Current mood:	geeky
Current music:	Bad 80's music on an old PRO-FM aircheck

Coast Drive-Ins
One of my loves are the drive-in movie theatres that once dotted the landscape of just about every city in the United States. While I am quite familiar with the outdoor movie houses of my hometown and vicinity, the passion pits of The Coast have always been something of an enigma. For years I have looked through old publications and spoken with lifelong residents of the area to gather as much info as I could. I learned that this area had three ozoners in their heyday.



The Beach, located on Beach Boulevard in Biloxi, is probably the most famous, followed by the Do Drive-In located on Pass Road at the corner of Jim Money Road, and the Dawn, (not pictured) located in the area where the Katrina ruined remains of the U-A Cinema now stand.




From all accounts, trying to enjoy a film at any of these venues was a challenge. The heat and humidity were epic, and the mosquitos and biting gnats were ever-present. In addition, from time to time a frieight train passing on the tracks within visual range would blot out the sound. Nevertheless, these businesses pulled in enough horny teenagers and families trying to stretch a dollar to stay around until the late 70's and early 80's.




The pictures you see here were taken in 1977, toward the end of the drive-in phenomenon in America. The Do in particular seems to have descended to the depths of drive-in desperation, screening such dubious cinematic endeavors as Super Swinging Playmate and Rape Squad or is that Rape Bound? It is difficult to tell from this image. In either case the word "rape" is involved, so I doubt it was a Disney film.




So far as I know, these are the only images of the Do Drive-In in existence. The Beach is more frequently seen in old photos, but these particular images haven't been seen since they were first broadcast in April, 1977.




The Beach Drive-In showed its last film sometime in the 80s and is now the Cajun RV Park. The Do Drive-In is largely forgotten and, unless you knew it was there, the mostly empty lot is very easy to miss. I drove past it for 5 years before becoming aware that it had been a drive-in and then only because a native pointed it out.

Classic and rarely seen drive in pictures. Another forgotten treasure buried in the archives of the Entertainment Mine.