Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre

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.^[1][5] While passing through Camden, New Jersey, Shankweiler had learned about the first-ever American drive-in theater, opened less than a year before by Richard Hollingshead.^[6] He decided to bring the business to Pennsylvania with the goal or attracting visitors to his other businesses.^[7] Originally located behind his restaurant and inn, the original drive-in was called Shankweiler's Auto Park and described as a "bedsheet hung between two poles."^[8][9] While the theater initially showed silent films, audio was later broadcast to the audience through two large speakers.^[7][10] According to future owner Paul Geissinger, the lot had previously been a landing strip behind the hotel for pilots to fly in to visit.^[11]

In 1939, a new model RCA Victor projector was introduced.^[12] In 1948, Shankweiler's installed speaker poles and car speakers.^[1] 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.^[13]

The Shankeiler family continued to run the businesses, selling the restaurant in the mid-1950s. Shankweiler died in 1963 and the drive-in was sold in 1965 to Robert Malkames who had been leasing it for several years prior.^[14][15][7] 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.^[16][1]

Malkames sold Shankweiler's to Paul and Susan Geissinger in 1984.^[15] Paul Geissinger had worked at Shankweiler's since 1971, beginning shortly after his high school graduation.^[11][13] In 1986, Shankweiler's became an early adopter of delivering movie sound via FM broadcast stereo; although their website describes them as "the 1st Drive-in to feature audio in FM broadcast Stereo," the Dromana 3 Drive-In in Melbourne, Australia had introduced FM stereo two years earlier in 1984.^[16][17] Later, Shankweiler's sound system was upgraded in 2002, and featured fully digital video projection and sound equipment in 2013.^[13][15] 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.^[18]

In 2005 and again in 2010, Shankweiler's was used as a filming location for the movies Rounding First and Bereavement.^[19][20] 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.^[15]

In November 2022, the theater was sold for $1.05 million to Matthew McClanahan and Lauren McChesney^[21] of The Moving Picture Cinema, a mobile movie theater based out of Allentown, Pennsylvania.^[22][23] The theater resumed operations and is now open year-round.^[24] In April, 2024 the drive-in celebrated its 90th anniversary.^[9]