Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre

Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre is a single-screen drive-in movie theater located off of Route 309 in Orefield, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the oldest operational drive-in theater in the world[1][2] It generally operates during weekends in the colder months, while playing films seven days per week during the summer season.[3] Admission gives patrons access to both nightly movie showings.

Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre
LocationOrefield, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates40°38′42.11″N 75°35′40.32″W
Capacity300 cars
OpenedApril 15, 1934
Website
www.shankweilers.com

History
2017

Shankweiler's was opened by Wilson Shankweiler on April 15, 1934, making it the first drive-in theater to open in the state of Pennsylvania and the second drive-in theater to open in the entire United States.[1][4] It opened less than one year after the first ever American drive-in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey.[4][5]

In 1948, Shankweiler's installed speaker poles and car speakers.[4] Hurricane Diane in 1955 caused severe damage to the screen and projection booth at Shankweiler's, prompting the construction of a new snack bar / projection booth and installation of a new CinemaScope movie screen.[4]

Shankweiler sold his drive-in in 1965 to Robert Malkames.[6] Under Malkames' ownership, the theater in 1982 adopted micro-vicinity AM radio broadcasting to deliver movie soundtracks to patrons, though the car speakers remained in place.[4]

Malkames sold Shankweiler's to Paul and Susan Geissinger in 1984.[6] Under the ownership of the Geissingers in 1986, Shankweiler's became the first drive-in theater to deliver movie audio via FM broadcast stereo.[4] Later, Shankweiler's sound system got an upgrade in 2002, followed by another upgrade that brought fully digital video projection and sound equipment in 2013.[4][6]

In 2015, the Geissingers listed Shankweiler's Drive-In for sale, and then re-listed it for sale in 2018, with an asking price of $1.2 million.[6]

In November 2022, the theater was sold to Matthew McClanahan and Lauren McChesney, of The Moving Picture Cinema, a mobile movie theater based out of Allentown, Pennsylvania.[7][8] The theater resumed operations and is now open year-round.[9]

References
  1. Potter, Christy (2015-06-06). "Lehigh Valley's historic drive-ins and movie theaters". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  2. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-drive-in-cinema
  3. https://www.shankweilers.com/events
  4. "Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre > History". www.shankweilers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  5. "The History of Drive-In Movie Theaters (and Where They Are Now)". New York Film Academy. 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  6. Wagaman, Andrew (2018-01-18). "Shankweiler's Drive-in, oldest drive-in theater in the country, is for sale". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  7. https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/shankweilers-drive-in-sold-to-new-owners/article_84310cbc-5cfe-11ed-a085-7b9ee13aa088.html
  8. https://themovingpicturecinema.com/#about-section
  9. https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/opening-night-at-shankweilers-drive-in-makes-splash-as-folks-watch-movies-under-the-stars/article_880f1fd8-622e-11ed-851a-93d00c42540c.html
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