These are tough times for small town movie theaters and drive-in movies.
Already under pressure from
on-demand films on cable, and a dwindling numbers of customers as the
population of these towns decrease, theater owners have struggled for years.
Boarded up theaters are a common sight in many of the communities along Highway
83.
As for drive-in movies, their
heyday has long passed. There were once drive-ins all along Route 83 from
Westhope, North Dakota, all the way down to Brownsville, Texas.
Today, only two Highway 83
towns have drive-ins, Abilene, Texas’ Town and Country, which is a few blocks
east of the 83 bypass, and the Wes-Mer, right on 83 between Weslaco and
Mercedes, Texas (Pictured above). There are none remaining along 83 in Kansas, Nebraska, North
and South Dakota.
And now something new is
threatening these theaters: the switch from film to digital projection.
It costs approximately
$88,000 to install one digital projector, which the big Hollywood movie studios
expect the theater owners to pay. The big movie chains can do this. Small
business owners just getting by on popcorn sales cannot. The sad part is that
the switch saves the studios a lot of money in distribution costs, but there is
little benefit for the theater owners who have to pay for the new technology.
Recently, one of the last
remaining drive-ins in North Dakota, the Lake Park Drive-in in Williston was
torn down. The owner couldn’t afford to convert over to digital, and the season
for outdoor movie watching is too short that far north, according to press
reports.
There is a new model
emerging, and Oakley, Kansas, on Highway 83 is showing the way. The town bought
the Palace Community Theater in 2003 and it is run as a nonprofit, with seniors
from the local high school taking over management each year. The town gets to
keep its theater, and local students learn valuable skills running a small
business. It found the money to convert to digital in 2009, its
website
reports.
In Lexington, Va., Hulls
Drive-in was also taken over by the community, and is run as a nonprofit. Local
volunteers run the operation, and it takes tax deductible donations. It is the
only non-profit drive-in in America.
Towns at risk of loosing
their move theaters can look to these two nonprofits as examples.
The Honda car company recently
launched a campaign Project Drive-In to help save a few drive-ins.
Fans can vote online for
their favorite outdoor theaters that are at risk of closing because of the
switch to digital. Honda will pay for the top five’s conversion costs.
Sadly, there are dozens of
drive-ins competing for the five slots and are at risk of closing. But I’m
happy to report that the Wes-Mer and the Town and Country are not on the list.
The closest is the Pheasant
Drive-In in Mobridge, South Dakota.
Here is the owner’s plea for
votes on the Honda website.
“We operate the Pheasant
Drive-In in Mobridge SD. The Pheasant Drive-In was built in 1960.
We have been operating it since 1976. Families come from miles
around to come to one of the few remaining drive-in theatres.
Patrons love our low prices of $5.00 for adults and kids 12 and under are
free. A storm tore our screen down June 7, 2012. Our savings
for digital conversion had to be used to rebuild the screen. We have
survived all the changes throughout the years in the movie industry and would
like to be able to survive this digital transition.”
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Stew
Magnuson is the author of Wounded Knee 1973: Still Bleeding: The American Indian
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Company Booksellers, in Valentine, Neb., on Highway 83.
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