The Nostalgic Experience of Drive-In Movies - Miami, FL

American’s have had a decade long love affair with drive-in movies.

If you are a certain age you remember the rituals of Drive-In summer nights, piling in the cars, speakers mounted on poles, hanging out at snack bars, those strange dancing drink and hot dog ads, creature double features, Dusk to Dawn marathons, first dates, sneaking your buddies in the trunk and most important making out in the backseat far from prying eyes of parents.

As children we remember playground areas with swing sets, where you felt like you were flying into the film as you got higher and closer, while kids dressed in their pajamas ran around in what was a safer world.

In Florida dad’s kept the buzzing mosquitoes away with citronella candles on the dashboard.

One Drive-In advertised that it was a place “where the whole family is welcome regardless of how noisy the children”.

They maintained popularity as both a space for families to spend time with each other as well as an affordable date night option.

In the sixties they gave drive-ins the label of “immoral passion pits” by the media.   It was popular among young people to meet up and have sex, smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, which was appealing to young people as it allowed them to express freedom and liberty they would otherwise lack at home.

Some drive-ins held Sunday religious services or flat rate per car on slow nights like Wednesday or Sunday.   On “Buck” or “Bargain Nights” during the 1950s and 60s, the admission price was one dollar per car and during the 70s and ’80s it was $5 per car.

While exploitation films had been a drive-in staple since the 50s, by the 1970s family friendly fare took over.

Many drive-ins operated solely on weekends, while some were open during the spring and summer months, as they were subject to the whims of nature.

In the late 1950s there were over 4,000 drive-ins throughout the United States, most were in rural areas.

To have an effective Drive-In it had to be at least 15 acres of land. Economically speaking it became more practical for owners to close their drive-ins in order to sell their property to developers to build malls or multi-building complexes.

Today there are less than 200 drive-ins in the United States and less than four left in Florida.

But drive-ins are not dead yet!

Nestled between neon lit high-rise condos is the retro Nite Owl Drive-In in downtown Miami.  The only drive-in in  South Florida and it operates from an Airstream trailer that houses a heavy duty top of the line 4K laser projector and a transmitter allowing the audio to stream to the cars stereos.

Nayib Estefan the son of famous musicians Gloria and Emilio, opened the drive-in a few years ago during COVID and you can watch all the newest movies from the comfort of your car and all your favorite concession treats and a huge assortment of popcorn’s are delivered to you.

Yes drive-ins are alive on Route 1.