A Favorite Summer Activity

One of our favorite summer activities as a family is going to a local drive-in movie theatre.  What can be better on a warm summer evening than packing up the car with some snacks, the dog and watching a movie under the stars?  We are fortunate to live about 2.5 miles away from The Holiday Auto Theatre which was opened in 1948 as the Hamilton Outdoor Theatre.

Last night before heading out to see Madagascar 3, we read over Wonder #249 What Movie Would You Play At Your Drive-In? We learned some interesting facts about when the first drive-in opened and why they began disappearing over the years.  We also enjoyed reading in the Try It Out! section how to make your own drive-in movie at home.  Our pool does something similar several times a year. Instead of calling it a drive-in movie, they call it a DIVE-in movie.

This morning I was wondering about Ohio drive-ins.  I was surprised to learn that the first drive-in movie theatre in Ohio was opened June of 1937 in Akron.  Also, at the peak of  Ohio's drive-in business, there were 189 theatres in operation.  Lucky for us, Ohio still remains among the top 5 drive-in states in America.

When doing a little a bit more research on drive-in movie theaters this morning I found a neat article at ArtsEdge about Richard Hollingshead, who credited with opening the first drive-in.  The article also shared what was shown at the first drive-in and how it was shown.

I encourage you to see if there are any drive-in movie theaters near your home.  It is a great way to spend the evening making memories as a family!