West Wind, which owns the historic Solano Drive In in Concord, CA, announced that Solano will be presenting totally FREE movies and car entrance on this Thursday night , April 25. Not only can you experience the last of a breed - the drive in movie that was so popular in the 1950s and has all but gone the way of Pee Wee Golf Courses and Roller Rinks with increased land values and the modern times - but it's FREE for now. Perhaps if there's a big turnout they'll keep running the promotion.
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| THE SOLANO DRIVE IN as it appeared in the late 1950s. |
There were over 3,000 drive in movies during the height of their popularity in the 1950s. Today, there are literally a handful left
The old drive ins, where kids were known to watch the 'submarine races' (ask your folks what that means) sometimes more than the movie itself , have fallen on hard times. With the advent of digital movie houses and increased land values - and people's busy lives - the experience of putting the family in the car and spending the night at the drive in movies has become pretty much a thing of the past, except in Concord, CA and few other , mostly suburbs. There are pitifully few drive in movies in the rest of the country - and pretty much limited to the warm weather states in the south.
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| Remaining Drive ins like Solano are used as Swap Meets during days due to increased costs |
So, if you're lucky enough to live in the San Francisco Bay Area, check out what could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Who knows how much longer even the Solano will stay in business. We've lost most of our big city bowling alleys along with roller rinks, pee wee golf palaces and food drive-ins, so enjoy it while you can!
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Solano Drive in as it was in 1959[/caption]
As we've noted before, Solano is the last remaining Drive In movie in the Bay Area... and one of few in the nation... There were nearly 5,000 such theaters in the 1950s and today only a few dozen ... Obviously, Solano is doing this FREE Movie to help boost sales. If things don't pick up we may lose our last Bay Area drive in movie! So, try to make it out there and /or support it!
