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• Starlight drive in full#

The screen that the community all pitched in for has, sadly, been taken down. As of October, 2010, the land was still in Bob Groves' name. The websites all went dark as well in 2008, and the Starlite oh-so-quickly slipped from the collective consciousness of Durham. Rumors, untrue, flew that the site had been sold to Wal-Mart. It was announced that the land was for sale for $1.4 M, a number that put a chill on an initial push by the same people who wanted to try to revive the theater. Groves' death, and was abandoned - picked at by various thieves/souvenir hunters. I've never seen as clear an indication that a place with such character and history stayed open due to the passion of one person, and that person alone. The theater would, unfortunately operate for only another year and a half, until March 2007, when its owner, Bob Groves, died suddenly. 2022 Admission Prices Adults, 12.00 ca, 10.00 usd / EUR Youth & Seniors, 6.00 ca, 4.00 usd / EUR Children (6-13), 4.00 ca, 2.00 usd / EUR Kids Under 6.Carload Sunday: 25. You can still see the list of contributors and donations on the archived Starlite website, where I pulled much of this information from. A sustained, community-wide fundraising drive garnered enough funds to restore the screen, triggering the re-opening of the theater in August 2005, albeit without its trademark sign. The Starlite was shuttered when it suffered a fire that destroyed the screen in August 2004, shutting the theater down for a year.

The Starlite also become a unique experience for Durhamites of the current generation - much like going to a Bulls game for many people, it was often more about sitting outside on a summer night with your friends, some beer, and some hot dogs than it was about the movie.īob Groves at the helm of the Starlite (date unknown), Courtesy of George Stephens It isn't clear if it had been previously revived - one comment alludes to the theater being abandoned from 1961 until the 1970s, so perhaps there was a previous owner who reopened the theater.īob was well beloved by many in the community for his "How many you got hiding in the trunk?" greeting and his overall good nature. The most recent resuscitation of the theater was due to the efforts of Bob Groves, a native of Cumberland, MD who purchased the Starlite in 1986. I was more agog at the combination concession stand / projection room / gun shop - I particularly remember a glass display case with a line of stun guns. Much like riding the streetcar to/from school when I was a kid in New Orleans, I didn't appreciate the rare opportunity to enjoy the experience of a previous generation at the time. My first experience with the Starlite was ~1990 when I was in college. Drive in, kick back, and toast a giant soda and popcorn to the good old days.The Starlite drive-in theater opened in the mid-1940's and operated until ~1961, when it was abandoned. All in all, the cost to have an old-school blast at the Starlight is minimal: A $10 admission ticket is good for two movies playing on the same screen, which is about half the price you’d pay to see a single film at a traditional theater in most major cities.

Starlight drive in full#

food policy as well, a full snack bar offering classic fare like hot dogs, nachos, and popcorn is available. Patrons often set up lawn chairs outside their vehicles and bring their own refreshments. Today, the Starlight is open seven days a week, rain or shine. If the huge Art Deco road sign, vintage posters, and historic property don’t scratch that nostalgic itch, visitors can peruse retro wares, curios, and everyday home merchandise at their weekend flea market. The Drive Invasion occurred annually for well over a decade. Held over Labor Day weekend, the event included a vintage car show, all-night showings of B movies and cult comedies, daytime music performances, and an option for guests to camp on the lawn. In 1999, the Starlight hosted its first Drive Invasion, a three-day celebration of the theater’s 50th Birthday.

In fact, Starlight even expanded over the years, adding three screens in 1983 and eventually a top-of-the-line digital projection system for each in 2013. drive-ins folded under a wave of suburbanization throughout the 1950s and 60s, Starlight’s unusual location-nestled between a cemetery and landfill in an industrialized area-likely saved it from becoming another set of townhomes (or, in the case of the nearby North 85 Twin Drive-in, having a conventional multiplex built right on top of it). One resilient vestige of this midcentury pastime is Atlanta’s Starlight Drive-in Theatre-one of the last remaining drive-in theaters in the state of Georgia.īuilt in 1949, Starlight originally offered only one screen.

In the 1950s, over 4,000 drive-in theaters were in operation across the United States.