Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre

Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre is a single-screen drive-in movie theater located off of Route 309 in Orefield, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the oldest operational drive-in theater in the world It generally operates during weekends in the colder months, while playing films seven days per week during the summer season. Admission gives patrons access to both nightly movie showings.

History


Shankweiler's was opened by Wilson Shankweiler on April 15, 1934, making it the first drive-in theater to open in the state of Pennsylvania and the second drive-in theater to open in the entire United States. Originally located behind his restaurant and inn, the original drive-in was described as a "bedsheet hung between two poles." It opened less than one year after the first-ever American drive-in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey.

In 1948, Shankweiler's installed speaker poles and car speakers. Hurricane Diane in 1955 caused severe damage to the screen and projection booth at Shankweiler's, prompting the construction of a new snack bar/projection booth and installation of a new CinemaScope movie screen.

Shankweiler sold his drive-in in 1965 to Robert Malkames. Under Malkames' ownership, the theater in 1982 adopted micro-vicinity AM radio broadcasting to deliver movie soundtracks to patrons, though the car speakers remained in place.

Malkames sold Shankweiler's to Paul and Susan Geissinger in 1984. Paul Geissinger had worked at Shankweiler's in 1971. In 1986, Shankweiler's was an early adopter of delivering movie sound via FM broadcast stereo, stating on their website to be "the 1st Drive-in to feature audio in FM broadcast Stereo", in 1986; Dromana 3 Drive-In in Melbourne, Australia used FM stereo in 1984. Later, Shankweiler's sound system was upgraded in 2002, and featured fully digital video projection and sound equipment in 2013. The 2013 conversion to digital cost $120,000 and was necessary to continue showing new releases, which would no longer be distributed in 35 mm.

In 2015, the Geissingers listed Shankweiler's Drive-In for sale, and then re-listed it for sale in 2018, with an asking price of $1.2 million.

In November 2022, the theater was sold to Matthew McClanahan and Lauren McChesney, of The Moving Picture Cinema, a mobile movie theater based out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The theater resumed operations and is now open year-round. In April, 2024 the drive-in celebrated its 90th anniversary.