Thunderbird drive-in soars as others go dark
BY MICHAEL A.W. OTTEY
mottey@herald.com

South Florida had almost 50 drive-in movie theaters nearly a half-century ago. It now has two. Soon it'll be down to one.

The Thunderbird Drive-In Theater -- also known as The Swap Shop Drive-In -- near Fort Lauderdale will stand as the lone survivor of an era of tail-finned cars, poodle skirts and necking.

The tri-county's only other drive-in, the Trail Drive-in Theater in Lake Worth, is closing. The owner, Bob McCain, 67, wants to retire.

But as the Trail follows in the path of other drive-ins, the Thunderbird thrives, in part because it is linked to the massive, moneymaking Swap Shop. The theater is so popular with a whole new generation of moviegoers that owner Preston Henn plans to add a 14th screen. Already billed as the largest drive-in theater in the world, the Thunderbird would top even itself.

Some view drive-ins as relics of yesteryear, but there was no such indication on a recent evening at the Thunderbird, 3291 W. Sunrise Blvd., between Interstate 95 and Florida's Turnpike. Even on a Monday night, the Thunderbird draws a respectable crowd. Every screen showing a movie had between 20 to 50 vehicles.

By Wednesday, the line of vehicles waiting to get in is steady and long. On weekends, particularly during the release of a big-draw movie, the line snakes out onto West Sunrise Boulevard.

Unlike many drive-ins, the Thunderbird shows first-run films.

Deborah Hamilton and her sister, Brenda Burgess, both of Fort Lauderdale, were among the recent crowd of car-bound moviegoers. The two chattered casually moments before the showing of Spider-Man. Both said they prefer the drive-in over the indoor megaplex because they can talk during the movie, smoke, drink alcoholic beverages, dress down and not worry about their appearance, and basically be themselves.

''You can just be relaxed,'' Hamilton said. ``You can have your privacy. It's like being at home in your own living room.''

SPREADING ITS WINGS

Burgess said with the closure of the Trail, the Thunderbird's expansion is a smart move.

''Because if this is the last drive-in, a lot more people will come,'' she said.

That's already happening, even though the Trail hasn't actually closed, said Jose Robinson, a ticket-booth staffer.

''I see a lot of them coming down from Palm Beach now,'' he said. ``I think we'll be even busier. We get a lot of tourists who come through. It's a novelty. It's quite an attraction.''

Robinson has been working the ticket booth for two years, after 17 years delivering mail for the U.S. Postal Service. In his two years at the drive-in, he's developed a friendly relationship with many of the repeat customers.

''Where's the baby?'' he asked a lone woman.

''She's with her grandmother,'' she responded.

''We see a lot of families, and a lot of people on dates,'' Robinson said. ``We can do about 2,000 cars on the weekend, which is incredible.''

UNBEATABLE PRICES

Benjamin Parra of Hollywood brings his family to the Thunderbird at least twice a month, he said. It was the third time back to see Spider-Man with his 5-year-old son, Alex, his sister-in-law, Mari Aguirre, and his mother, Elvira Parra.

''This is great,'' he said. ``You can't beat the prices. The food, the snacks, the drinks, and the tickets at the other theaters are too expensive. You gotta have $40 to $50 to take your family to the theater. The prices are crazy.''

Admission at the Thunderbird is $4 per person and children 8, and under are admitted free.

SIDESHOW ANTICS

Often at the drive-in, what's going on in the immediate area is far more interesting than what's going on the screen. The minivans, SUVs, cars, and pickup trucks drive up, folding chairs and blankets come out, fast food or home-cooked meals are served, Dad lights up a cigarette, and the space becomes home for the next two hours.

Parked next to two little old ladies are two lovers with more than the movie on their minds. No telling what's going on behind tinted windows.

''You can come here and get busy,'' Hamilton said, laughing.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Indeed, a few couples were getting busy . It's still the thing to do, but family entertainment is the image drive-ins want to project.

That's a reversal from the 1970s, when many drive-in cinemas turned to X-rated movies in a desperate attempt to survive. Miami's Boulevard Drive-In was one such place.

Phyllis Lema, a Hollywood waitress, recalls her parents taking her to the Boulevard during its heyday. ''We used to have so much fun,'' she said. As she waited for her husband, Victor Rosario, to buy a pretzel at the Thunderbird's concession stand, Lema said she and her husband see a movie at the Thunderbird once a week.

