Pennsylvania has 29 drive-in theaters, with the oldest one in America located in Lehigh County. There are also four in midstate Dauphin County, York County, Juniata County, and Cumberland County.
Shankweiler’s Drive-In, the oldest one, was founded in the early 1930s in Orefield, a town with more than 8,000 people. The Guinness Book of Records recorded this theater, which opened in April 1934, as being constructed in less than a year after the first one in New Jersey.
The drive-in underwent steady development
According to Shankweiler’s Drive-In website, speakers poles and car speakers were set up in 1948. Later on, a new CinemaScope Screen, a snack bar, a projection room, and a restroom building were added. In 1982, AM radio micro-vicinity broadcasting was launched, leading to FM radio micro-vicinity four years later.
The drive-in theater, which is 89 years old, was the pioneer in using FM broadcast stereo for audio. Additional upgrades such as Red LED Spectral recorded analog soundtrack readers, a cinema sound processor, and a digital projector were added. In 2022, Shankweiler’s was bought by new owners who now operate it year-round.
More on Shankweiler’s
The iconic drive-in theater is currently under new ownership with Lauren McChesney and Matthew McClanahan taking over from Paul and Susan Geissinger in November 2022. McChesney mentioned that it was the ideal moment to acquire the theater, as it had been on the market for years and was starting to resemble a “gas station.”
The pair behind The Moving Picture Cinema, a pop-up movie company, aimed to provide outdoor movie events during the pandemic lockdown. Matthew explained to USA Today that they assisted indoor theaters by organizing outdoor screenings when they were forced to close.