York Daily Record from York, Pennsylvania • 61

COVEHGTOHY Another chance: The Lincoln Drive-in reopens Zty. "4 I 4 Record photos by Bowden The patron above Is checking into the Lincoln at dusk to see link Cadillac in a Ford pickup ring-side seat At left, a youthful patron surveys the Lincolns foil-wrapped fare which includes hot dogs and those Shrimply delicious Fla-vo shrimp rolls. weekends only, and the Strines-town, which stays afloat by screening adult-only fare. Some of the others have been developed for other uses, leaving no evidence of their theatrical existence. And the Stonybrook, the Cross Keys, and the Shore stand idle, their tattered screens, crumbling marquees, and rusting playground equipment serving as monuments to a once-favored style of entertainment.

AMC declined to re-open the Stonybrook for a very simple reason: why compete with yourself? We operate an indoor theater on the same site, said Mr. Woolery, and we didnt want to take any business away from York-4. That decision made, the company cannibalized the Stonybrook in order to re-open the Lincoln. The sound equipment from the Stonybrook, thats at the Lincoln, said Tim Blank, AMCs drive-in superviwor, we, stripped the projection equipment for spare parts. For about 10 years, the Lincoln operated year-round, even in the dead of winter.

Mr. Sitlinger had the snow plowed. The theater provided electric in-car heaters. And the show went on. Once we had a real bad winter, and snow drifted to the top of the snack bar, he recalled.

The plow couldnt handle it, and we were closed for two or three days, but that was the only time. The 810-space Lincoln is considered mid-sized by drive-in standards. The relative success, however, is measured by individual admissions, not the number of cars. In its first three weeks this season, the Lincoln drew in about 600 customers, lagging behind the 593-space Columbia by more than a 4-to-l margin. We expect it to pick up as the summer progresses, said Mr.

Woolery. Kids will be out of school and people will have more free By JOHN SIMMERS Daily Record correspondent Grab the kids. Clean your windshield. Dust off the lawn chairs. The Lincoln Drive-in has returned after a nearly two-year hiatus.

The owners, American Multi-Cinema, re-opened the 41 -year-old outdoor theater May 18 for the summer. It is six miles west of York on Route 30. Theres a certain interest, a nostalgia about drive-ins, said Tom Woolery, district manager for AMC Philadelphia; but, he said, Our emphasis is on large, indoor multiple theaters. Well operate the drive-ins as long as we at least break even. Later he added, Or, until we sell the land.

The Kansas City-based AMC has rarely, if ever, operated outdoor theaters. When the company acquired the Budco theater circuit in January of 1987, several drive-ins were part of the deal, including the Lincoln and the Stonybrook, both of which the company closed after the 1987 season. They continued to operate the Columbia in western Lancaster County, and two in the Philadelphia area. This year, AMC decided to give the Lincoln another whirl, due to the large number of blockbuster movies making the rounds. As a national theater circuit, AMC has the clout to book first-run movies.

If we cant get the first-run, Mr. Woolery said, we can usually play it three or four weeks down the line. So far this summer, the Lincoln has shown such shows as K-9, They Live, Pet Sematary, Accus-sed and Pink Cadillac. This weekend's shows are Major League and Naked Gun. The Lincoln Theater opened Thursday, June 3, 1948, with a movie called Do You Love Me, starring Dick Haymes and Maureen OHara.

Clean, wholesome entertainment for the entire family enjoyed in your car, trumpeted a and Haars near Dillsburg on Route 15 still operate today. There briefly was a drive-in on Route 74 south near Collinsville. To the west, the Cross Keys operated near the intersection of routes 30 and 94. And a short skip across the river in Lancaster County was the Columbia, on Route 462. Near Pleasureville in the early 1950s, there existed something called the Family Outdoor Theater.

Patrons could either drive or walk in. Out of the bunch, the Lincoln and the Columbia remain, as does Haars, which operates on loose and roam around the lot. People would get out of their cars and chase the cattle The Lincoln was Yorks only drive-in until the Stonybrook opened on East Market Street in the spring of 1950. Soon after, movies under the stars became a popular summertime activity at at least 10 locations in York County and near its borders. There was the Trail, heading south near Glen Rock, and up north, the Shore, just outside New Cumberland.

The Strines-town, near Interstate 83 midway between York and Harrisburg, newspaper ad. No sitter problems no parking worries smoke if you like refreshments available! Earl Sitlinger, 54, of Down-ingtown, an AMC technician, has fond memories of the Lincoln, which he managed for Budco for three years starting in 1963, and then supervised for 21 more. For a time, he and his family even lived at the Lincoln, in a trailer the company placed alongside the lot. There was a livestock auction two or three nights a week, next to the theater, he said. Cows or heifers would get 1 Lj WWW lA A 4 These moviegoers enjoy the classic hood-top view at the Ltoc lMre-ju.

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