![]() He and his family grew a veritable movie house empire in the Metro-Detroit area under the umbrella of Wayne Amusements, but the Ford-Wyoming is the only evidence of the legacy that remains. The Ford-Wyoming drive-in was built by Charlie Schafer, opening for business in May 1950. 1955), These speakers were previously used at the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In Theater. The Henry Ford Museum’s collections also contain a set of EPRAD, Inc. Most patrons choose to tune into their movie’s sound via their car FM radio, but strangely, when the theatre owners tried to decommission the ranks of poles with their perched and weathered speakers, there was something akin to a mutiny: whether deployed in the car or not, the grey speakers had become an essential part of the drive-in landscape. Once through, I’m in a wide expanse punctuated by randomly-leaning speaker posts, my eyes stinging from the wind gusting uninterrupted across the empty space. Virgil ushers me toward the corrugated metal opening through which vehicles enter the theatre. Hollingshead sat in his car, to test drive the show. The family stereo came out of the house for an impromptu sound system. To simulate bad weather, he hooked up his lawn sprinkler. He worked out the details in his New Jersey driveway, by putting a projector on the hood of his car and nailing a sheet onto a tree for a screen. ![]() The first patent for a drive-in theater was awarded to Richard M. Today, approximately 350 remain, and the Ford-Wyoming is the last example in southeast Michigan. In the late 1950s there were 4,000 throughout the United States. We are both bundled up against the cold in all manner of hunter green, plaid, and wool.ĭrive-in theatres like the one I’m standing in peaked in popularity during the post-WWII era. Virgil, the manager in charge of the theatre, is standing high on a ladder, repairing the roof of the streamlined ticket booth. While the arrival of cool weather in Dearborn, Michigan, was inevitable, most of us have not yet adjusted to the sudden snap. The first shockingly dry-crisp days of autumn in the Midwest were overdue this year, trailing an already belated Indian summer. As of 2019, the theater is owned by Charles Shafer.It’s cold at the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In Theatre. It is one of nine remaining drive-in theaters in the state of Michigan, and the only one in Metro Detroit. This has reduced the overall capacity to 2,500 cars. The five screens have remained operational since this downsizing. This decision was made due to a decline in population of the Detroit area. In 2006, the owners sold the land on which the sixth through ninth screens were located. At its peak, the Ford-Wyoming had nine screens and a capacity of over 3,000 cars, leading it to become the largest drive-in theater in the world. Wayne Amusements purchased the drive-in in 1981 and expanded it by continuing to add screens. Upon opening, the drive-in had the capacity for 750 cars. The theater opened for business on May 19 of that year, with Road to Rio as its first feature. The property previously had nine, leading it to be declared the largest drive-in theater in the world.Ĭlark Enterprises built the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In in 1950. Opened in 1950, it features five screens. Drive-in theater in Dearborn, Michigan, United States Ford-Wyoming Drive-InĤ2☁9′55″N 83☀9′37″W / 42.3319°N 83.1603°W / 42.3319 -83.1603įord-Wyoming Drive-In is a drive-in theater located in Dearborn, Michigan, United States.
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