REQUIEM FOR A COOL DRIVE-IN
At 1900 Douglas Avenue, north of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Douglas Drive-In made people happy for three decades after its opening in 1955.  Even in 1983, when I last saw movies there, the Douglas was frozen in the past.  The film shorts for the concession stand treats and mosquito repellent were relics from the early 60s, and the clunky aluminum window speakers squawked in a voice from long ago....  The photos below are a tribute to a great drive-in that has faded back into a country field...   [Go HERE for complete text]           Click on any thumbnail for full-size image.

The Douglas in its Heyday!  September 1964 		warning.jpg (28889 bytes)
 Tire Damage! 1990		 projection.jpg (23668 bytes)
Projection House 1990		 megan.jpg (25325 bytes)
Megan by the House 1990		 housegone.jpg (49445 bytes)
Where'd it Go? 1997		 tiles.jpg (51432 bytes)
Houseless Tiles 1997
oldsign.jpg (37835 bytes)
Old Sign 1985 Photo: Phil Mitchell		 block.jpg (73708 bytes)
Signless Block 1997		 tickets.jpg (24421 bytes)
Tickets! (Courtesy of Dan Eddington)		 surface.jpg (41445 bytes)
Close-up of Screen 1997

tilesclose.jpg (64596 bytes)
Abstract Art: Close Tiles 1999
annemarie.jpg (36757 bytes)
A burger before
Drive-In Date 1983		 fieldpoles.jpg (27520 bytes)
Field of Poles 1990		 kathryn.jpg (32515 bytes)
Kathryn Looms 1995		 jungle.jpg (30428 bytes)
Welcome to the Jungle 1997		 sidesign.jpg (29012 bytes)
Mighty Screen 1997
madmax.jpg (87711 bytes)
Last Show vs. Black Flag 1985		 poles.jpg (35986 bytes)
Standing Tall 1997		 99sign.jpg (34258 bytes)
Screen at Dusk 1999		 field.jpg (25476 bytes)
View from Screen 1999		 tundra.jpg (27472 bytes)
Desolate Tundra 2000

MORE PHOTOS! View the Twilight Zone Specter of the nearby 131 Drive-In HERE
waterfront.jpg (31751 bytes)
First Show 1955		 signclose.jpg (52902 bytes)
Screen Structure 1997		 stilllife.jpg (49527 bytes)
Still Life with Pole 1999		 lastpoles.jpg (29933 bytes)
Last Row of Poles 1999		 box2.jpg (36884 bytes)
Original Projector Breakerbox

History of Kalamazoo Drive-In Theatres -- 1948 to 1985

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