Comments from SteveSwanson

Showing 51 - 75 of 93 comments

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Star Theatre on Nov 6, 2013 at 7:12 pm

J.T. ‘Ted’ Francis moved to Newberg in 1926 and reopened the Star & Baker theaters. In 1930, he added sound to the Baker, renamed it the Francis. The Star was closed at this time.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Gem Theatre on Oct 31, 2013 at 3:11 pm

I drive by Athena all the time on the way to the M-F drive-in, but i don’t plan on a trip out there until spring.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about M & R Theatre on Oct 20, 2013 at 9:11 pm

I can’t confirm the M&R theater statistics just yet. But there was an indoor theater named the Ivy at 297 Redwood Hwy., in town and is a quonset hut. I believe it closed around 1999 when the owner decided to focus on his other business ventures. It has been been Bi-Rite Auto parts for some time now and is under new ownership.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Drive-in site gets second presentation on Oct 14, 2013 at 7:56 pm

There is still some good info on this site, A shame that some listed as Open are now Closed and gone forever.

There is a new Washington drive-in tribute site. Hopefully Rob Norenberg will be able to start posting more info & pics soon. http://westernwadriveintheatres.weebly.com/index.html

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Twin City Drive-In on Oct 2, 2013 at 5:56 pm

Thanks to Ken and Jack O. from the Rodeo for telling me about the Twin City. My first stop was in 2000, relatively still intact. After the marquee was removed in ‘02, I stopped my visits because I would see transients hanging around the box office, which eventually burned down. By 2005, the county decided to raze the property and fence off the perimeter. You can still see some of the pavement for the main entrance and exit lane coming out of field one.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Parma Motor Vu Drive-In on Sep 26, 2013 at 1:08 pm

Karen closed the Linden 3 back in 2006.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Ceres Cuise-In on Sep 26, 2013 at 9:26 am

The Ceres reopened as a Flea Market only in 2012. But there has been some talk about showing movies again in the near future. Screen 2 is still standing, and they would have to rebuild the booth and put up a new screen in field 1 for it to happen.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Valley 6 Drive-In on Sep 23, 2013 at 2:58 pm

I stopped by labor Day weekend for one last visit. The screens were the first to be torn down and now all that scrap metal has been hauled away. Both snack bar/ticket booths have been demo'ed. All signage is gone, the exterior fencing is up still. But the speakers posts remain, standing guard in each field.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Starlite Drive-In on Sep 23, 2013 at 10:02 am

Congrats to the Starlite for winning a digital projector from projectdrivein.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Stateline Drive-In on Sep 23, 2013 at 9:53 am

Congrats to the Stateline for winning a digital projector from projectdrivein.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Big Mo Drive-In on Sep 23, 2013 at 9:51 am

Congrats to Richard Boaz & ‘The Big Mo’ for winning a new projector from projectdrivein. With 3 screens, every little bit helps to stay open.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Ocala Drive-In on Sep 23, 2013 at 9:49 am

The Ocala is one of the lucky winners from projectdrivein. ‘How sweet it is’ for the new owners to be able to convert to digital.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about 99 W Drive-In on Sep 15, 2013 at 3:36 pm

The 99W is winner #5 from Honda’s ProjectDriveIn. Still waiting to hear when the conversion process will be done.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Cherry Bowl Drive-In on Sep 12, 2013 at 10:38 pm

The Cherry Bowl is winner #2 of Honda’s ProjectDriveIn. They are getting a new digital projector. WOOP WOOP

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Idan-ha Drive-In on Aug 29, 2013 at 2:31 am

Both theaters are still open, but the website remains down. They do have a Facebook page though for movie listings, it appears the drive-in has been a single feature only for years. In 2010, Jeff & Shauna Bowen sold the property to Craig Davis, but continue to operate both theaters. Thyy have signed up for the Honda Projectdrivein competition for a new projector. As well as setting up their own Save The Drive-In fundraiser to keep it from closing.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Dunedin Plaza Cinema on Jul 25, 2013 at 4:43 pm

The bankruptcy of Jerry Lewis & NCC is well documented. However, the JLC business model soon fell apart after a few years. Most franchises probably distanced themselves by running more mature, and in some cases ‘adult’ films, when the family film theme ran out of gas. I know my local theater was doing that.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Columbia Theatre on Jun 10, 2013 at 11:03 pm

Take another look from the other angle. I’m guessing the Bowling Alley is between the Granada & the Columbia.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Valley 6 Drive-In on May 22, 2013 at 10:13 pm

You can change the status to demolished now. All screens are down as well as the south side snack bar & ticket booths. I would imagine they will be done by August.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Admiral Twin Drive-In on May 3, 2013 at 4:34 pm

Its supposed to be installed by the end of May. Interesting note that for the opening weekend of Iron Man 3, they are showing it on both screens.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Auto Vue Drive-In on Apr 16, 2013 at 9:01 pm

A previous FB post gave an update on fixing the screen. Apparently, all of the contractors who bid on the project decided it was ‘too dangerous’ to replace the broken bolts etc. Go figure. The image on screen is so-so. You can only do so much cropping with the dimensions they have.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about D & R Theatre on Apr 15, 2013 at 8:19 pm

Whatever issues the two sides had, apparently have been solved. They had a Re-Opening on April 13th with a free concert. I, however, have yet to see inside this theater. I drove over 5 hours to spend a birthday weekend in Aberdeen. Sadly, the concert was canceled and the only communication to ticket holders was thru their Facebook page. Management dropped the ball big time. The artist that night, Scot Bruce, said as much to me later. He eventually booked another gig at the 7th Street Theater in nearby Hoquiam.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Sunnyside Drive-In on Apr 3, 2013 at 8:49 pm

I made 2 stops here, in ‘02 & '03. I’m pretty sure it was demo'ed in 2004. Take a look at the Google Earth timeline from 8/12/03 to 5/2/04. You can see that the screens, snack bar, booths & marquee were removed in that timeframe. What was fascinating was the conditions in '02, almost pristine for being abandoned for so many years. When I came back the next summer, the main screen was reduced to a skeleton frame and the snack bar was tagged by vandals.

It appears that a new swap meet has taken up residence here, website is sunnysideswapmeet.com

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Kings Drive-In on Apr 3, 2013 at 4:09 pm

The overview is incorrect. I don’t know when the drive-in closed for the season last year. But the link from Aug. 23, 2008 is for Sept. 2005, that’s when 40 Year Old Virgin & Deuce Bigalow came out.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Kings Drive-In on Mar 19, 2013 at 7:39 pm

It appears the Kings has closed for good. Drive-ins.com has updated their status to Closed. Last year, there were news reports from the owners about the uncertainty of opening in 2013. Constant vandalism and the high cost of repairs seem to be the culprit. Then there is the massive cost of digital conversion on top of that. I never did make it out here for a night at the Kings drive-in. Only a few daytime visits, and those were depressing enough.

SteveSwanson
SteveSwanson commented about Blue Fox Drive-In on Mar 7, 2013 at 9:21 pm

The Blue Fox is the first Washington drive-in to open with digital projection. A fantastic picture on screen. I like the new pre-show, they will add some variety in the next few months. My last 2 trips here have been in late winter. I’ve been happily surprised to see the turnout in such cold conditions.