Lake Park Drive-In History

The Lake Park Outdoor Theatre, in Wisconsin, had a playground that opened an hour before the film started. The drive-in charged kids, ages five to twelve, nine cents, making a profit of one thousand eight hundred dollars by 1953. Along with such a big profit, the ozoners’ owner noticed an increase in concession stand profit (86).

The playgrounds not only were an advantage for the kids, but they were an advantage to the rest of the audience and the parents. Since the playgrounds wore the children out before the film, they rested quietly during the movie, leaving the parents and audience with peace and silence. If the children weren’t yet worn out, the parents would often send them back to playground because there were attendants to monitor and

One invention was the “Rain-A-Way”, made in 1950. This was a cloth put on the top of a car that prevented rain from dripping onto the windows, allowing the patron to no longer need their windshields, which were distracting while watching a film and wasted battery and gas. A contraption called the “bottle warmer” was supplied to customers whom pressed a button and an attendant went over to their car and gave it to them. This was done at Flexer’s drive-in in Memphis, Tennessee, which was said to be the first drive-in to utilize the invention. Flexer also had police to make sure dates didn’t get too comfortable, keeping the ozoners a family affair

In the northeast, especially at the Walter Reade Chain, circus acts were very common and popular. At Reades chain of six drive-ins, there was a playground, fireworks, ponies, dancing, baby parades, midnight spook shows, gift nights, cartoon carnivals, old-fashioned game parties, and free picnic and play areas. To attend this entire event and to take advantage of these amenities, customers came three hours prior to the film they were attending. Because of the grandness and fun of the drive-ins, the nights in which families went were thought of as a sort of holiday (78-79).

Along with these eventful nights, services offered to the customers became typical. Some of these services include grocery shopping, laundry, flat tire fixings, jump-starts, and gas and oil changes. At the Hempstead Turnpike Drive-In on Long Island, twelve ushers were hired to take grocery lists from patrons and to go out, shop, and return before the film ended. These services made the ozoners not only a fun outing, but a useful facility