How romance and a road trip led to the purchase of the world’s oldest drive-in theater

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OREFIELD, Pa. (AP) — In a romance and adventure worthy of the big screen, a Pennsylvania couple is preserving the past and forging a future as the owners of the world’s oldest operating drive-in movie theater.

Lauren McChesney got more than admission to a double feature when she handed her ticket to Matt McClanahan at a different drive-in he managed in 2018. They started dating a year later, and, in August, got engaged. In between, they purchased Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre, which was Pennsylvania’s first drive-in and only the nation’s second when it opened in 1934.

The couple began brainstorming about drive-ins during a cross-country road trip that included stops at both operational and abandoned theaters. Their original goal was to open a new drive-in, but when they learned Shankweiler’s might get sold to developers, “the light bulb went off,” McClanahan said.

“Why are we spending so much time trying to build one when there’s one literally down the road from our house that’s for sale and is like the most important drive-in?” he said.

The drive-in movie theater industry began in Camden, New Jersey, in 1933 and peaked in the late 1950s, with more than 4,000 drive-ins, according to the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association. The numbers dropped rapidly in the 1970s and 80s as other entertainment options increased, along with land values that made selling for redevelopment attractive. Though popular during the pandemic, by 2024, there were only 283 left, according to the association.

McClanahan, 35, who grew up going to Shankweiler’s, had managed another drive-in and started a mobile movie business during the coronavirus pandemic. In contrast, McChesney, 41, had never been to a drive-in before 2018, and she left a stable corporate job in the health care industry to take on this new venture. Buying Shankweiler’s was a risk for both of them — they pooled their savings and secured a $1 million loan to buy the drive-in in 2022 — but one they say has paid off.

“This was an undertaking that was leaps and bounds bigger than anything I’d ever done in my life, in terms of investment, monthly expenses, and debt,” McClanahan said. “It still feels surreal when I think about it.”

They’ve built a successful business with the help of strong summer attendance, the occasional big-name film like “Wicked,” and special events like Valentine’s Day “date night” screenings of “The Notebook.” The drive-in is open seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and Thursdays through Sundays the rest of the year. Tickets are $9 for children and $13 for adults.

Ken Querio, 52, of Kutztown, Pennsylvania, has been going to Shankweiler’s since he was a teenager. He made a point to seek out the owners before a recent viewing of “Jaws.”

“I actually thanked them,” he said. “It’s wonderful to have an old-school, an old venue like this still going.”

Wilson Shankweiler, a prominent hotel owner and movie buff, opened what was then called Shankweiler’s Park-In Theatre on April 15, 1934. McClanahan and McChesney are its fourth owners.

McChesney said the success of the business played a role in the timing of their engagement.

“We knew we’d eventually get married, but we kept doing other things instead, like starting businesses and buying movie theaters,” she said.

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Ramer contributed from Concord, New Hampshire.