Drive-in me wild: Johnny Rockets wants to bring back the drive-in theater

A rendering of the Johnny Rockets restaurant/drive-in theater concept. Go, Johnny, go!

We've just read a news dispatch that seems just too good to be true for all of us eccentric roadside attraction fans. Johnny Rockets, the restaurant chain with a retro 1950s hamburger joint theme, has partnered with a drive-in theater company (they still have those?) with the intent of building 200 new drive-in theaters (with Johnny Rockets drive-through restaurants attached, of course) by 2018. 200! It seems like a great idea to us... the theater brings in all kinds of folks: young people who have never experienced cinema al fresco before, budget-conscious families (tickets will probably cost around $6) and older folks nostalgic for the good old days. And then Johnny Rockets get to lure everyone to their fine dining establishment for a full night of retro fun and rake in the dough. Whether or not people drive up in droves is anybody's guess (thriving drive in theaters are few and far between) but good for Johnny Rockets for having the vision to look in the rear view mirror while looking ahead.

Here's a gallery of some of the drive-ins we've come across, both thriving and abandoned, on our travels:

 Ruskin, Florida

 San Luis Obispo, California

 Shinnston, West Virginia

 Hyde Park, New York (FDR's hometown)

 Moab, Utah

 

Lincoln, Rhode Island

 

 Lincoln, Pennsylvania

 Middleboro, Massachusetts

Ruskin, Florida

Monte Vista, Colorado

Strike up the abandoned: Awesome photography by Noel Kerns

These pictures are all copyright Noel Kerns. Aren't they something?

I've always found abandoned places compelling and I started taking pictures of them back when I was a college student. On our trips down secondary roads, we've seen a lot of these places -- melancholy reminders of what used to be  -- and I'm fascinated at how long some of these sad places stick around, rotting away year after year (check out some we've blogged about here). Lots of other people like to take pictures of these kinds of places, but very few have the talent and skill of a Mr. Noel Kerns, a Dallas-based photographer who mostly focuses on Texas ghost towns, decommissioned military bases and old gas stations, cafes and roadside dwellings, all photographed at night under a full moon. Just finding these places takes skill and time, but then he waits until the perfect evening and lights his subjects in an incredibly artistic and surreal way, giving the images a dreamlike quality he calls "light painting". He's got a book out, "Nightwatch - Painting with Light" and a really extensive Flickr sight. Keep up the good work, Mr. Kerns, and long live decay.

Abandoned Moab, Utah Drive-in: One Moab for the road

I'm always delighted at the site of an abandoned drive-in, and a nice one greeted us upon our arrival back in 2006 in the pretty town of Moab, Utah, near extraordinarily beautiful Arches National Park. There didn't appear to be a screen anymore, just a cool old retro sign, a disheveled hut at the former entrance and lots of tumbleweed-like growth surrounded by stunning Utah landscape. Must have been quite the time, watching "Son of Flubber" under the stars in this awesome Western locale back in the day. The handy website driveintheater.com tells me there was a drive-in in Moab called the Grand Vue at one time so I assume this is what's left. A grand view indeed.

The Meadowbrook Drive-In of who-knows-where

I unearthed some more photos I shot of another abandoned drive-in theater, probably some time in the early 1990s. This one looks to be the Meadowbrook, but I can't say from where. I originally thought it might be in Florida, as I travelled there back then and vaguely recall taking pictures of a place like this. However, the flora doesn't look very Florida-like. An internet search tells me there was a Meadowbrook Drive-In in Middleboro, Massachusetts that closed in 1987. This is probably it, but I don't remember being in Middleboro. My archivist brother would be reprimanding me for not labelling these precious artifacts properly. If anybody knows anything about the Meadowbrook, I'd sleep better having solved this mystery.

An old ghost: Pennsylvania's Lincoln Drive-In from 1991

I was rummaging through some old photos and came across some striking pictures I took of an abandoned drive-in movie theater in 1991. I made no indication on the back of the prints where they were shot, but as best I can figure, they are the Lincoln Theatre of York, Pennsylvania. We were in that area around that time, as I recall, because Sherry's cousin Bobby was getting married in southern Pennsylvania, and I also remember it was kind of rainy on that trip. I consulted the excellent website driveintheater.com and they list a Lincoln Drive-In in York, so it makes sense to me. I can never resist taking pictures of drive-in theaters if it's at all possible without causing a 10-car pileup or being shot at by an angry land baron in the process. They're so, so cool in so many ways, bringing back happy childhood memories. I also love the weird irony of these big, once-gleaming, hulking icons of the past rotting away. I would imagine by now the Lincoln is long gone and a Staples or Home Depot now sits where snack bars and pajama-clad kids, Moms and Dads on a budget, and young lovers once frolicked. If someone out there can verify or enlighten me a bit further about the fate of this grand old lady, I'd love to know.