Sunday, April 26, 2009

Intercity Drive-In







Hot rods and old cars were always synonymous with going to the drive-in theater. Fort William and Port Arthur was no exception. We had the Intercity Drive-In. It wasn't anywhere near what we call intercity now, but way up Oliver Road near where our new hospital is now. The theater and property were almost across Oliver Road from the then and present day Port Arthur golf and country club. The property was huge and held a couple of hundred cars, had a great concession, and a playground for the kids near the base of the massive screen. On many a Friday night you could meet your buddies and their girl friends there, and shoot the breeze probably more than watching the movies. This was a great place to see who was dating who, and how serious the relationship was by how steamed up the windows were. Some guys who had large trunks in their cars could even smuggle three or four extras in, or you could wait for the "car load one price" night, and pile eight or ten into the car. A great time was had by all. I can't remember how many times we drove off without unhooking the speaker, and handing it in at the office. Our drive-in ad as shown in the top left picture was taken from a September 6, 1953 newspaper, and at that time went many times with my parents. Our theater closed in the early 1980's, to make room for more important business and commerce in that area including our hospital. We sure do miss it. A number of cities in the US and Canada have resurrected a few so that the young people today can enjoy a bit of what we had. You haven't lived unless you've been to a Drive-In theater at least once. Check the menu. Does anyone know what a black cow was? Click on photos to enlarge.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I sure the enterance to the staff parking lot off Oliver Road is the site of the enterance to the Drive - in and most of the parking lot was where the hills were with the speaker post.
John K

Dave Cano said...

Yes, that's the hospital staff parking lot entrance! It was very close to that for sure.