The Last Single Screen Drive-In Closes

This fall, Globe’s Apache Drive-In will close its gates on September 28. As the state’s last drive-in, with a capacity of just 200 cars, it has outlasted most. Within the last 25 years, Arizona has had all but two of its nearly 50 drive-ins close one by one.  The Apache Drive-In and the Glendale 9 Drive-In have been the only hold outs, and now Apache Drive-In’s time is coming to an end.

While most Arizona drive-ins have closed with little more fanfare than a banner hung on the gate to thank patrons who enjoyed them for decades, local media company Globe Miami Times has partnered with Hollis Cinemas to host its final picture show at Apache Drive-In on September 28. Together the two are planning a memory-making, gala event which will include the most iconic drive-in film of all time, “American Graffiti” (which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year), along with a "Fashion & Fenders" contest, tailgate party and a special salute to the Globe’s class of '63, which will be celebrating their 50th anniversary that same weekend.

Hollis took the opportunity to announce the birth of his daughter on the Apache Drive-In Marquee in 2013. Photo by LCGross

"Something this important deserves a final chapter, " says Linda Gross, publisher of Globe Miami Times. "As a publication, we have always looked for ways we can promote and preserve community, and acknowledge the rich history of our area. The closing of the Apache Drive-In is a significant event for this community, as well as the story of drive-ins everywhere."

Globe Miami Times has been busy designing commemorative items for the final event, including a custom-cut key fob, platinum popcorn tins and commemorative posters that include a photo shoot with the Golden Oldies, a local car club on location.

Tickets are available online only, and early bird tickets are $79 per carload if purchased before August 15. The drive-in’s capacity is 200 cars for the evening, and every ticket holder will receive commemorative items, including the custom-cut key fobs and platinum popcorn tins. Attendees are encouraged to channel their best '60s style and bring on the VO5 (the hairspray responsible for producing the biggest hairdos of that era).

The movie and the theme for the night will echo the heyday of the outdoor cinema in the late ’50 and ‘60s, when the number of drive-ins across the nation reached an all time high of 4,000 theaters.

Apache Drive-In also opened its first location in the ‘50s. The Hollis family, which has run several local theaters in Globe since that time, built and opened the current drive-in location in the mid '70s.

Locally, the Apache Drive-In has traditionally been two things, remembers owner Bobby Hollis: a place for families to go, and a place where people can take their dates.

“You could put your kids in the backseat and they would fall asleep, you wouldn’t have to worry about them,” he says. “You could sit in the back of the pickup and have a beer.”

While movies have changed dramatically over the years, drive-ins have not changed one bit, he points out.

“Drive-ins have stood the test of time. They are the same as they were in the ‘50s and ‘60s, when drive-ins were huge and every town had one.”

The vintage nature of the drive-in theater is both its greatest asset and its downfall. Patrons go for the experience, not for surround sound.

Many, like the Apache Drive-In, operate on 35mm film. As studios continue to switch to digital, the availability of 35mm film is diminishing, and drive-ins will have to convert to digital to stay afloat. For Apache Drive-In, that switch is not financially feasible.

Thus, the Apache Drive-In will complete its last season this fall with a regular $10 per-carload double header on the first weekend in September, and a final gala on September 28 featuring “American Graffiti,” plus a lineup of events, for $79 per carload. Tickets for the this event will only be available online at lastpictureshow.eventbrite.com. Tickets will not be sold at the gate that night. Complete details are available on the event website.