Twin Drive-In

The thought of teaching 6-year-olds to drive at a drive-in theater seems so weird today that I’m hanging on to this note in the June 6, 1960 issue of Boxoffice:

Since 1958, many drive-in theatres have earned goodwill by sponsoring safe driving course on their grounds for kids from six to 12. The courses are under the auspices of Junior Crusaders National Ass’n., Inc., a nonprofit organization.

The Twin Drive-In Theatre, Cincinnati, was one of the first drive-ins to promote this successful program. One of the attendant goodwill features is the approval of and attendance at the opening by civic, religious and educational leaders, and the widespread publicity received.

Youngsters participating are divided into three groups: the six to seven-year olds, the eight to nine-year children and the ten through 12-year youths. They drive small, gas-driven convertibles on a course designed with simulated traffic and highway conditions to help them learn traffic safety laws.

The cars are sponsored by local or national advertisers; the theatre provides the track.

If I remember right I got to see GODZILLA:KING OF THE MONSTERS here in the late fifties for my birthday. It was raining and wonderful!

May 26th, 1949 grand opening ad in photo section

Hi Mark,

I would like to see that ad for Cinerama. I have a web site all about Cinerama and would add the ad to the Twin Drive-In.

http://cineramahistory.com/twindirve-in.htm

Thanks,

Roland

I only lived a block away, it was my childhood going every weekend with my family. PG films on the reading rd side, R rated films on the norwood side . My main memories of course was seeing Bruce Lee films there & at the end of each film there were lights that came on located at the very top of the screen , swings in front of the theater where kids played until it got dark. Good memories .

Aerial view from 1970. National Amusements got out the drive-in theater business at the end 1986. They shut down all three of their DI’S in Toledo, Ohio that year. Looking at the 2012 Goggle earth view it looks like the 12 screen theater that replaced the Twin DI was demolished also. Maybe it was of theaters that they had to sell or shut down to pay off there debt?

August 9 1974 NOW SHOWING AT THE TWIN DRIVE-In. “MAGNUM FORCE” which the ad had rated as PG.Which is a typo.It is rated “R”. and second feature is “MACKINTOSH MAN” . Funny,but this same double feature played at the HILLTOP DRIVE-In ,In North Augusta,S.C..

On the second screen is “JOHNNY TOUGH” rated G and “DOBERMAN GANG” rated G.

Ran WINDJAMMER in CINERAMA from 7/20/60 until 8/8/60. Harald Tusberg, Sven Erik Libaek, Kaare Terland from the film sang live. The ad showed a 3-headed CINEMIRACLE camera and had the CINERAMA logo. Advertised as “Only showing in a 4 state area as originally presented at the Capitol Theatre in CINERAMA”. While this was showing on one screen, the other screen was running CIRCUS OF HORRORS and AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN. Source is ads from Cincinnati Enquirer.

It was not a used car lot, it was bought by GM to park and ship cars from the nearby Norwood Assembly plant until it closed.