Fair Oaks Drive-In
365 Bloomingburg Road,
Middletown,
NY
10940
365 Bloomingburg Road,
Middletown,
NY
10940
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The Main original screen is one of the largest in New York State.Good turn out for the summer of 2022. Delicious fresh cheeseburgers crinkle cut french fries very friendly staff
Opened on 15/5/1970 with “Johnny Cash! The man, his World, his mucic” and “The trouble with girls”.
Somebody at the Fair Oaks, possibly Mege, got misinformed about the opening date. A 2001 article in the Times Herald-Record said “Then in 1990, (Ron Mege) took on the ruins of Fair Oaks. Built in 1967, it closed in 1981. Mege started with nothing but bare walls. He built the projection equipment, rewired the place, even built one of the screens himself.”
And an Oct. 14, 2017 post on the drive-in’s official Facebook page accompanied photos of replacing its marquee sign. “Sign was put up in 1967 new sign being put up but first old one needed to come down”.
The trouble with that is the 1968 photo of the location on Historic Aerials showing no trace of a drive-in at the time. So it looks like we can trust New York Drive-Ins‘ newspaper ads for the Gala Opening of the All New Fair Oaks in May 1970.
Multiple sources online say the Fair Oaks opened in 1970 as a single screen. The first newspaper ad I could find that mentioned it was in 1972.
In August 1976, owner E.J. Taylor became an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church and planned to seek a tax exemption “as soon as I can do it.”
I don’t think the Fair Oaks ever made it into the International Motion Picture Almanacs' lists. Perhaps it was overshadowed by the Middletown Drive-In, also owned by Taylor.
The Fair Oaks was still open and advertising in September 1981. The story is that it closed after that season.
A May 2000 article in The New York Post said that Ron Mege had “operated the Fair Oaks since 1991”. The Times Herald-Record of Middletown wrote in May 2016 that “Ron Mege, who ran the theater from 1990 to 2013” was returning to restore and reopen the Fair Oaks again.
Between the Mege administrations, there was a year or two of some shenanigans and legal issues. The drive-in was closed in 2014. It reopened in May 2015 thanks to another couple who apparently brought a digital projector with them from a Vermont drive-in. That couple was later sued by the Vermont Attorney General’s office for allegedly “making deceptive representations in connection with a fundraiser.” They denied wrongdoing, and I don’t know the status of that lawsuit.
Mege had apparently added a second screen during his first tour of duty, but the Fair Oaks operated recently with just one active screen. They added a second digital projector in June 2017, and both screens are active again.
This is great news.
The Drive In is open now, weekends at this point, planned for full time when schools are out for summer vacation in June. Wonderful article in the local paper… http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150522/NEWS/150529715/0/SEARCH
A small group of fans of this theater is planning a party at this theater in July. You are invited. Lots of details at the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1389397568034298/
Fair Oaks Drive-In will reopen for 2015.
Very sad news indeed. :(
Terrible news!
:(
Sadly the Fair Oaks Drive in DID NOT OPEN and is NOT OPEN
They tried to work out a deal with the land owner. But that fell thru. The phone number 845-361-5114 is now disconnected. The webiste is gone
Lets see. It would be GREAT to see the Fair Oaks Drive in open again. It has been running since 1990. When Ron Merge the former owner and operator departed, after 23 successful seasons in 2013.. The Overlook Drive in in Poughkeepskie and The Hyde Park Drive in do very well. Having 4 different Drive In’s within 45 to 70 minutes from where I live is quite a treat.
Great news.
The drive-in’s web site now states “ Well it looks like we will see you all in April after all !!!!!
Stay Tuned !!
Things are looking up!
Lets hope.
Let’s hope someone can get the theater reopened and in time for a full season too.
Several people are looking to operate and RE-OPEN this GREAT Drive In Movie Theatre! The former owner had it for 23 years. Yes the cost if digital was one of the reasons he did not continue. It IS a very busy Drive In. As I have been going there since 1997.
The main screen, IS the biggest in New York State
I saw a post on Facebook that indicated the cost of converting to digital was a good part of not being able to continue operations. This was a great Drive-In when it was built in the 1960’s by the Taylor family, who also owned the Middletown Drive In and the Rock Hill Drive In. As I recall, it had the largest Drive-In screen in NY State when it was built. It had car heaters to allow operation longer in the spring and fall.
Didn’t they covert to digital last year? I thought Hyde Park, Overlook, Warwick and this theater had all converted.
It looks like this theatre closed at the end of the 2013 season as its website now only states that it is for sale.
http://www.thefairoaksdrivein.com