User:TheRubberDuckyOfDoom42/99W Drive-in Theatre



= 99W Drive-In Theatre = The 99W Drive-In Theatre is a drive-in theater located in Newberg, Oregon, and was registered in the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Located in Newberg, Oregon, it is one of three remaining drive-in theaters in the state. Of note are its period-specific architecture, such as the drive-in's 50's era, "googie-style" marque, and the projection booth/concessions building that retains much of its original décor and items. It is one of 325 remaining drive-in movie theaters in the United States.

= Construction = As listed in the official registration provided by the National Parks Service, the 99W Drive-In Theatre qualifies as a cultural center representing modern culture, particularly demonstrating 1950s futurist architecture. The site, constructed in 1953, consists of six contributing resources: the marque, screen, projection booth/cinema house, ticket stand, parking lot, and maintenance shop. The site was built to accommodate up to 300 vehicles, and before the implementation of radio for movie audio in 1983, speaker poles were utilized in the parking lot for transmitting the sound of the film. Much of the site remains original, such as the marque, speaker poles, ticket booth, the interior projection room and the concessions stand. While amenity and audio/visual upgrades have been made, the original items and craftsmanship still remain on display.

= History of the Site = The 99W first opened its doors in the August of 1953 showing the films Sea Devils and Under the Sahara, beginning its tradition of a double-feature that remains to this day. The cost of a ticket was 60 cents, and the 99W opened at the height of drive-in popularity. Postwar America had a booming economy, and the 99W provided entertainment as well as a getaway for teenagers, families, and car enthusiasts. The 99W not only was a movie theater but a part of a cultural milestone, a combination of car culture, economic freedom, and pre-home theater technology. Shows continued every summer, displayed by the 1953 Motiograph projector that still remains in the projection room and occasionally displays trailers and intermission reels at the site. In 1962 the original screen was lost in the Columbus Day Storm, and replaced in 1963 along with a maintenance shop, created specifically for repairs to the theater and sign. The screen was replaced a third and final time in 1990 when strong winds once again destroyed the screen. However, the screen was able to be replaced thanks to a salvaged screen from a closed Portland drive-in. Since the 1990 replacement, the screen has remained intact.

= Preservation and Registration = With the turn of the 1980s, the drive-in struggled to compete with the emerging home theater systems and multiplexes. Such markets could display the latest films with greater convenience and variety, while the 99W was locked to a single screen and expensive film prints as opposed to the new, modernized, digital projector technology that had begun to sweep through the theater industry. The cost of upgrading the 99W to stay relevant was incredibly expensive, with an estimated cost of $65,000 for the projector and $20,000 in installation costs. The future of the 99W and its relevance, as well as upkeep, looked bleak until Honda put forth a voting contest in 2013 designed to protect and upgrade the disappearing American landmarks that were drive-in movie theaters.

In 2013, the 99W was one of five drive-in theaters in the United States that won a digital projector upgrade from Honda, through a voting contest known as "Project Drive-in. Thanks to the overwhelming support and votes for the 99W, Honda paid for and installed the proper projection equipment alongside the traditional film reel projector to aid the modernization of the theater, so that the 99W could continue to display current films, the most pressing concern for the aging landmark. The upgrade saved the 99W from closure and preserved its status as a functioning historic monument for generations to come. A year later, the site was registered with the National Park Service to protect and showcase a piece of American history, slowly fading from the country. As of 2021, the 99W operates Fridays to Sundays in the summer, bouncing between old classics, new releases, and always offers a slice of American history with the double-features.

= References =


 * Francis, Brian. "About Us," Newberg Movies. http://www.99w.com/aboutus.htm.
 * Mohan, Marc. "Newberg's 99W Drive-In Theatre named to National Register of Historic Places" Special to the Oregonian. 1999, uploaded 2014, updated 2019. https://www.oregonlive.com/movies/2014/08/newbergs_99w_drive-in_theatre.html


 * Penelly, A. M. "Motors and Movies," Portland Business Journal. August 20, 2000. https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2000/08/21/focus2.html.


 * Staub, Colin. "99W Drive-in prepared to open for the season," The Portland Tribune. March 23, 2016 https://pamplinmedia.com/nbg/298868-176620-99w-drive-in-prepared-to-open-for-the-season
 * "Drive-in Theaters located in Oregon" Drive-in Movie, 2021. https://www.driveinmovie.com/OR.htm
 * "Drive-in Theaters located in the United States" Drive-in Movie, 2021. https://www.driveinmovie.com/
 * "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, 99W Drive in Theatre" Department of the Interior, National Parks Service. May 28, 2014. https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/14000401.pdf
 * "99w Drive-in Theatre" https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/14000401.htm

= External Links =