It was one of the few times my unregulated childhood sleep schedule worked to my favor, as other patrons started their engines and left, taking home kids too tired to endure any more of Hogan’s “acting.” For a young TMNT fan, it was a magical night that not even a pro wrestler with misguided movie career dreams could ruin.
Pittsburgh has its fair share of venues for outdoor screenings, with multiple working drive-ins within a short distance of the city. That some remain is nothing short of a miracle given that the drive-in theater peaked in popularity in the 1950s and, since the 1980s, has seen a steady decline as audiences have turned to air-conditioned multiplexes for their summer blockbuster fix.
According to a 2023 article by the New York Film Academy, just 300 drive-ins are still in operation throughout the United States, with Pennsylvania boasting the most, along with neighboring states Ohio and New York.
However, the drive-in concept saw a temporary boost over the pandemic as a way for movie lovers to enjoy films on the big screen in the safety of their cars. Row House Cinema and Hazelwood Local both took advantage of this, hosting screenings at The Terminal in the Strip District and at Hazelwood Green, respectively.
While southwestern Pa. has, in recent years, lost a few of its outdoor movie-watching staples (RIP Twin Hi-Way Drive-In in McKees Rocks), others remain to entertain film fans looking for a more dynamic experience.
Ben Dietels has a special relationship with the Riverside Drive In Theatre, a two-screen operation located about 45 minutes outside of Pittsburgh in Vandergrift. In 2023, he and his bandmates filmed a music video at Riverside for their band, Pummeled. He also records live there during Riverside’s Drive-In Super Monster-Rama, a twice-yearly event that features the retro horror films Dietels and his cohosts discuss on their podcast, Neon Brainiacs.
While Riverside regularly screens newly-released films, Super Monster-Rama gives audiences a chance to experience 35mm prints of classic, cult, and underground horror movies from decades past — previous theme nights range from retrospectives on director Roger Corman and actor Christopher Lee or zombies, vampires, slashers, or space monsters. Patrons can even camp overnight for a small additional fee.
“The Monster-Rama event is right up our alley,” says Dietels. “It celebrates underseen cinema and independent film. A lot of the films we cover on [Neon Brainiacs] have been screened there. So it makes sense to do our program live during the event.”
Another local drive-in option takes summer moviegoers to Moon Township. Opened in 1950, Dependable Drive In has, over the decades, expanded from a single-screen operation to now boasting four screens (one is currently out of commission, so visitors will have to settle for three this season). Touted as Allegheny County’s last remaining drive-in, the business gives patrons an authentically throwback experience, with the option of using speakers that hook onto your car (a feature leftover from the good ol’ days of the drive-in) or tuning into what the website describes as “Dolby Surround FM Radio Sound.”
Like Allegheny, other counties in southwestern Pa., it seems, still lay claim to at least one drive-in — this includes Evergreen Drive-in in Westmoreland and Starlight Drive In in Butler. Fayette County boasts two theaters, the Brownsville Drive-in, and the Comet Drive-In Theatre and Flea Market.
A TribLive article from 2019 estimated that, at one time, the nine-county southwestern Pa. region had over 40 outdoor theaters, seven of which remain. Several factors ranging from large pieces of stripped land becoming available for development, to the need for affordable entertainment in the blue-collar area, made Pittsburgh “the city of drive-ins,” according to a Heinz History Center representative quoted in the story.
Dietels says he grew up around drive-in theaters as a native of Moon Township.
“For my family, it was a summer tradition to try and at least go a couple times every year,” he says. “It was cheap and you got to see two movies! And the snack bar was always way beyond what you could get at the regular theater.”
It was the music video for Pummeled’s song “Poppie” that saw Dietels and his bandmates playing workers at the Riverside concession stand, an atmosphere he feels fit with what he describes as “basically a ‘60s pop song with some fuzzed-out guitars.”
“It made sense to shoot it at a snack bar that looks like it's been virtually untouched since that era,” says Dietels. “It fit the vibe perfectly.”
Besides being low-cost, drive-ins act as venues for interaction — those arriving early for the best spots will see children enjoying pre-movie playtime in the wide-open parking lot, people chatting as they relax in lawn chairs they brought from home, or couples sneaking in a romantic walk as dusk turns to night. It’s as much a venue for people-watching as it is movie-watching, especially in a time when streaming services would keep us glued to the couch.
“I love seeing the community of people who come out every year to celebrate movies they could easily watch at home,” says Dietels. “It's just way more fun to watch them outside with like-minded individuals.”
