Thursday Trivia

Robert Emslie

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Thirsday Trivia

Welcome to Thursday Trivia where we offer up a historical automotive trivia question and you try and solve it before seeing the answer after the jump. It’s like a History test, with cars!

This week’s question is: When and where was the first drive-in movie theater opened? 

If you know the answer, make the jump to see if you are correct. You won’t even have to sit through the previews.

First Drive-In

Per about.com:

The first patent for the Drive-In Theater (United States Patent# 1,909,537) was issued on May 16, 1933. With an investment of $30,000, Richard Hollingshead Jr. opened the first drive-in on Tuesday June 6, 1933 at a location on Crescent Boulevard, Camden, New Jersey. The price of admission was 25 cents for the car and 25 cents per person.

The design did not include the in-car speaker system we know today. The inventor contacted a company by the name of RCA Victor to provide the sound system, called “Directional Sound.” Three main speakers were mounted next to the screen that provided sound. The sound quality was not good for cars in the rear of the theater or for the surrounding neighbors.

So there you have it, the first Drive-in Theater was opened in Camden New Jersey in June of 1933. See, I knew you knew it!

Image source: Wired

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Robert Emslie

Robert Emslie

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14 responses to “Thursday Trivia”

  1. MVEilenstein Avatar
    MVEilenstein

    Don't know, but I bet it's in the northeast.

    Reply
  2. LTDScott Avatar
    LTDScott

    I knew it was in New Jersey, but not exactly where.

    Reply
  3. krazykarguy Avatar
    krazykarguy

    Doesn't Radiator Springs have a drive-in? It sure looks old in the movie.

    Reply
  4. OA5599 Avatar
    OA5599

    Next week's trivia:
    Who was the first child conceived at a drive-in?

    Reply
    1. Alff Avatar
      Alff

      Every conception begins with a drive in.

      Reply
  5. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    According to the Wikipedia article on drive-in theaters:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive-in_theater
    Hollingshead (a chemical company magnate) was from Camden, but the theater itself was on Admiral Wilson Road at Airport Circle, in Pennsauken. I looked at historicaerials.com, and in the 1940 picture, the theater is there on Admiral Wilson just west of the circle (it looks like it had unpaved parking), but in the next photo, from 1951, it's already gone, replaced by a housing development.

    Reply
  6. njhoon Avatar
    njhoon

    Having grown up a town or two away I actually knew this. While they say it was in Pennsauken, it really is Camden, about 40 feet over the line, it was where the old Zinmann Furs building is now ( http://goo.gl/maps/cdp6b Google must have rose colored lenses on the street veiw car because that area…is bad. Real Bad.)

    Reply
    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      I saw that Zinmann building on Google Maps, and wondered if if was a jeweler.

      Reply
    2. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
      FuzzyPlushroom

      Meanwhile, you go a few blocks down a side street and everything still looks fine. Eerie.
      That said, Google can almost make anything look decent. Almost. (I just clicked there at random, and… yeah.)

      Reply
  7. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    The camouflage pattern in the lead image reminds me of a news story that has been running here for two days, a right wing Norwegian arrested in France for alleged terror planning. He has cars in this pattern, very cool ones among them:
    <img src="http://gfx.dagbladet.no/labrador/282/282621/28262170/jpg/active/978x.jpg&quot; width="600">
    Turns out he has been sent home again, might have been a false alarm. I know, a serious thing, more important than cars. But I just can stop noticing vehicles like that.

    Reply
    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      Right wing? Ironic, seeing how he's driving an ex-Soviet vehicle.

      Reply
      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        In my experience (in laws are Norwegian), "Norwegian" and "right wing" are synonyms.

        Reply
        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          Well, he is said to have his own blend of Nazi/Norrøn ideology. Found his preference for Soviet vehicles strange, too.
          @Alff, wouldn't really support that thought. It's a socially liberal, social democratic country, so the the political right is still quite moderate. And then there's the brown bottom.

          Reply
  8. Howard Foster Avatar
    Howard Foster

    There is no space for errors in the research papers so every student ought to consult the good research paper regarding write a research paper. They provide an excellent service at cheaper rates for students.

    Reply