![]() But going to the drive-in is now a huge part of our summer trip to Lubbock each year. resident Amy Stephens mentioned on Facebook, "The Stars and Stripes was not there when I was growing up (in Lubbock). Smith had not even seen this article before last week.Ĭastle Rock, Colo. "Not so in Texas, thanks to the Stars & Stripes Drive-In in Lubbock and New Braunfels." However, drive-in theaters are hard to come by. Yet the Stars and Stripes has met with support, and not just locally.īarely one year ago, Good Housekeeping magazine printed "unappreciated attractions" in the United States, specifically listing only one outside-the-box place to visit in each state.Ĭonsidering all potential attractions throughout Texas, Good Housekeeping printed: "Today's luxury theaters may grab headlines, but the simple pleasure of watching a movie from your car can be more enjoyable. In the 60 years rhat passed, the number of drive-in cinemas in the United States dipped to approximately 325, with fewer than 20 in Texas. True, more than 4,000 drive-ins attracted American moviegoers in 1958. Somewhat remarkable is the risk recognized, and taken, by Smith. However, he said they never sold their house in Lubbock, and are happy to again call Lubbock home. That project dictated that Smith and his family - he and his wife are parents to four daughters, all younger than 10 - live in New Braunfels for an extended time. On April 1, 2015, Smith saw an opportunity to keep sharing the drive-in movie experience, and built another three-screen Stars and Stripes Drive-In in New Braunfels. Space was left for later expansion to three screens, which brought overall capacity to 1,200 cars per night. That is where the Stars and Stripes Drive-In would open, at 5101 Clovis Road in Lubbock, on Aug. He recalled, "In January of 2003, we purchased a Lubbock cotton farm." Drive-in ownership became a hands-on project for Smith. Kirkland showed him everything, from the projector to preparations for the popular Chihuahua sandwiches sold at the concession stand. The first thing Noret did was advise Smith to go see a movie at the Sky Vue Drive-In, opened by Noret in 1948 and owned and operated by Sam Kirkland for almost a quarter century. Smith's family knew the theater business, but some members may have been surprised when he took a career detour, realizing that his dream was for his grandfather to mentor him in the drive-in movie business. By 2002, with Smith in his mid-20s, he could not stop thinking about resurrecting cinematic Americana, taking a contemporary approach to nostalgic family entertainment. "Skeet" Noret, a very well-known theater exhibitor who owned and operated both hard-tops (indoor theaters) and open-airs (outdoor drive-ins) in Lubbock and West Texas. ![]() Other reviews said you can switch films in the intermission but the graphics on the screen said this was not allowed.Ryan Smith had worked part-time at indoor movie theaters while growing up, but never had attended a drive-in movie theater.īut he sure had heard a lot about them from his grandfather, R.A. But it was a lot of fun and effectively two movies for the price of 1 even if we were literally a little Frozen ourselves by the 11pm finish. There weren't many people there, we weren't bothered by anyone else though people do seem to like to move their cars around and few left sidelights on which other people got out and asked them to turn off. ![]() The movie screen was crystal clear, in fact our only challenge on movie number two ironically this was Frozen 2 was out front windscreen misting up due to the cold and we noticed most of the pick ups had changed themselves round to sit inside the cabs. The film audio comes through dedicated FM channels, cute mini movies beforehand all stylised with 1950s graphics tell you what to do. Then off to the fifties diner where food was OK, my grilled chicken was tough and seems to have had an encounter with a microwave on its journey. We chose Spies in Disguise and Frozen 2 as the double feature, parked up in screen three, deciding with our SUV to stay inside the vehicle whilst others got out lawn chairs and reversed into spaces. On arrival you go through toll booths and two adults and one child was about $22. So a December visit to Stars and Stripes was a lot of fun. ![]() We're from the UK so completely unused to drive in movie theatres except what we see in movies themselves. ![]()
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