Columbia Drive-In
4061 Columbia Avenue,
Columbia,
PA
17512
4061 Columbia Avenue,
Columbia,
PA
17512
1 person
favorited this theater
The owner was J. and C. Mellor and the drive-in was open March to October and had FM and AM sound. It had double features and intermission trailers. It had new owners in 2001. It was opened in 1954 or 1955 since a recent (2005) article said it had been in operation for “nearly 50 years”. Just my obvious deduction.
The theater was sold (for $895,000) to make way for houses and stores. The drive-in closed in the fall of 2005.
Contributed by
Dave Bonan
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Recent comments (view all 21 comments)
So that is what upset Lost Memory,think he has way too much time on his hands.
Mike, when you do the amount of research that Lost Memory has done on the theatres through out the entire United States then you might be able to make such a negative comment about him. He has contributed more to Cinema Treasures than any other member on the site. He very rarely submitted a theatre without exhausting all resources to include the address (which seems to be a real problem with theatres and drive-ins being submitted right and left with no addresses) the year the theatre was built, the seating total, the architect, number of screens, etc.etc. No one on this site has a right to say something negative toward him in any manner. One of the things that he got fed up with was members turning the site into a personal blog instead of communicating to whomever through their personal emails.
It was told to me that the above post is why he left and I was expecting more than that,He seems like a Journalist to me;should have thicker skin.I know I would miss all the great things you get on,The pictures,most of all and I read disagreements you have sometimes with Certain CT folks,but you don’t say to heck with it.I wish that Almanac i had had the addresses on all the Drive-ins i submit.I would love to have all the info when I submit a theatre,one reason why I have slacked off with the Drive-ins because more than one CT member has mentioned Me not putting the Address on.Sometimes,some of old theatre managers and doormen will start rapping about the old days of the theatre business I think that personal stories on the business is more important than architects.
Mike, without an architect you wouldn’t have a theatre. Look at the old movie palaces and see what these architects have created. You don’t find that splendor in the theatres built today. So I feel the architects are as important as any stories by managers. I grew up in the theatres being my Grandmother managed for the old Kohm Circuit and even back then even the neighborhhod theatre had a lot of splendor created by the architects. Even the architectual design of a drive-in theatre is an instense creation. As for as Lost Memory in my opinion and many other members of CT know that we lost a great member, propbably the best contributor to the site. Thick skin has nothing to do with it. You don’t know all the facts about him leaving the site.
Hi Chuck. I agree with you 100% about Lost. I believe it may have been my post on the Sunrise Drive In page that noted how Lost’s post above on November 25, 2009, appeared to be his last, and that he seemed to have left in an angry manner. I never intended to suggest that the comment above encapsulated the sole reason for his departure. Clearly, he was fed up and frustrated. I’ve been away from CT for a while, though not because I’ve been deliberately avoiding it, and now that I’m back, I’m saddened that Lost is no longer posting. I hope that he will have a change of heart some day.
Ed, Lost is doing fine and still does a lot of research but for his own personal pleasure. I still talk with him on a regular basis. He has placed most of his interests on other things but still fondly remembers all that he contributed to CT but says he doesn’t miss it.
I miss his humor on so many of his comment posts. I will relay on to him your comments the next time we talk.
Thanks, Chuck. Was also surprised to see Warren G Harris had stopped posting (which also saddened me somewhat, despite my frequent frustration with some of the agitation he caused here)… but, as AlAlvarez suggested to me elsewhere, seems that Warren may still be contributing under a new nom de plume (or nom de keyboard?).
Here it is 2011 and nothing has been done. The drive in could have remained open, at least that would have been better than the weeds.
The drive in was supposed to be replaced with a housing development and probably another blooming shopping center. During one of the Columbia Drive In operating periods it showed only adult films. I cannot remember whether it was over 18 or over 21. During that time the state built the Route 30 bypass behind the theatre. Cars used to park on the shoulder of the bypass to watch the movie. (Who needs sound for an adult film.) The state wanted the drive in owner to install a wall to block the view of the screen from the bypass.
The state also put up no parking signs along that portion of the
road. During the time of the adult presentations I believe the
same person owned the State Theatre in Columbia and that was used
for adult films as well. Just a little bit of trivia.
Thanks Chuck,should have known there was more to the story,just came across it about why he left, and i wondered what had happen to Lost.
Yes, Lost Memory is very much missed as he was one of the best CT members and I do feel his reasons for leaving were well warranted though I wish he had decided to remain a member with his wonderful contributions. Having written this about Lost Memory I don’t intend to write about it here again as these comments should be left to personal email and not taking up space on the subject of this drive-in.