Pines Drive-In

dallasmovietheaters on August 8, 2015 at 12:01 pm

This is one of “those” drive-ins that was as memorable for its setting as much as its presentation. Ogle Country visitors and residents visiting the White Pines State Park for camping, picnics, and perhaps staying overnight in the camp or using the cabins and lodge found entertainment in the form of the White Pines Roller Rink and as of July 21, 1950 the Pines Drive-In Theater. Conceptualized as the White Pines Drive-In, names for the state park that was across the road, the Pines was operator by Lamb Theatre of Mt. Morris owner Jim Lamb.

The rustic design of the Pines D-I blended with the hills and bluffs surrounding the theater. The 55' high screen tower was constructed of split log and sapling designed to emulate a natural amphitheater. Cedar fencing was at the entrance with a log fence running around the perimeter of the 400-space drive-in lot. The mural on the face of the original screen tower was of White Pines State Park. It was among the most beautiful settings for a drive-in in the Midwestern United States.

The theatre was updated with a new screen tower to allow for widescreen films. Though it lost a lot of its charm, the presentation improved and kept the theater more current. Kerasotes took on the theater in the 1966 season and the theater entertained patrons for decades into the home video era.