Wendle Ford has been around since 1943. With all those years comes a lot of history. Did you know that our dealership at the Y was formerly a drive-in movie theater?
Click Read the rest of this entry below the photo to learn about the history of the drive-in theater in Spokane, WA and sign up for our FREE movie night at Wendle Ford.
History
What comes to mind when thinking of the good old days? Drinking soda out of a bottle, library card catalogs and the drive-in movie.
The first drive-in movie theater opened in 1933. Richard Hollinghead patented the park-in theater, coming up with the idea when his mother had a difficult time sitting comfortably in a movie theater seat. He charged 25 cents per person and 25 cents per car, but no more than $1.00 per group.
The drive-in movie became most popular in the late 1950s to the mid 1960s. Back during these times, the drive-in movie was a great money-making business. In their heyday, the country had over 5,000 theaters.
Spokane Drive-Ins
Over the years, Spokane had six drive-in movie theaters.
1946: East Trent Motor-In Theatre – 1954 name changed to East Trent Drive-In – closed 1986
1946: Auto-Vue Drive-In – closed in mid 1980s
1949: East Sprague Drive-In – closed 1993
1952: West-End Drive-In – closed 1983
1952: Y Drive-In – closed 1985
1966: North Cedar Drive-In – closed 1993
1972: Starlite Drive-In – closed 1984
In 1952, the drive-in known as the Y Drive-In Theatre, opened at our location. The theater was developed by Morrie Nimmer and was the fourth drive-in movie theater in the Spokane area. The Y Drive-In could hold up to 500 cars. The first movie shown was “Broken Arrow” with James Stewart. Mr. Nimmer operated the drive-in for over 30 years. His daughter, Sue Nimmer Shaw, worked at the drive-in’s box office and snack bar from age 12-20, including in the position as manager. The last movie at the Y Drive-In Theatre was shown in 1985.
More Spokane History
When Wendle took over the Y Drive-In property in 1993, they moved in next door to another family-owned business, Mel’s Nursery, owned by Sue Nimmer Shaw and her husband Mel. Mel’s originally started their business in 1970 just down the street from the Wendle location at the Auto-View Drive-In, owned by Morrie Nimmer. In 1983, they moved near the Y Drive-In Theatre. Mel’s remained at this location for 30 years before selling the property to Wendle in 2013.
“We weren’t really looking to sell and they weren’t looking to buy. It is just something that happened and I am glad that Wendle has my Dad’s old theater property and now ours, too. There is no one I would rather sell to. Wendle has been a great neighbor. This is a good business opportunity for both of us. Mel’s has always been fortunate in having great employees, some of which have been with us for over 30 years. We are going to miss all of them, because they are much more than employees to us, they are family. On behalf of all of us at Mel’s Nursery, we want to thank the community and all of our loyal customers for making Mel’s what it is today. This business decision is bittersweet, but just another chapter in our lives. I am not ready to retire and not quite sure what I will do now. So, don’t be surprised if somewhere down the path, there will be another mini-Mel’s.”—Sue Nimmer Shaw
Drive-Ins Dwindle
During the 1970s, with the rise of gasoline prices, people were buying smaller cars. This made it less comfortable to enjoy a movie in the car. So began the dwindling of the drive-in movie. Then in the 1980s came the onslaught of home entertainment systems. People were enjoying movies at home rather than leaving their comfy couch and bottomless popcorn. Today, there are less than 300 drive-in movie theaters in the United States.
Throwback to the Good Old Days
While we no longer have the drive-in movie in Spokane, Wendle Ford will for one night only. We are hosting the Movie Nights with Ford where the Y Drive-In Theatre used to operate.
Movie: Back to the Future (1985)
Date: Friday, September 23rd
Time: 7:30pm
Movie rating: PG
Movie length: 116 minutes
Location: Wendle Ford, 9000 N Division St, Spokane WA
Cost: It’s FREE!
Register: Please let us know you are attending at surveymonkey.com/r/WendleDriveIn
Load up the family and come enjoy a movie night on us. Point the back of your truck to the screen, recline in a lawn chair with a blanket and watch. Or you can listen inside your car through your FM radio.
The Taste of Insanity food truck will be on the lot and so will the Surge Coffee truck! Enjoy some crazy good food and some yummy drinks to keep you warm.
We hope to see you as we reminisce about going to the drive-in on a date or with the whole family in the old station wagon. Bring the kids and let them experience what you did growing up, an era of drive-ins and soda in a bottle.
Connect with us
