Camden Drive-In

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Taken on: March 8, 2023

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Camden Drive-In 2901 Admiral Wilson Boulevard, Pennsauken, NJ

Photo - ABC7NY

The Camden Drive-In located in the Pennsauken Township district of Camden, NJ was the first drive-in theater in the U.S. In 1933 Richard Hollingshead received the first patent for the Drive-In Theater (United States Patent# 1,909,537). It was issued on May 16, 1933.

With an investment of $30,000, Richard opened the first drive-in on Tuesday June 6, 1933 in Pennsauken Township, Camden, New Jersey. The opening film was the 1932 British Fox comedy “Wives Beware” (aka in the UK “Two White Arms) starring Adolphe Menjou. The price of admission was 25 cents for the car and 25 cents per person.

The drive-in did not include the in-car speaker system we know today. The inventor contacted the RCA Victor company to provide the sound system, called ‘Directional Sound’. Three main speakers were mounted next to the screen that provided sound. The sound quality was not good for cars in the rear of the theater or for the surrounding neighbors - Notes by Lost Memory

Contributed by Greg Lynch -