145 Comments for Hartford Drive-In

I check back to your sight periodically to see what's new (found this because of the Danvers deal - my husband sold the windows to Avalon for the project; we are both kinda creeped out by the whole thing) I loved the defunct amusement park in RI (been there) and really enjoyed the abandoned motel in upstate NY - yuck! But seeing this picture made me gasp. A piece of my past has been destroyed...razed. Why couldn't it have been my crappy high school instead????

Beautiful.
I cried.
(well, I teared up a bit)

I am pretty sure the 'house' in the background used to be a floral shop. Off to the left is a small strip mall that had a tux shop (that's all I remember, as Prom was king. Further left was the McDonald's)

I used to go there in high school & a little after (85-88) It was, fortuitously, located across from a McD's, and suspiciously close to a 'package store'. I am very sad to hear it's gone. I want my kids to experience a drive in movie sometime.

Oddly enough in Western NY think Corning & westward there are a few places that bring back memories of the good old days. There's a drive-in not too far from my home (say 18 miles-ish) that is up to 2 screens they do a huge business during the summer but are closed during the winter and are run locally.
http://www.portvilledrivein.com/

There's also an older-style amusement park near Jamestown called Midway Park see link:
http://nysparks.state..../info.asp?parkID=183

Not all of the good old days have gone away.

As a side note there's another drive in that runs in NY state, that was a good deal for the $ in Black River NY called Black River Drive-in (just off base near Ft Drum, NY)

Oh god...

Is that a crop circle in the foreground?

i have been by this many times. there is a real cool abandoned drive in on route 12 in danielson. i haven't been by there is awhile but the speakers were still up last time i saw it.

Like a great monolith towering over flattened fields, the very forces of the earth seem to move in responce to this man-made square obstructing the sky in a comanding fashion... very nice photo, probably one of my favorites. keep up the great work, and have you ever thought of making prints of your photography?

hey i just wanna say thanks for taking these! brought back good memories lol and they just ripped this placed down to build apartments :( so thanks for capturing these pictures before they destroyed it.

Just a thot. Remember going to the drive in one night with a friend in the trunk with myself and two or three dudies in the car. We made it in no problem. After the show, and a wonderful movie it was, hotroded out of the the place and took a curve too fast and turned my friends car upside down. Damn, his daddy was pissed, and it was really a fine black DeSoto that his dad used at his funeral home. He got into some big trouble, but what hell, we didn't give a big diddly. I think back, and I say Johnny, good grief, I could have done better for a friend. But then again, I was a miscreant and a relative loser so that never happened. Drivin's, just another venue for a misspent youth, but I wouldn't trade it for a million. Love you Mott's, your the best.

HOLY FRYCKEN COW!!!!!!!!!!!! I USED TO GO TO THIS PLACE ALL THE TIME WHEN I WAS A KID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...... pisses me off to see it shut down :(

Canada I agree with you. There is no more good old days. They died a long time ago. I seen my childhood drive-in demolished this summer and it broke my heart. I seen wonderful amusement parks like Paragon, Whalom and Rocky Point close up and left abandoned or the land used for condos.

Kids today will never experience the fun of going to a drive -in or a great old amusement park.

The last movie here ahd to be...
"American Graffiti"

I don't know why but I feel really sad looking upon this photo. It's like all the good old days have died. We own a 1959 T-Bird and now I look at that dead sign I can't help think of how sweet it would be to take a girl to a movie while in that old T-bird.... It's truly sad to look at that sign and think of just how simple life was back in the old days were the rest of the world seemed so far away..... thanks for killing innocence CNN!

Love the pic Motts simple yet so sad.... I'd love too have seen the neon all lit up.

Motts ,
My dad was in the Motion Picture business and this brings back such memories. Thanks !!