How many drive-in theaters are left in Rhode Island? And how many did there used to be?

Katie Landeck, USA TODAY NETWORK - New England
·4 min read

It was new and still a little odd –the idea was that people would watch a movie outside at night while sitting in their cars.

And though such theaters already existed in New Jersey, California and even as locally as Quincy, Massachusetts, M. A. Finn, the new general manager of the E. M. Loew P Drive-In Theater in Providence still sounded like he was trying to convince people it would work in a Providence Journal article announcing opening night would be Wednesday, July 21, 1937.

The sound horns for the screen can be “plainly heard” from the whole lot (which had previously been the Cycledrome), he told the reporter, trying to clear up any misconceptions.

The first movie shown was “Backstage.” Cars piled into the lot, paying 35 cents per person to take in the new spectacle.

Because for a time, drive-in theaters were part of the peak of summer entertainment.

And then, they weren’t.

“How many drive-in movie theaters still exist in Rhode Island,” a What and Why RI reader wrote in asking.  “How many did there used to be? And where were they?”

How many drive-in theaters did there used to be in Rhode Island?

The Rustic Tri View Drive in North Smithfield file photo.
The Rustic Tri View Drive in North Smithfield file photo.

The E.M. Loew turned out to be the first of several drive-ins as the trend took off. Spurred on by Baby Boomers, the affordable cost and America’s love of automobiles, drive-ins took off as a form of summer entertainment.

In Rhode Island, there were 15 drive-ins at its peak, according to DriveInMovie.com, a website the chronicles the history of drive-in theaters.

In Rhode Island, most of them were constructed in the late 40s and into the early 50s. The drive-in's we were able to track down in the Providence Journal archives include:

What happened to drive-in theaters?

By the late 1950s, drive-ins were everywhere. The United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association says there were 4,063 across the country in 1958.

At the end of 2023, they put the number at 299 drive-ins with 522 screens open.

Under pressure from development and the relatively low per-acre return on investment, many theaters closed.

How many drive-in theaters are left in Rhode Island?

Rustic Tri View Drive In in North Smithfield The Providence Journal, file]
Rustic Tri View Drive In in North Smithfield The Providence Journal, file]

There are two: one historic and one relatively new.

The historic one is the Rustic Tri-View Drive-In, 1195 Eddie Dowling Hwy, North Smithfield, which been showing movies since 1951. With three screens, they still play summer blockbusters every summer. Tickets are $32 for a regular sized car, according to the website.

The new(er) one is the Misquamicut Drive-In, which the Misquamicut Business Association opened in 2010.

“It started out fairly makeshift ... for the first like three years, I ran it out of the back of my Jeep,” said Caswell Cooke, who started the drive-in. “Then as the years have gone on, we actually have a projection shed now. I think we’re legit at this point.”

The drive-in is open five days a week, showing primarily classic films and occasionally bringing in actors and other presenters. Tickets are $25 a car, though some events have special pricing.

“We’re the only people that were crazy enough to start a drive-in the 21st century,” Cooke said. “By the time the 80s came around, drive-in were on their way out. I did get to go to the drive-in when I was little, but when the Westerly Drive-In closed, I think in like 87, I was waiting for the school bus standing in front of this dilapidated drive-in and I was always kind of sad that I missed it. I missed the heyday.”

Now, the theatre shows some of the same films that you could have seen in the heyday, right down to commercials from the 60s and 70s. Newer films, such as “Barbie,” are also in the lineup this summer.

What and Why RI is a weekly feature by The Providence Journal to explore our readers' curiosity. If you have a question about Rhode Island, big or small, email it to [email protected]. She loves a good question.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: How many drive-in theaters are left in Rhode Island?

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