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Bringing back a drive-in theater in central Virginia

Sandy Hausman
/
RadioIQ

America’s first drive-in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey in 1933, and after World War II the number of outdoor movie spots grew to over 4,000. Families and couples could watch the show from the comfort of their cars – with blankets and pillows brought from home -- patronizing the concession stand at intermission.

“At our refreshment center, you’ll find a large variety of goodies to satisfy your hunger, your thirst or your sweet tooth, so hurry, hurry, hurry," calls the narrator of one promotional film shown during the break. "Visit our refreshment center now. The show starts in 10 minutes.”

One enterprise on New York’s Long Island had room for 2,500 cars, a full-service restaurant, a playground, and a shuttle train. You didn’t have to dress up and the kids could sleep in the back seat.

Then came a generation of teenaged drivers who found their own forms of entertainment.

“We’ve got an early start. We’re gonna' have a ball. We’re gonna’ ride the surf, and that ain’t all,” sang the stars of Beach Party.

But by the 70’s, color TVs and VCRs made watching movies at home more appealing, and the demand for land in fast-growing suburbs led many drive-ins to close. One, near Fork Union, Virginia held on until 2012 – drawing customers from nearby Charlottesville, Lake Monticello, Zion Crossroads and other communities along I-64.

It was built, owned and operated by an area resident – F.F. White – who willed it to his daughters.

“The three sisters grew up at the drive-in their father built it in 1953," says Ron Unnerstall, White’s son-in-law.

Along with his wife and her sisters, he decided it would be fun to open the drive-in again.

Ron Unnerstall, his wife and her two sisters are spearheading the revival of the Fork Union Drive-In.
Sandy Hausman
/
RadioIQ
Ron Unnerstall, his wife and her two sisters are spearheading the revival of the Fork Union Drive-In.

“We remember coming here every summer with our young kids, watching movies at the outdoor drive-in theater, and everywhere I go, if I wear a Fork Union Drive-In T-shirt, I get into a conversation about their memories, and so we kind of had a good sense that the community would support us.”

He joined an association of more than 300 drive-ins that survive – following their new business model.

"Do movies, sell food at the concession stand and do private events -- maybe Fourth of July, something around the Batteau Festival, Memorial Day, we’re doing a Christmas Market, we’re doing a Halloween Trunk or Treat on October 18th.”

Their first event, an antique car and craft show, drew more than 2,000 people to the Fork Union Drive-In, giving Unnerstall and his crew a chance to address some common problems: long lines at the entrance, long lines at the bathroom, long lines at the concession stand.

When they start showing films, customers can buy their tickets online.

“So there will be an express lane. It’s going to be thirty bucks per carload,” Unnerstall explains.

When the theater opens, there will be a new screen, and viewers can hear a film's sound thru their radios or rent a small portable unit. If, however, they want the original experience, speakers installed decades ago still work.
Sandy Hausman
/
RadioIQ
When the theater opens, there will be a new screen, and viewers can hear a film's sound thru their radios or rent a small portable unit. If, however, they want the original experience, speakers installed decades ago still work.

The owners plan to build larger restrooms this winter and have already renovated the concession stand to quickly prepare and store barbeque, pizza and hotdogs, nachos, chicken tenders and fries.

They'll encourage guests to pre-order, and runners taking food to the cars.

Unnerstall and his family are investing more than half a million dollars in improvements – making it possible for movie-goers to hear the soundtrack on their car radios or on small portable ones the theater will offer for rent.

“We’ve tested these little radios, and they are quite good, but if you want to use the speaker, guess what. You can! Most of them work.”

The place can accommodate 180 cars, and Unnerstall hopes volunteers from the community will staff it. Already, another family has agreed to lease and operate the enterprise. Profitable or not, everyone hopes it will serve as a gathering place combining the best of modern technology with old-fashioned family entertainment.

Sandy Hausman is Radio IQ's Charlottesville Bureau Chief