''It's like you didn't leave home,'' Lema said. ``You're comfortable, you bring food, you wear no shoes.''

Mosquitoes can be pesky, said Yashica Peterson of Fort Lauderdale, but you can turn on the air-conditioner, roll up the windows, and you're set.

''You can sit how you want to sit,'' said Chris Teller of Dania Beach. ``If you smoke, you can smoke. Teller, who said he's at the Thunderbird once or twice a week, believes from the crowds he sees that the place is not hurting for audiences.

''This one,'' he said, ``is doing pretty damn good.''

Florida got its first drive-in cinema in 1938 and had 155 drive-ins by the time the popularity of the outdoor theaters peaked in the late 1950s.

DRIVE-IN DECLINE

When the Trail closes sometime this year, nine drive-ins are all that will remain in the Sunshine State. Television, cable TV, VCRs, home theaters, rising land costs, and changing family lifestyles combined over the years to deal drive-ins their death blow.

Some drive-ins, such as the Thunderbird, have managed to survive by operating by day as swap shops and supporting other activities.

Single-screen drive-ins are the ones that have largely suffered, Henn said, unable to compete with today's multi-screen, corporate-backed megaplexes.

Miami-Dade County, which had 25 drive-in theaters at one time, has had none for several years. The first drive-in in Florida -- the Miami Drive-In Theater in Miami -- opened on Feb. 18, 1938.

By 1954, America had more than 3,770 drive-ins.

By 1950, 20 more drive-ins opened in Florida, but by 1960, the decline in the number of drive-ins began. Currently, there are 430 drive-ins operating in the United States, according to Debrean and Randy Loy, co-executive directors of the United Drive-In Theater Owners Association. The group, based in Germantown, Md., was formed three years ago as a nonprofit business league for drive-in theater owners and managers.

The Loys and other drive-in enthusiasts maintain that drive-ins are enjoying a comeback, despite continued closures.

''We don't hold a crystal ball to look into the future,'' they said in a written response to The Herald. ``But if the current impetus of drive-in re-openings and new builds continues, drive-ins will continue to hold their own.''

According to the Loys and other sources, more than 20 drive-ins have reopened in the past 10 years, and new ones have been constructed in New York, Texas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Russia.

More, they say, are underway.

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There was a cover story about the Trail in a local magazine, City Link on Apirl 10th. Then just a month later, in The Palm Beach Post, there was a story about its upcoming closing.

The last films I saw there, which are still playing, was a double-feature of "Spirit" followed by "Spiderman" (yes, still $3 per person!) Both prints were spotless, even at the splices, and the picture was very bright and steady. A little bit of shutter ghosting, though. I spoke to the concession lady and asked her when they planned on having their final show. She was confused at first, so I mentioned the article in the paper, and she just laughed and said it wasn't entirely true. They had attempted a sale of the property, but nothing was etched in stone. Her last comment was, "We'll be here forever!"

Now with the mentioning of the Trail's closing in another newspaper, I'm starting to think the lady was just trying to keep me in good spirits. *sigh* Why do they have to mess with perfectly good drive-ins?!?!

I worked at an 8-plex not too far from the trail during the spring/summer of 2000. They would sometimes show the same films as us -- in this case "The Perfect Storm" -- they always outsold us. Our opening night evening shows were dead.

I took pictures of the grounds while I was there, but it was too busy and hectic for me to stop someone to ask if I could see the booth. As soon as I get my scanner working, I will post a few here.

On a side note, I read on one of the many "digital projection" threads that screen illumination of drive-in screens will be difficult, if not impossible, with DLP. Which is another reason it should be stopped.

I'd not heard of Joe Fink and the nitrate. Are you suggesting that there might still be a few cans of nitrate under the FTL airport runway???

Thomas, never take what a newspaper publishes too seriously, especially when it concerns movies. Over half the time there are glaring errors in the reporting, even though the MH is better than most. I wonder if someone looking for a drive-in wants to move south...

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Edit: Whoops, the page explodes the Film-Tech frame and you can't go back. Better right click and open in new window.

location, location, location

This also explains Muvico Theatres succcess. The Paradise in Davie, the Palace in Boca, and their Egyptian theatre in Hanover, Maryland blow most of the other theatres in the country away. Hamid Hashemi was a real estate broker --originally.

"County deal flops; Trail Drive-In saved"
Palm Beach Post, Saturday, June 29th: Click Here For The Full Article

This calls for a celebration!
=TMP=

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