Saying Goodbye to Another Drive-in By Matt Slovick Washingtonpost.com Staff Tuesday, July 21, 1998

It's showtime at the Bengies Drive-in in Baltimore. (Mark Finkenstaedt for washingtonpost.com)

If that memory fits your childhood, you're running out of time to share the experience with your own children. On Oct. 31, the Bengies Drive-in, the second-to-last outdoor movie theater in the region, goes dark. Landowner Jack Vogel has put the suburban-Baltimore property up for sale. And unless someone buys the land with the intention of keeping it a drive-in, another piece of Americana will be gone.

"I am giving someone else a chance to go on. I cannot," says theater operator D. Edward Vogel, who is the landowner's stepson. Bengies' closing would leave the Bel Air Theatre, which opened in 1952 in Churchville, just north of Baltimore, as the last working drive-in hereabouts.

Bengies opened 43 years ago during the fabulous fifties, when suburban spread, affordable cars and the post-World War II baby boom made the drive-in theater the perfect vehicle for inexpensive family entertainment. Today, however, Bengies and the handful of other drive-in theaters left on the East Coast are finding it hard to compete against climate-controlled multiplexes, tucked conveniently next to shopping malls and featuring stadium seating, digital sound and even gourmet coffee.

America's love affair with drive-in movie theaters began in 1933 when the first one opened in in Camden, N.J. The drive-in craze peaked in 1958, when almost 4,100 locations allowed you to park your car and watch movies. The drive-in's demise started with the growing popularity of television, especially color TV, and was hastened by the advent of multiplexes and the rising value of land in suburbia. The decline continued with the onset of the VCR, cable television and affordable satellite dishes.

The downward trend lasted until 1993, according to the Motion Picture Almanac 1996, when 850 drive-in screens were in use in the United States. That number jumped to 885 in 1994, largely because of an addition of second screens at existing drive-ins, not because America was rediscovering a piece of its past.

Time Machine
A trip to Bengies is a nostalgic one. The sound now comes over the car radio, in addition to those speakers that clip to the window. And minivans and sport utility vehicles outnumber station wagons. But not much else has changed in decades.

Trees surround its 11-and-a-half acres, so Bengies is hidden except for the large marquee at the entrance. As your car takes its slow ride past the box office, it's as if you're traveling in a time machine.

The huge, freshly painted screen – at 120 feet wide, the largest on the East coast – sits majestically on rusting metal high above the ground. Hundreds of speaker polls stand in their rows – some a little crooked or worn – awaiting friends, families and couples to pull alongside. About 500 speakers are operable. A classic car is docked in front of a large concession building that rises up like an island in the vast lot. Behind it rises the projection room, which shoots its beam over the car tops to create 52-foot images in the darkness.

The original playground equipment remains to the left and right of the giant screen, with a collection of slides and swings (the two merry-go-rounds were taken away because of insurance concerns). Youngsters play catch, Wiffle ball and Frisbee as they wait for the features to start. Even some parents can't resist a trip down the slide or a quick swing.

People who come early position themselves in the best spots; some back in their vehicles (SUVs, minivans and trucks have designated rows as to not disturb the line of sight). Others spread blankets or open folding chairs and folding tables. A few sit on the hoods of their cars.

Bengies does have a full range of reasonably priced concessions – popcorn, soft drinks, candy, hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza. Moviegoers can still bring in their own food, but a permit must be purchased for $5 at the box office. Those without a permit who are caught munching on snacks they smuggled in will be kicked out without a refund. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted.

Although it shows first-run movies, the Bengies also offers blasts from the past in the form of Three Stooges short films, Superman cartoons and those animated intermission commercials, including the Dancing Weenie.

It's hard to find a better entertainment value for families who enjoy movies. The $6 admission for a first-run film is one of the lowest in the Washington-Baltimore area for an evening show. Children younger than 11 get in for free. The theater always shows a double-feature, and triple-features are common on weekends. So, as their youngsters doze off, parents can watch a second film and pocket the money that would have gone to a babysitter.

Those who just want to catch the second show during the week or the late show on weekends are admitted for just $3. On Tuesday night you can pack the car for $12.

And Vogel himself is part of the Bengies experience. His mastery of the two projectors keeps something on the screen at all times. His high-energy voice booms out of the P.A. system: "Flash your lights if you enjoyed 'Dr. Dolittle.'" "Come to our concession area where no food is touched by human hands. Once you see the staff, you'll understand what I mean." He wishes guests happy birthday and even lets children speak into the microphone. (Listen to an audio clip of the box-office answering tape for a taste of a night with Vogel.)

If the drive-in doesn't have a buyer by August, the property will go to auction in October and Vogel, who has run the Bengies since 1990, will have the sad job of packing up the business and the summer-night memories of a lot of families. "But at least I will get to know that I did do everything I could to try to save it," he says.

Bengies Drive-in Theatre

Bel Air Drive-in Theatre