing obscene films that the Pine Grove location showed patrons.
According to reports at the time in the Allentown MORNING CALL, a jury was bused to a “movie theater at a shopping mall” to look at not one, but two X-rated films that were shown at the Pine Grove..
The films were judged to be obscene..
But Hazel Weidensaul, a ticket seller at that time, testified that the X-rated films draw the biggest crowds at the theater!
Long drawn out legal battles ensued.
The rest was history..
By 1995, the Brady Bunch and Batman Forever was playing at the theater–more mainstream after so many years of controversy and porn..
On September 22, 1995, as the autumn of that year began, the final ad ran for the Pine Grove Drive-In next to the Schuylkill Mall movie schedule. Pine Grove opted out of the porn and instead showed MORTAL KOMBAT and UNDER SIEGE..
REQUIEM FOR A DRIVE-IN
In 2006, the Republican Herald had a “Thunder N Lightning” referencing the Pine Grove drive-in.. someone at the paper got the reference and mentioned back about the XXX showings:
Today.. Pine Grove Drive-In theater was located at 327 Suedberg Road on the site of today’s Providence Place Retirement Center.
The same location that was the scene of criminal probes, jury decisions, and showings of X-rated films so many years before…..
