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A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches. The screen can be as simple as a wall that is painted white, or it can be a steel truss structure with a complex finish. Originally, a movie's sound was provided by speakers on the screen and later by an individual speaker hung from the window of each car, which would be attached by a wire. This system was superseded by the more economical and less damage-prone method of broadcasting the soundtrack at a low output power on AM or FM radio to be picked up by a car radio. This method also allows the soundtrack to be picked up in stereo by the audience on an often high fidelity stereo installed in the car instead of through a simple speaker. == History == The drive-in theater was patented by Camden, New Jersey, chemical company magnate Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., whose family owned and operated the R.M. Hollingshead Corporation chemical plant in Camden. In 1932, Hollingshead conducted outdoor theater tests in his driveway at 212 Thomas Avenue in Riverton. After nailing a screen to trees in his backyard, he set a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car and put a radio behind the screen, testing different sound levels with his car windows down and up. Blocks under vehicles in the driveway enabled him to determine the size and spacing of ramps so all automobiles could have a clear view of the screen. In 1921, however, a more public drive-in was created by Claude V. Caver in Comanche, Texas. Caver obtained a permit from the city to project films downtown and cars parked bumper to bumper to witness the screening of silent films from their vehicles.〔"Claude Caver Dies at Home." Dallas Morning News, 20 February 1959., p. 5.〕 Following the experiments of Caver and Hollingshead, it was Hollingshead who applied August 6, 1932, for a patent of his invention, and he was given on May 16, 1933.〔(The History of Drive-In Theaters )〕 Hollingshead's drive-in opened in New Jersey June 6, 1933, on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken Township,〔http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/06/82_years_ago_first_drive-in_theatre_opened_in_nj.html#incart_river〕 a short distance from Cooper River Park. Rosemont Avenue now runs through the prior location. It offered 400 slots〔 and a screen.〔("Drive-In Movie Holds Four Hundred Cars" ) ''Popular Mechanics'' September 1933〕 He advertised his drive-in theater with the slogan, "The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are." The first film shown was the Adolphe Menjou film ''Wife Beware''.〔〔(PHOTOS: Happy birthday, drive-in movies, a N.J. invention | NJ.com )〕〔(The Victoria Advocate - Google News Archive Search )〕 The facility only operated three years, but during that time the concept caught on in other states. The April 15, 1934, opening of Shankweiler's Auto Park in Orefield, Pennsylvania, was followed by Galveston's Drive-In Short Reel Theater (July 5, 1934), the Pico Drive-In Theater at Pico and Westwood boulevards in Los Angeles〔Nelson, Laura J. (2013, January 19). ''Digital projection has drive-in theaters reeling''. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1/19/2013: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-drive-ins-digital-20130120,0,5280624,full.story〕 (September 9, 1934) and the Weymouth Drive-In Theatre in Weymouth, Massachusetts (May 6, 1936). In 1937, three more opened in Ohio, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with another 12 during 1938 and 1939 in California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Texas and Virginia. Early drive-in theaters had to deal with sound issues. The original Hollingshead drive-in had speakers installed on the tower itself which caused a sound delay affecting patrons at the rear of the drive-in's field. In 1935, the Pico Drive-in Theater attempted to solve this problem by having a row of speakers in front of the cars.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Popular Mechanics )〕 In 1941, RCA introduced in-car speakers with individual volume controls which solved the noise pollution issue and provided satisfactory sound to drive-in patrons. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Drive-in theater」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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