Daytonians have always been interested in the movies.  At first, motion pictures were only offered intermittently at “Legitimate” theaters between plays and vaudeville acts.  Gilbert Burrows, one time manager of the National theater (which later became the Strand), remembered how the picture flickered and jumped and wobbled all over the sheet that was suspended as a temporary screen from the drop curtain.

            “At times I thought it (the scene) would leap clear off the stage,” said Burrows, “but the operator finally succeeded in holding the images fairly within the limits of the crude curtain by standing on one of the projector’s legs.”

            In 1906 Dayton’s first “movie” house opened in a converted storeroom on Third Street, near Jefferson Street.  Called “The Electric” it was an immediate hit, even though reports at the time stated that there was a bit of trouble during the first picture showing.  Strong men paled and women and children shrieked during a scene where an on-coming train, with a puffing and snorting engine, seemed to be headed toward the audience.  One woman, judging that the train was really bearing down on her, remarked “I’m shore getting out of this joint” as she grabbed her children and left the theater.

            In 1910 George Haas owned a piece of property where Thurman Lane and Xenia Avenue met.  It was here that Dayton’s first open-air motion pictures were shown.  Unfortunately, the “airdome” was a losing proposition.  Most of the neighborhood consisted of people who worked for the Barney & Smith Car Works or the Davis Sewing Machine company and were not inclined to stay up until 9 in the evening, when it was dark enough to show the movie without daylight spoiling the effect.

            George tried diligently.  He made the admission price low, installed a first class piano (movies were silent then) and hired the best violin and horn players, but the airdome folded after only two years.

            However, when Dayton’s first drive-in opened on Valley Street in 1942, it was an instant success.  According to Herbert J. Ochs, the theater’s manager, the drive-in was popular because it was a family affair.  There was no need to find a baby sitter, just take the kids along for free.  Dad didn’t need to dress up after working all day.  Indoor theaters in Dayton, like  the Strand, the State or Columbia, were downtown, where a parking space had to be found and sometimes paid for.  The drive-in even offered refreshments so mom didn’t have to cook.  Music was played before the first feature and patrons could dance on a stage that had been built under the screen.

All in all, it was more than just watching a movie.  Going to the drive-in was an event!

Return to "Greater Dayton Drive-In Movie Theaters" Home Page