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How Many Drive-Ins ?
THERE ARE u m p t y-u m drive-in theatres in the United States operating, or in condition to operate, at the present moment. That number may be higher or lower than you had thought. That has been our reaction, too, to the estimates that have come in letters and reports laid on our desk. In any case, there are relatively many more drive-ins now than there were at the war's end, and next spring and summmer are going to add rather phenomenally to the total. For the number to be in operation by 1950 you can get, from quite a few persons who are intimately concerned with this form of progress, the nice round figure of 1,000.
The most statistical indication of the dimensions to which the drive-in idea has grown is, we believe, a list compiled by Park-In Theatres of Camden, N. J., owners of "Hollingshead Patent No. 1909537" on a ramp system providing for an entranceexit lane to each parking tier, which is generally preferred. Park-In Theatres, indeed, started this whole movie-motor romance back in 1933.
Their list (as of December 1, 1947, and the way the thing is going it probably is slightly out-of-date by now) adds up to 261 operations. Only eight states are missing from this enrollment. As we recall, the earliest growth was in the East, where winter closes such outdoor enterprises for close to half the year. Since then the South and Sunny California have become major fields of expansion. But even today it is the northern state of Ohio that leads all others in the number of drive-ins on ParkIn Theatres' roster. It has 43 — almost a fifth of which are at Dayton. California has 23, Florida 9.
The South as a whole, including Texas, is given top position, however, with 74 drive-ins operating. But the Midwest is right behind with 74. The East now has 56, while ten Western states are accredited on the Park-In list with 55.
These figures you may promptly forget. Won't mean a thing six months from now.
The Why of Drive-Ins
Clearly, the drive-in is a condition and not a theory. Consider what is done to recreate the art of the film in regular mo
A SEAT
That's all it costs to equip the average theatre with the finest lenses money can buy.
Your patrons pay to see the picture. ^ Isn't it smart to project the
finest picture possible?
ONE-PIECE MOUNT
HERMETICALLY
siipe^knaplitgs Give You . . .
• BRILLIANCE
• CONTRAST .
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. the fastest lenses made: f/1.9. . with durable coated optics. . that only a six-element anastigmat can achieve.
• VALUE
one-piece mount, hermetically sealed to last a lifetime.
Get full details of all Snaplite lenses in Bulletin 204, from your local theatre supply house.
2 Franklin Avenue / / /
Brooklyn 11, New York \^/fUlCal € II K I'll K ATI Hi
A New Product Information Service
"THE THEATRE SUPPLY MART" — on page 11
. . . for procuring further details, prices, literature, etc., on products and services advertised and editorially described IN THIS ISSUE. Indicate the product by symbol on the detachable postcard, which requires neither addressing nor postage.
BETTER THEATRES, FEBRUARY 14, 1948