The summer is waning..
Truly hard to believe how fast these heated months go, isn’t it? Each and every year we lament the sooner sunsets.. the cooler nights. The chirping crickets signaling those last lustful nights before frost and winter..
Over the past several months we made it a mission to research and report on the most famous and infamous drive-ins of past memory in our area. We are proud of this project, featuring the first drive-in in Schuylkill County, and all the rest that turned into frivolous escapes along major highways before closure..
Which brings us to the present.
The fact that, despite all of the past history and drive-ins that closed, how a thriving new life cycle of the drive-in theater still exists..
The prime example is the very popular and busy Mahoning Drive-in in Carbon County. It’s fresh, it’s popular, and it’s filled with abundant nostalgia coupled with the allure of new attraction.
As so many outside venues found their found in the the graveyard of history, the Mahoning has become almost a symbol of summer.. The buoyancy of what could be. The drive-in that still exists!
HISTORY
The goal of the drive-in is on their own site:
Our goal: to deliver you a true love of film, and the nostalgic moviegoing experience you can only get at the drive-in! The Mahoning Drive-In Theater was built in 1948, and opened for its first season the following year. Since then, it has entertained moviegoers for over half a century on the largest CinemaScope screen in Pennsylvania! We offer an exclusively retro 35mm film program, which is presented reel-to-reel via original 1940’s Simplex projectors!
Grand opening occurred in 1948.. the movie APRIL SHOWERS premiered, as it did in so many other locations that same year.
The opening night featured a $1.00 per car fee, and free pony rides while playing Ronald Reagan in Stallion Road.
1952 immediately brought controversy!
There was a management dispute at the Mahoning, it led to a $140,000 civil suit. There were allegations that some were interfering in the business. In today’s terms this would be a $1.4 mil lawsuit!
In 1997, things were looking awful. The triple X was coming to the Mahoning, later than expected but like so many before..
In 1998, things looked equally dire..
On June 8, 1998, the Mahoning stood idle as it sought permission to build more movie screens…
But it survived!
It went beyond the porn..
It was reborn in a new century.
AT THE DRIVE-IN
There was a recent documentary about the Mahoning Drive-in.
It was a film entitled AT THE DRIVE IN from Monelli Films
On July 15, 2017, the Philadelphia Inquirer featured the Mahoning:
The Mahoning is a relic.. an ode to the past but a path to the future.
With different managers since its opening in 1949, it never stopped running.
That is a long time! An historic time.
Over the years it has played monster mashes.. historic films. Horror, dramas.. coming this fall, even Dick Tracy.
TODAY
As the website promotes. the Mahoning now stands as a world-renowned mecca for 35mm film and retro screening events, its dedicated all-volunteer staff bringing fun, friendly added dimensions that make a trip to the theater much more than just watching films, from cosplay, to immersive snack bar décor, to live pre-show DJ sets and more. The Mahoning has built a dedicated following over the last several seasons, customers coming together and forming friendships and, like the staff thinks of each other, becoming part of The Mahoning family.
CNN recently profiled this location. They wrote,
Some drive-ins have come back from the dead, and others like The Mahoning Drive-In Theater in Leighton, Pennsylvania, successfully fended off threats that would have surely doomed the fan-favorite haunt. Built in 1948 and opened the following year, the Mahoning “hasn’t changed a tremendous lot” since.
The 1949-era projector runs 35 mm films reel to reel via Simplex E7 projectors onto a gargantuan 110-foot screen. Inside the vintage cinderblock snack bar, there’s a chow line for the food and vinyl records, VHS, DVDs and other memorabilia for sale. One notable modernization: The audio is broadcast via FM transmitter as opposed to the boxy speakers that would dangle inside the car window.”Last year, the pandemic hurt a lot of drive-ins,” Nelson said. “They were forced to go retro, diversify with live events and play movies they wouldn’t normally play.”For the Mahoning, however, retro hits right in its wheelhouse.
A night at the Mahoning, known for showing retro classics, schlock horror flicks and creature features, is a full spectacle: The trailers and intermission reels are themed to the movies playing that night; customers often dress up in character; and production designer J.T. Mills creates intricate artistic sets to accompany the films.
And that’s a wrap!
We are done with our interesting and hopefully educational history of the local drive-in.
We profiled so many, including the first and failed, along with those close by..
But after all the dust settles, the Mahoning still stands.
It is filled with energy and a spirit to continue well into summers to come.
For as much as times change, it remains the same..
I can personally recall a time when I watched Batman Returns and Nightmare on Elm Street 5 on a double feature at a drive-in.. And today, a new generation will have similar memories but just with different movies.
And let it live in!
Long long the drive-in!
Long live the Mahoning!
