Starlite Drive-In Screen Burned Down

In the past I wrote about visiting your local drive-in movie theatre to keep the drive-in from dying. Many drive-in theaters have been torn down and replaced with suburban neighborhoods or gigantic stores.

Unfortunately, after I wrote about that, the screen at our nearest drive-in theater (in Durham, NC) burned down. The fabulous old neon Starlite Drive-In sign burned down also. The Starlite is a one screen drive-in, so without a screen, there are no movies. The fire was caused by a lawnmower parked beneath the screen (I think I read in the local news that a hot lawnmower parked beneath it caused something else to ignite, which ignited the screen). A storage room with a collection old movie posters was also destroyed.

The 40 foot tall screen was the ORIGINAL screen, built in 1940. Due to it's age, it was uninsurable.

Local people have donated money, materials, and their time in an effort to help bring the old drive-in back.

Guess what... it's working! Most drive-ins don't return when they close down these days, but the locals are determined to bring this one back! The last I read, new poles for the screen have been installed. So, some day people will be back again with their cars facing a giant screen. Excellent!

For more about the Starlite Drive-In in Durham, go to:

http://www.saveourstarlite.org/

This post was originally posted February 7, 2005. The owner of the Starlite Drive-In sadly passed away. The drive-in has been closed indefinitely.