My Drive-In May Rise from the Dead

My friend sent me a link to a new article about West Chicago's Cascade Drive-In, a theater which has been closed for over a year now.

As the drive-in of my childhood, its closure hit me particularly hard.

Not a lot of good has come out of the current pandemic we're experiencing. But here's something: with all the repercussions of coronavirus, the entertainment biz seems to have realized that people are not going to want to gather in movie theaters together any time soon.

But they might be willing to see movies in their cars.

This is great news for the drive-in theaters. They've always been a huge part of America's social history, but they're always overlooked. This might give us the chance to make sure that the drive-in doesn't die.

According to the Daily Herald, the owners of the land where Cascade used to sit are in talks with theater management about the possibility of reopening the drive in.

True, they said it probably wouldn't be in the immediate future (they sold all the equipment that the location used when it shut down last March, including all the car speakers), but that's not what's important to me. Frankly, all I care about is that this drive-in opens again.

This could actually be great for Cascade. As I mentioned, it was a theater that desperately needed an update. Now that everything is sold off, maybe this would give Cascade the chance to invest in important new amenities like better concessions and restrooms.

It's really exciting to think about what opportunities this presents. I'm really hoping that Cascade makes the comeback I always hoped for.

x