Harvest Moon Drive-In
1123 S. Sangamon Avenue,
Gibson City,
IL
60936
1123 S. Sangamon Avenue,
Gibson City,
IL
60936
1 person
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The Harvest Moon Drive-In opened in the summer of 1954, which parking for around 300 cars. In 1965, the theater was heavily damaged by a tornado, but was repaired and reopened the next year. Due to declining attendance, the Harvest Moon Drive-In was closed in 1978, but reopened by a new owner two years later.
A storm in 1981 once again inflicted heavy damage to the drive-in, but this time, it wasn’t reopened for nearly eight more years, again by new owners. In 1996, the screen from the Clinton Drive-In was moved to the Harvest Moon, after that nearby drive-in was closed, and the Harvest Moon became a twin.
The drive-in’s season runs from April-September, and it screens first-run features. The Harvest-Moon also hosts car shows and fireworks displays.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
The address for the Harvest Moon Drive In is 1123 S. Sangamom Ave., Gibson City, Il.
This is a photo of the Harvest Moon marquee.
This drive-in was owned and operated by Clifford Orr in 1963.
Here is part of a June 1989 article from the Illinois Daily Herald:
GIBSON CITY, Ill. – With the reopening of a local drive-in theater, “a dinosaur is coining back,” and people once again will be able to enjoy summer evenings and movies simultaneously, says operator Michael Harroun. “There’s been a whole decade of people who haven’t seen them,” said the 33-year-old Onarga resident, who is re-opening the Harvest Moon Drive-In this month with state-of-the art equipment. Harroun and his next-door neighbor, 34-year-old John Talbert, are leasing and remodeling the Harvest Moon on Illinois Route 47 near this east-central Illinois community of 3,500.
Harroun and Talbert think the movie-going public isn’t ready to give up on the drive-in. “I honestly believe these things go in cycles,” said Harroun. “We’ve missed a whole generation. There’s a whole generation that should be able to enjoy a drive-in.” They plan to start showing movies under the stars on June 16, charging $2 a person. The theater will be open Friday through Monday nights through October.
The Harvest Moon Drive-In was closed in 1977 by owner Clifford Orr, who said he quit the business for health reasons. It reopened for a few years in the early 1980s under a lease. It is in relatively good shape, according to Harroun, because it was rebuilt after the screen and concession stand were destroyed by a tornado in 1965.
Harroun and his brother, Patrick, own and operate the Onarga Mode theater, which they opened in 1984, and the Watseka Bon Aire, which opened in 1987. Both are indoor theaters. Harroun and Talbert believe people will travel up to 30 minutes from as far away as Champaign-Urbana and Bloomington-Normal â€" two towns without drive-in movies.
Here is another photo.
This is a 2009 photo.
Harvest Moon goes Green with addition of a wind turbine generator:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGIxh_jcwzc
In 1956 it parked 350 cars and was owned by Clifford Orr.
Thanks agin Mike.
As a Twin it is listed as having accomadations for 500 cars.
More photos of the Harvest Moon Drive-In
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