66 Drive-In is a historic

drive-in theater A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers ...

national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located on

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

Jasper County, Missouri Jasper County is located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 122,761. Its county seat is Carthage, and its largest city is Joplin. The county was organized in 1841 and named for W ...

. The theater opened on September 22, 1949, four years before the first local television stations signed on in the Joplin-

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

area. (includes 12 photographs from 2002) In an era before widespread adoption of

transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...

s and before the invention of

integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

car radio Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the vehicle occupants. Until the 1950s it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions since then have included FM radio (1952), 8-t ...

s were not standard equipment in all vehicles. The few radios installed in vehicles were of

vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. The type kn ...

design and power-hungry by modern standards. A series of poles in the car park of the nine-acre site were therefore deployed to hold

loudspeakers A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an Acoustical engineering#Electroacoustics, electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often ...

so that viewers could hear the movie. The Double Bill

When television became a rival to

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...

in the 1950s,

movie studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

s went to

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...

format to differentiate their product from broadcast TV; the drive-in's screen was widened sometime after 1953 to accommodate the change in format. A playground was added on-site during the

baby boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds of defined national and cultural populations. People born during these periods are often ca ...

era. The cinema was closed in 1985, but was renovated and reopened in 1998. It now shows two movies Friday, Saturday, Sunday every week. The speakers are now gone, although the poles which once supported them remain. A drive-in movie venue with many strong similarities to the original 66 Drive-In design (such as the original 4:3 screen aspect ratio, pole-mounted speakers and

neon signage In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...

on the marquée) appears during the epilogue of

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

's 2006 film ''

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

''. The fictional drive-in is depicted as screening parody versions of other Pixar feature films.

References

External links

National Register of Historic PlacesOfficial site
{{National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Buildings and structures in Jasper County, Missouri Drive-in theaters in the United States Cinemas and movie theaters in Missouri Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66 Tourist attractions along U.S. Route 66 Rebuilt buildings and structures in the United States Tourist attractions in Jasper County, Missouri Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri 1949 establishments in Missouri 1985 disestablishments in Missouri 1998 establishments in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Jasper County, Missouri Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Entertainment companies established in 1949 Entertainment companies disestablished in 1985 Re-established companies Entertainment companies established in 1998

See also

References

External links