Pennsylvania Is Home To America’s Oldest Drive-In Theater

According to DriveInMovie, Pennsylvania has up to 29 drive-in theaters left, including the oldest in America, which is located in Lehigh County. The state also has four of them in midstate Dauphin County, York County, Juniata County, and Cumberland County.

The oldest, Shankweiler’s Drive-In, was established in the early ‘30s in Orefield, which is home to over 8,000 residents. The Guinness Book of Records documented the theater, which opened in April 1934 to have been built less than a year after the first ever in New Jersey.

The drive-in underwent steady development

Per Shankweiler’s Drive-In website, speakers poles and car speakers were installed in 1948, followed by a new CinemaScope Screen, a snack bar, a projection room, and a restroom building years later. In 1982, AM radio micro-vicinity broadcasting was introduced, paving the way for FM radio micro-vicinity four years later.

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The 89-year-old drive-in was the first to feature audio in FM broadcast stereo. More features like Red LED Spectral recorded analog soundtrack readers, a cinema sound processor, and a digital project were installed, and in 2022, Shankweiler’s was acquired by the owners, who keep it open all year round.

More on Shankweiler’s

The legendary drive-in is now owned by Lauren McChesney and Matthew McClanahan, who bought it from previous owners Paul and Susan Geissinger in November 2022. McChesney said it was the perfect time to buy the theater, which was fast becoming a “gas station” after being on sale for years.

The couple, who run a pop-up movie company called The Moving Picture Cinema, sought to create outdoor movie experiences, especially due to the pandemic lockdown. “We stepped in and helped indoor theaters stay open by doing outdoor programming for indoor theaters that were closed throughout the lockdowns, and then that sort of really grew our company,” Matthew told USA Today.