Mahoning Drive-In

MichaelKilgore on October 28, 2017 at 1:10 am

Although the drive-in’s old web site (seen at Archive.org) claimed the Mahoning opened in 1948, that’s just wrong. The March 26, 1949 Billboard magazine said that Max Korr “in association with Mitchell Rappeport and others” was building a drive-in in Mahoning Valley. The first time it was mentioned in The Morning Call of Allentown was April 18, 1949 when it wrote that “the theatre has been completed” and that it “will bring to this section one of the nation’s finest theatres.” And there was a later interview with a guy “who witnessed the theater’s opening in 1949”.

The Mahoning’s first appearance in the Theatre Catalog series was the 1949-50 edition; the listed “Exec” was Max Korr, and its capacity was 500. In the 1952 TC, the exec/owner was “A. M. Ellis Th. Ct.” and the capacity was bumped to 600. In the 1955-56 edition, the exec/owner was James Humphries.

The Morning Call wrote on May 23, 1952 that Mitchell Rapaport, president of the Mahoning Corporation, had sued the drive-in and A. M. Ellis Theatres Co. Separately, the drive-in had sued Ellis Theatres for interfering with operations. It was a complicated, long story of loans, intertwined businesses, and hiring Max M. Korr Enterprises two weeks earlier to buy and book films.

An auction notice for the drive-in (725 car capacity), its lease, equipment, and name was in the Oct. 4 Philadelphia Inquirer. Five days later, The Morning Call wrote it was sold at auction by the Ellis Theater Company to Dr. Joseph J. Humphries and R. C. H. Becker Sr. “Both men had been associated with the operation of the theatre,” wrote the Mauch Chunk Times-News.

Amazingly, it gets more confusing. The Nov. 15, 1952 issue of Billboard magazine said the Mahoning was sold at auction to Max Korr and associates.

Despite the sale, the Motion Picture Almanacs continued to list Ellis Theatres as the owner through the 1961 edition. At first the capacity was 500, then in 1956, the capacity dropped to 450, where it stayed. The owner for at least the 1963-66 editions was Claude Reinhard, who had founded Palmerton TV Signal Corporation, an early cable TV company.

The MPAs didn’t list owners for at least 1969-76. After that, the editions on my shelf list the Mahoning’s owner as:
1978: Riant Entp.
1980-82: J. Morgan.
1984-88: J. Farruggio.

The Morning Call wrote on Aug 23, 1992 that Amos Theaters Inc. (owned by Joseph Farruggio) had owned the Mahoning since 1981. Its manager was described as “an employee of the Palmerton Telephone Company”.

On Aug. 22, 1997 The Morning Call wrote about Farruggio preparing to show adult movies and trying not to run afoul of the Carbon County DA. “He’s shown no movies this year, but now says he’ll play the explicit films two weeks to maintain the drive-in’s 49 years of continuous operation, then close again.” Farruggio said he needed the proceeds to pay overdue taxes. (He eventually backed down and showed Mimic and Copland instead.) He had been battling “for five years” to get permits to add three screens. The drive-in is adjacent to an airport (then Carbon County, now Jake Arner Memorial) so the FAA was involved.

In 1998, the Mahoning opened for only a few weeks because health permits “require the facility to be open at least one night a year.”

I’m not sure when Mike and Deb Danchak came in, or there were other owners in between. In 2013, as the digital conversion loomed, the drive-in had a misadventure starring a guy who said he fixed up drive-ins but never told me which ones. My story and that guy’s comment can be found here.

The Morning Call called Jeff Mattox “a new owner” on October 23, 2014. He joined with two former Temple University film students, Virgil Cardamone and Matthew McClanahan, to embrace the 35mm nostalgia factor and keep the Mahoning running film even today.

welder1977 on April 7, 2018 at 3:41 am

Neon Michael has some very interesting facts and again excludes William C Shirar and Loretta K Shirar were also partners with Dr Humpries and Mr Becker. There was another business and partnership the Mahoning Valley Floral Conmpany located south of the Drive In.SAd thing everyone has passed away so the facts are messed up! Thank You and named Mahoning was a Native American word for a creek or a lick hence the name Mahoning.

DavidZornig on April 8, 2019 at 1:35 am

Video of the unveiling of the repaired marquee last May.

https://www.tnonline.com/mahoning-drive-theater-unveils-repaired-marquee?fbclid=IwAR0XtAomdRnGHBbqBMMVX5TgQ9zQl-bMYSTurxw-P2ollaUWSjnYxA3Tleo

DavidZornig on July 17, 2021 at 12:06 am

Current article that says the solar company looking to buy the land has backed off.

https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/carbon-county/mahoning-drive-in-theater-saved-in-one-day/523-f8e615ee-1b2f-49f2-a896-db6a17345a9a?fbclid=IwAR120tInN2tCHt70CvlBurlZPIKX0HhJ1n7PZ-DlGkxGC3VUeCnZKMzhcgM

muviebuf on April 25, 2024 at 7:04 pm

The future of this cult 35MM retro Drive In is currently in doubt due to the April 13, 2024 death of business owner and projectionist Jeff Mattox who was its heart and soul. Mattox died suddenly of complications following surgery.

Further adding to the concerns is the ongoing court fight with Mahoning Township over the whether the Drive In is considered to be a campground since it hosts many overnight campers and tents every weekend as part of shows. In June 2022 the Drive In was cited by the Mahoning Township Zoning officer for running a campground since the Drive In area is not zoned for campgrounds in Mahoning Township. The Drive In took an appeal of the township’s citation to the Mahoning Township Zoning Hearing Board which in a 2 to 1 decision found for the Drive In partly on the basis that the Mahoning Zoning Ordinance does not contain a definition of what constitutes a campground. The township then appealed the Zoning Board decision to the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas which reversed and sent the case back to the Zoning Hearing Board. The Drive In then appealed that Common Pleas decision to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and it is on the Commonwealth Court docket scheduled for May 7, 2024.