Last Picture Show.Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard LEBANON - Held over! The Motor-Vu Drive-In Theater A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. The screen can be as simple as a wall that is painted white, or it can be a complex steel truss structure with a complex was supposed to be bulldozed this year to make way for a new Wal-Mart Super Center. The bucolic venue got an unexpected encore this summer, however, due to land use challenges by opponents of the proposed retail development. But ... Final Weeks! Must End Soon! Owner Carl Hermansen expects the Southern Willamette Valley's last drive-in picture show to soon go the way of 16 others that once served area moviegoers. Hermansen is not among those fighting the retail giant, which has filed final engineering plans and is set to break ground, unless appeals are upheld by the Lebanon City Council or the state Land Use Board of Appeals. In fact, Hermansen has signed a purchase agreement with the project's developers. After a 29-year run, he expects to show his final film the first weekend in September. Once school resumes and the high school football season gets under way, he said, "We're gonna just punch it - close her down." It will be a sad day for hundreds of customers. Some are local residents who've been Motor-Vu regulars their entire lives. Others make the nostalgia trip from as far away as Portland and the Eugene-Springfield area. What was a standard-issue childhood experience for baby boomers See generation X. has become an exotic adventure for kids such as Amelia Estabrook, 3, and her cousin Kelsey, 7. Nearly every week this summer, Corvallis residents John and Aneka Estabrook have driven the girls to Lebanon and backed their canopy-topped Mazda pickup into a prime space near the Motor-Vu's front row. While the rosy afterglow afterglow small amounts of light emitted by a phosphor after the stimulating radiation has ceased. Seen in x-ray intensifying screens and fluoroscopic screens. of sunset still tints the sky, the two pajama-clad cousins run off steam in a grassy play area below the screen. When the opening credits Opening credits, in a television program, motion picture or videogame, are shown at the beginning of a show and list the most important members of the production. They are usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the begin to roll, however, the girls scamper back and clamber clam·ber intr.v. clam·bered, clam·ber·ing, clam·bers To climb with difficulty, especially on all fours; scramble. n. A difficult, awkward climb. over the open tailgate A conversion layer that lets IDE devices connect to the IEEE 1394 Firewire interface. . Climbing in beside the adults, they settle into sleeping bags and munch homemade popcorn from a large, brown Richey's Market grocery bag. Does the DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. generation enjoy watching movies this way? "Oh, you bet!" Kelsey said - though her aunt noted that she fell asleep halfway into the previous week's first attraction. But, hey, a drive-in's allure has never been about the movie. It's always been about the ambience. The way the clattering clat·ter v. clat·tered, clat·ter·ing, clat·ters v.intr. 1. To make a rattling sound. 2. To move with a rattling sound: clattering along on roller skates. projector's lamp cuts a hazy swath through the darkness. The way bits of dialogue are forever lost to "The snack bar closes in 10 minutes." The way car windows fog up Verb 1. fog up - get foggy; "The windshield fogged up" cloud, overcast - make overcast or cloudy; "Fall weather often overcasts our beaches" around lip-locked couples. No mere "passion pit" In the rearview mirror of pop culture, drive-ins were mostly about those fogged-up windows. From the Everly Brothers' "Wake Up, Little Susie" in 1957 to Nanci Griffith's "Drive-In Movies and Dashboard Lights" in 1989, drive-ins were chronicled as make-out spots. Not an entirely unfair stereotype, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. some longtime Motor-Vu veterans. "We started our family right here," joked one regular, gesturing toward the back seat, prompting a playful slug from his embarrassed wife. Indeed, many couples have gotten a bit carried away over the years, Hermansen said. "We don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. what goes on inside of a car," he said. "That's their business." But he has seen parents pull their teen-age daughters out of steamed-up cars. "I remember one girl who came out with her bra still in her hand," he chuckled. But families with young children were the industry's original target audience. "The Family is King!" proclaimed a 1958 phone book ad for the Eugene Drive-In. The theater, at 2860 Willamette St., boasted a kiddie kid·die or kid·dy n. pl. kid·dies Slang A small child. kiddie Noun Informal a child playground, a mini-train and a bottle-warming service for infant formula Infant formula is an artificial substitute for human breast milk. Formulas are designed for infant consumption, and are usually based on either cow milk or soy milk. Use of infant formula has been decreasing in industrial countries for over forty years as a result of antenatal . Similar parent-friendly perks were available at six other listed drive-ins: Springfield's Modena Motor-Vu and Cascade drive-ins; Bethel's North End Drive-In; Cottage Grove's Morelocks Drive-In; Florence's Rhododendron rhododendron (rō'dədĕn`drən) [Gr.,=rose tree], any plant of the genus Rhododendron, shrubs of the family Ericaceae (heath family) found chiefly in mountainous areas of the arctic and north temperate regions and also of the Drive-In; and the Junction City Junction City, city (1990 pop. 20,604), seat of Geary co., NE Kans., at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill rivers; inc. 1859. The rail, trade, and processing center of an agricultural and dairy area, it grew as the supply point for nearby Fort Riley, Drive-In. It was a savvy marketing strategy for an industry that had its own infancy just 25 years earlier. The world's first drive-in theater opened in Camden, N.J., in 1933, according to the history archive at the Web site drive-ins.com. By the industry's 1958 zenith, more than 5,000 drive-in theaters dotted the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Canada - including 69 in