Pennsylvania has 29 drive-in theaters, with the oldest one in America located in Lehigh County. There are also four in midstate Dauphin County, York County, Juniata County, and Cumberland County.
Shankweiler’s Drive-In, the oldest one, was founded in the early 1930s in Orefield, a town with more than 8,000 people. The Guinness Book of Records recorded this theater, which opened in April 1934, as being constructed in less than a year after the first one in New Jersey.
The drive-in underwent steady development
According to Shankweiler’s Drive-In website, speakers poles and car speakers were set up in 1948. Later on, a new CinemaScope Screen, a snack bar, a projection room, and a restroom building were added. In 1982, AM radio micro-vicinity broadcasting was launched, leading to FM radio micro-vicinity four years later.
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The drive-in theater, which is 89 years old, was the pioneer in using FM broadcast stereo for audio. Additional upgrades such as Red LED Spectral recorded analog soundtrack readers, a cinema sound processor, and a digital projector were added. In 2022, Shankweiler’s was bought by new owners who now operate it year-round.
