Auto Vue Drive-In
444 Auto View Road,
Colville,
WA
99114
444 Auto View Road,
Colville,
WA
99114
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Both the Auto Vue and also the Alpine Theater in downtown Colville are for sale as of today. $800.000 for both.
Now re-opened for the season under Governor Jay Inslee’s “Phase 2” coronavirus guidelines.
SteveFratelli, as NeonMichael pointed out, they “finished rebuilding its screen in June 2015”. This IS the “new” screen. They got this new “Digital” screen from the Soap Lake Drive-In that closed, so, it is virtually brand-new as of 2015.
Major Detractor: “About a 80 minute drive from Spokane.”
It’s 100 miles to the closest Drive-In to me.
I live in the Puget Sound area, and it is 371 miles to this Drive-In. I have gone every year since they re-opened & made a mini vacation out of it.
Stay at the Comfort Inn in Colville.
It’s only about 3.5 miles from the Drive-In.
Very convenient.
BTW ~ This Drive-In, the Auto Vue in Colville, has really good, fresh made pizzas.
I’ll be generous and give it a B minus. I have yet see the new screen. However, it has plenty of charm, decent prices and great snack bat food. They seem to be getting more current films these days. And usually have a triple feature on Labor Day, the last weekend of the season. The one major detractor is location, Colvile is in the northeast corner of the state. About a 80 minute drive from Spokane.
How does it fare against other driveins?
Based on its Facebook timeline, the Auto Vue finished rebuilding its screen in June 2015 and opened soon after.
They switched to digital projection just before opening for the 2016 season. As of May 2017, it’s still going strong.
No website. Movie showtimes are listed on their Facebook page.
Putting up the new screen has taken longer than expected, issues with the foundations. They are not going to open for the 2014 season, which gives them more time to find a digital projector for 2015.
The Auto-Vue has found a ‘new’ screen, I believe its from the Park drive-in in Lakeview, WA. Look for them to open for the 2014 season in May. No word on what kind of digital projection for the drive-in.
With the Valley 6 drive-in closed in Auburn, why don’t the folks at Colville “transplant” one of the Valley’s screens to Colville? That’s a lot cheaper than buying a new one.
A previous FB post gave an update on fixing the screen. Apparently, all of the contractors who bid on the project decided it was ‘too dangerous’ to replace the broken bolts etc. Go figure. The image on screen is so-so. You can only do so much cropping with the dimensions they have.
Seems like they did not maintain their screen and let it deteriorate. Almost like they didn’t care about the theater.
According to their Facebook page, the summer of 2013 will be their last season: “The new screen will cost $94,000.00, for the new digital projection $82,000.00. For a grand total of $176,000.00, so you see why we will be closing. It’s just not financially feasible to keep the Drive-In open any longer.” I am sure this will be a major issue with many existing drive-in’s this year and the next few years.