Oregon. Things soon went downhill. Some owners blamed daylight-saving time, nationalized by Congress in 1967, for pushing summer movie starts as late as 10 p.m. Then came competition from air-conditioned, indoor multiplexes, cable TV and home video rentals. Resurgence skips Oregon The United Drive-In Theater Owners Association sees hope for a renaissance. In the last decade, 39 long-dark drive-ins reopened across the country - and 15 new drive-ins were built. Perhaps because of weather, however, Oregon has not been part of that wave. No new drive-ins have opened, and at least eight have closed in recent years. When the final curtain falls on Lebanon's Motor-Vu, only two Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley (pronounced [wɪˈlæ.mɪt], with the accent on the second syllable) is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its outdoor theaters will remain: The Dallas Motor-Vu Drive-In and Newberg's Ninety-Nine West Drive-In. That will leave a real void for Southern Willamette Valley moviegoers such as Kelly and Audra Haines, who recently drove to Lebanon from Springfield to take in a Motor-Vu double feature because they have a new baby and can't take her to an indoor theater. The $10 per carload carload In commodities trading, a railroad car or truckload of grain that ranges from 1,400 to 2,500 bushels. admission also will be missed, said Carol Bennett, a nursing home caregiver from Sweet Home who likes to fill her car with her teen-age grandkids and their friends and head for the drive-in. Though some budget-conscious families bring refreshments from home, the Motor-Vu's snack bar prices also are an economic blast from the past: You still can get a Coke for $1 or a box of Junior Mints Junior Mints are a candy currently produced by Tootsie Roll Industries. They are small rounds of mint filling inside of a dark chocolate coating, sold packaged in varying amounts from a single serving fun size to a much larger 4.75 oz. for 65 cents. Even keeping such prices down, the Motor-Vu remains a profitable business, Hermansen said. During a recent Disney double bill - "Finding Nemo" and "Pirates of the Caribbean This article is about the franchise. For other, more specific uses, see Pirates of the Caribbean (disambiguation). For real pirates, see Piracy in the Caribbean. Pirates of the Caribbean " - the Motor-Vu had a record 21-straight sellouts of its 400-car capacity. Anxious to sell Still, the place is worth so much more as developable real estate that Hermansen is convinced it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to sell, even if the current project is successfully appealed. "Wal-Mart is not the only person interested in the property," he said. At 77, Hermansen and his wife, Shirley, would like to spend more time traveling. Before appeals snarled snarl 1 v. snarled, snarl·ing, snarls v.intr. 1. To growl viciously while baring the teeth. 2. To speak angrily or threateningly. v.tr. the Wal-Mart deal, the pair had bought an RV and planned to spend this summer fishing in Alaska. At the same time, Hermansen understands the popularity of the place. He'd likely be willing to help his son relocate the family business on less expensive property outside of town, he said. However, "The powers that be would never let that happen" under today's urban growth boundary "UGB" redirects here. UGB may also refer to Unión de Guerreros Blancos (White Warriors' Union), a death squad founded to repress leftist elements in El Salvador. An urban growth boundary, or UGB restrictions. So, for a few more weeks, Hermansen will spend Wednesday through Sunday nights in his brown plush recliner at the open door of the theater's concrete block projection room. For a few more weeks, he'll jump up if one of the huge, flat reels of film gets to rollicking rol·lick·ing adj. Carefree and high-spirited; boisterous: a rollicking celebration. rol . For a few more weeks, he'll record his weekly message of theater information (541-258-5432.) Hermansen doesn't just drone the week's showtimes. He still sells each show. "This is the Lebanon Motor-Vu Drive-In," he exhorted last week in his flat vowels. "We are open Wednesday through Sunday. Gates'll be open at 7:30. Show will be at dusk. We're $10 a car. First feature is 'American Wedding,' rated R. It's the third helping of American Pie. ...The second feature is 'Bad Boys 2,' rated R. Thrills and petty blasphemies push things to an unstable extreme." Hermansen's already a bit nostalgic about some memories since buying the theater from original owner Tad Nelson in 1974. "I loved it when it was real foggy or when it snowed," he said. "The colors float in and out - kinda psychedelic. It was fantastic." He won't miss the fights, the drunks or the people who drove off with their speakers still attached, shattering their windows. But he'll certainly miss his regular customers. Even if some know him so well, "They'll stop me right in the street, telling me they don't want me to sell the place." "But that's life," he tells them. "Everything comes to an end." Karen McCowan can be reached at 338-2422 or kmccowan @guardnet.com. NOW SHOWING In 1958, 69 drive-in theaters operated in Oregon. Five remain open today. Besides the Lebanon Motor-Vu, they include: Dallas: Motor-Vu Drive-In LaGrande: LaGrande Drive-In Milton-Freewater: M & F Drive-In Newberg: Ninety-Nine West Drive-In GONE WITH THE WIND Area theaters that have closed since 1958: Eugene: Eugene Drive-In, North End Drive-In Springfield: Cascade Drive-In, Modena Motor-Vu Drive-In Cottage Grove: Morelock's Drive-In Junction City: Junction City Drive-In Florence: Rhododendron Drive-In Coos Bay: Motor-Vu Drive-In Brookings: Red's Drive-In Riddle: Tri-City Drive-In Sutherlin: Cloverleaf Drive-In Roseburg: Pine Motor Drive-In, Starlite Drive-In Albany: Albany Drive-In Sweet Home: Santiam Drive-In Corvallis: Corvallis Drive-In CAPTION(S): Rome Peters, 4, is happy to finally see the line of cars start toward the gates of the drive-in. Cars start lining up more than an hour before the movie starts to get a good spot. "We don't care what goes on inside of a car. That's their business." - CARL HERMANSEN, MOTOR-VU DRIVE-IN THEATER OWNER Theater owner Carl Hermansen watches the movie from a stool outside the projection room of his Lebanon drive-in. |
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