This cache was released as part of
"The Eye Scream Social: Royal Oak" event
(GC4J4QD) on Aug 21 2013.
Anyone that attended the event qualifies for
first-to-find, as part of the event.
Most Drive-In Movie Theaters consist of a large outdoor screen (either a wall painted-white, or a complex steel-truss structure with a complex finish), a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars.
The original Patent Drawings.
The idea originated in the early 1930's in Camden, NJ. and was Patented by Richard M. Hollingshead. His idea began as an experiment in his driveway with a Kodak Projector, mounted on the hood of his car, aimed at a screen that was attached to some trees. He tried different techniques and finally worked-out the parking-arrangement and spacing to allow everyone that attended, an unobstructed view of the screen. Once he had this idea in-place, he was granted a Patent in 1933 and He opened his first Drive-In Theater soon thereafter. This facility only lasted a few years, but the idea caught-on elsewhere to become part of the American Pop-Culture and Landscape to-this-day.
Vehicles fill a drive-in theater while people on the screen stand near a new car, 1950s.
One of my favorite things to create Geocaches for is old drive-in theatres and movie-houses and one of my favorite movie-trilogies (series) is the Back to the Future movie trilogy.
In Part 3, there is a scene where Marty and Doc are discussing Marty's trip back to the year 1885. They just happen to be in a Drive-In Movie Theatre and it just makes an interesting addition to the movie and the storyline.
Marty McFly:
Wait a minute, Doc. If I drive straight towards the screen,
I'm gonna crash into those Indians.
Young Doc:
...You'll instantly be transported back into 1885,
and those Indians won't even be there.
The Delorean as it's driving away from the indians....backwards.
After a few minutes, when he uses the DeLorean and arrives in 1885, an actual tribe of Native Americans is literally coming towards him and it makes for another good scene in this movie.
For the patrons, most of the time at the Drive-In, the back row was far-enough away to be able to see the the entire screen, and also allowed for some privacy, if needed.
1980's Aerial Photo of the Oak Drive In. Normandy Road upper-right.
This cache is placed in the same area as the back rows of the Oak Drive-In, back when it was here.
Topographic map overlay animation of the area. GZ is about center of the image.
For more information on the Oak Drive-In Theatre itself, please check out
the nearby cache that is part of the Michigan Cinema History series:
(MCH) The Oak Drive In Theatre : (GC35Z1R)
Enjoy the hunt here and beware of the muggles that may be around. :)