75 Years of Drive-ins

Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., a chemical company magnate, is credited with developing the idea for the drive-in theater.
Courtesy Hollingshead family

Pioneer
Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., a chemical company magnate, is credited with developing the idea for the drive-in theater. After experimenting with a projector, radio and screen in his own New Jersey backyard, he applied for, and received, a patent in 1933. His first drive-in (above) opened less than a month later in Pennsauken, N.J.

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