Mini Drive-In Theatre Joplin Missouri Historical Page

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

01/01/2025

12/23/2024

Have a Merry Christmas!

06/06/2024

June 6 is National Drive-In Movie Day to commemorate the day the first drive-in theater opened in 1933.

On June 6, 1933, eager motorists park their automobiles on the grounds of Camden Drive-In, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

Park-In Theaters–the term “drive-in” came to be widely used only later–was the brainchild of Richard Hollingshead, a movie fan and a sales manager at his father’s company, Whiz Auto Products, in Camden. Reportedly inspired by his mother’s struggle to sit comfortably in traditional movie theater seats, Hollingshead came up with the idea of an open-air theater where patrons watched movies in the comfort of their own automobiles.

He experimented in the driveway of his own house with different projection and sound techniques, mounting a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, pinning a screen to some trees, and placing a radio behind the screen for sound. He also tested ways to guard against rain and other inclement weather, and devised the ideal spacing arrangement for a number of cars so that all would have a view of the screen.

The young entrepreneur received a patent for the concept in May of 1933 and opened Park-In Theaters, Inc. less than a month later, with an initial investment of $30,000. Advertising it as entertainment for the whole family, Hollingshead charged 25 cents per car and 25 cents per person, with no group paying more than one dollar. The idea caught on, and after Hollingshead’s patent was overturned in 1949, drive-in theaters began popping up all over the country. One of the largest was the All-Weather Drive-In of Copiague, New York, which featured parking space for 2,500 cars, a kid’s playground and a full service restaurant, all on a 28-acre lot.

Credit and LINK TO FULL ARTICLE HERE!
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-drive-in-movie-theater-opens

03/09/2024

Beautiful day to peruse thru some old movie posters and have some fresh popped popcorn! Greenwood Country Store LLC has your ticket! Enjoy some of the last remaining items that hung on the walls of Eastgate Theatre!

03/08/2024

Ever wanted to own movie works of Art? These movie posters from the 1980's are just that! A lot of the Theatres now are going to monitors. Here is your chance to own some of the last pieces of of Eastgate Theatre in Joplin that still exist! The 3RD batch of Vintage Original Movie Posters from Eastgate is here at Greenwood Country Store LLC! We are open TODAY-Saturday from 10am to 6pm.

02/29/2024

Ever wanted to own movie works of Art? These movie posters from the 1980's are just that! A lot of the Theatres now are going to monitors. Here is your chance to own some of the last pieces of of Eastgate Theatre in Joplin that still exist! The 2nd batch of Vintage Original Movie Posters from Eastgate is here at Greenwood Country Store LLC! We are open tomorrow Thursday-Saturday from 10am to 6pm. And Sunday 12pm - 5pm.

02/24/2024

The long awaited Eastgate movie posters are here at Greenwood Country Store LLC!!! These are vintage movie poster collectables that have been priced and cleaned from being in storage for over 30 years. This is the 1st batch and more will be available in the coming weeks! We are open today from 10am - 6pm and Sunday from 12pm - 5pm.

02/20/2024

Ever wanted to own on of the last pieces of history from one of the favorite local theatres ? Well, now is your chance. Coming soon to Greenwood Country Store LLC are "Vintage Authentic Original" 1 sheet posters sent to Eastgate Theatre in Joplin from the movie studios over 30 years ago. These are not reproductions or fake and have the "NSS" National Screen Service numbers on the bottom of the posters. They were recently pulled out of storage and in fair to nearly mint condition. Also I know the person quite well who has these posters. That person is me. I worked there in the 1980's and was one of the few who would received the weekly posters. We are in the process of getting them priced. Check back "Very soon" for when they are available!!!

01/31/2024

Here's another interesting find! Enjoy!

01/01/2023

Happy New Year!