She remarked one day she wished she could park her car in a movie theater, Wick Hollingshead, the inventor’s nephew, told the Inquirer just before the 75th anniversary.
Richard Hollingshead tested the concept at his Riverton home, and even got a patent, though he never collected many royalties, despite creating a cultural phenomenon that peaked in 1958 with more than 4,000 so-called "passion pits."
Families packed their Ramblers and Impalas with squabbling children to park alongside grappling/groping teenagers in those days when TV shows were black and white and Playboy was considered hard-core smut.
The Pennsauken enterprise lasted only a few years -- Zinman Furs has occupied the spot for seven decades -- but the world’s second drive-in, Shankweiler’s, is still operating in Oreland, Pa., near Allentown. This weekend’s double feature is "Prometheus" followed by "The Avengers."
New Jersey’s only field of screens -- and the closest one to Philly -- is Vineland’s Delsea Drive-In, which has two screens to show major first-run features.
Fireworks will be going off during intermission Saturday in honor of the anniversary at Becky’s Drive-In in Berlinsville, Northampton County.
The next-nearest drive-ins are Mahoning Valley, north of Becky’s; and Bengie’s, outside Baltimore, which claims to have the world’s biggest screen.
Delaware’s Diamond State Drive-In near Dover closed a few years ago.
Today’s drive-in-goers pick up the soundtrack via car and portable radios, and many avail themselves of two options not found at indoor theaters: bringing pets and the freedom to smoke.
Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.
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