photo by Photos courtesy Freeborn county Historical Museum

This is a daytime view of Albert Lea’s Starlight Drive-in Theatre. The large white space is the screen. At left is the building which once served as a combination of projection room, refreshment stand and place for restrooms. In the foreground are the posts for the speakers. Without those speakers, the folks in the cars would be watching silent films.

Looking Back: Albert Lea’s version of an outdoor theater

By Ed Shannon | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Saturday, September 6, 2008

For 36 years area citizens had a somewhat seasonal choice of seeing movie films at three places. One popular destination was the Broadway Theatre on, logically enough, South Broadway Avenue. Another choice was the Rivoli Theater, located a block and a half straight north of the Broadway. And the third was a warmer weather alternative choice on the city’s east side with a rural setting was the Starlight Drive-in Theatre.

A short news report in the July 9, 1949, issue of the Tribune had this headline: “New Open Air Theatre will be Opened Soon.” This was followed with,” Something new in entertainment will be in store for people in this vicinity with the opening of the new Starlight Drive-in Theatre on Highway 16 (now County road 46) between Albert Lea and Austin.

“This theater built by the Friedman brothers, owners of the Broadway and Rivoli Theaters in Albert Lea, covers 12 acres of ground and will accommodate 500 cars. The grounds have been graded and graveled and equipped with semi-circle ramps for the cars with a slight increase in height for the front wheels of the cars to provide a good vision of the screen.

Photo by Ed Shannon

About the only memento the Freeborn County Historical Museum has from the era of the Starlight Drive-in Theatre is this speaker box or unit. The hook-like part on the back was used to hang the speaker on a car’s window rolled part way down. A knob on the speaker’s front controlled the volume.

“The mammoth screen will show a picture 52 feet by 46 feet or about four times the size of a picture in an ordinary movie theatre. Each car will be equipped with its own speaker unit where the patron may adjust the volume of the sound to his or her own liking.

“The concession building located in the center of the grounds will house the booth equipped with the latest and best sound equipment to guarantee the best in sound and projection. Also in this building will be sanitary restrooms for both men and women and a refreshment stand. A moonlight beam has been installed.

“’There will be a staff of 30 people to give the best of service,’ George Henrickson, manager, said.”

It wasn’t long before area families started to go to the Starlight by the carloads. To emphasize this theater’s family-friendly appeal, there was free admission for children under the age of 12. Also, parents could dress their children in pajamas and/or nightgowns. Maybe the younger children were wide awake for the cartoons; if they fell asleep during the feature film, the back seat could suffice as the place for early bedtime.

Photos courtesy Freeborn county Historical Museum

This photo of the Starlight Drive-in Theatre east of Albert Lea was taken by the late Bidney Bergie sometime shortly after the once popular outdoor movie palace closed in 1985.

For the area’s teenagers and young adults, this outdoor theater became a new place to mingle, socialize and have fun.

One challenge for some in this group was trying to gain free admittance. This could be done by a few passengers hiding in the car’s trunk or lying down across the back seat floor as the vehicle went past the ticket booth.

Once inside what could be called a cow pasture cinema, the vehicle (with headlights off) would park next to a steel post which had a speaker with an extension cord. This speaker would fit on a window and had a knob to control the volume.

During the time in this large glorified parking lot facing a large screen, there were opportunities to go to a refreshment counter, the restrooms, or even visit folks in other cars.

For the operators of these theaters the old phrase of rain or shine was changed to rain or clear. In other words, adverse weather conditions didn’t interrupt their movie nights at all.

Like the then-popular drive-in root beer stands and places with car hops, these theaters were very seasonal ventures.

The ads for the Starlight and other open-air theaters said the films would start at dusk. In June and July and even August especially, this could be rather late in the evening. And one detail which caused anguish for the operators of these theaters was something called daylight savings time which made dusk an hour later.

Photo by Ed Shannon

Ernie’s Canvas Products is the only occupant of the former Starlight site east of Albert Lea on County Road 46. In front of this firm’s front entry are several of the concrete bases once used for the theater’s speaker posts.

One gimmick these theaters liked to promote were weekend all-nighters, a series of films from dusk to dawn which featured the showing of racy films, plus cheap and poorly made horror flicks and beach-theamed movies.

One rather obscure song, “Drive-in Show,” is listed on a Web site with Eddie Cochran as the author and performer. Cochran, who was born in Albert lea, likely went to the Starlight in his younger years before the family left the city in 1955. Cochran is actually better known for a very popular movie-related hit song, “Sittin’ in the Balcony.” However, this last song was really written by John D. Loudermilk.

The last Tribune ad for a film at the Starlight Drive-in Theatre was in the July 21, 1985 issue. Factors causing the demise of this outdoor movie palace include the widespread use of cable TV and VCRs, and the concept that the land could be used for something with more practical year-round usage. In the 1980s the number of drive-in theaters in the nation declined from 3,500 to less than a thousand. At the present time there are about 700 to 800 of these once popular entertainment destinations in the U.S. and Canada.

For the last four years Ernie’s Canvas Products has occupied a portion of the former site of the Starlight Drive-in Theatre, located on County Road 46 east of Albert Lea.

A recent listing of drive-in theaters shows there are 10 of these once popular movie palaces still active in Wisconsin, with the nearest ones to this area being in Eau Claire, Wisconsin Dells and Richland Center. There are four still active drive-in theaters in Iowa. And here in Minnesota there are drive-in theaters listed in Long Prairie, Litchfield, Lake Elmo, Luverne, Warren, Cottage Grove, Minneapolis and Hallock.

Stars appear and shadows are falling

You can hear my heart a-calling

A little bit a-lovin' makes everything right

I'm gonna see my baby tonight

All of my life I've been a-waitin'

Tonight there'll be no...hesitatin'

Oh boy, when you're with me

Oh boy, the world can see

That you, were meant, for me

Of course it had to be summer. I don't know what would happen in the winter but in the summer what a spot. They say they used to dance here. I'm not sure I can see that happening as in the dark if you weren't carefull you would fall right thru the floor. That would put you right in the water of Fountain Lake.

You didn't get there by the way of some concrete thrufare like they have today. And now they have pretty little trees with pink flowers that line the edge.It was just a dirt road back when we used to cut thru there to head for northside and the beach. It had these big old trees the made it even spookier than it really was. Back then there was that old beer bottlin joint and that place where you could take car parts and get them chromed. Hell it was even a little scary as a kid to walk down there late at night.

OK so it was "The Casino Ballroom". Later we just called it "The Casino" because they closed it up. by doin so they created one of the best Neckin spots in Albert lea. Heck if you could get a girl to go walk down there when your 14, she must have really been hot for ya. A lot of paraphanalia (and not drug stuff) was also left behind at the Casino.(chuckle)

Curlin up with my best girl in a dark corner with an old indian blanlet Was what we called heaven to us. Hickies and Lumber burn was only a few of the downfalls but I am sure if you were like me. "well worth it".

Cold? It must have been 20 below outside. But in here we thought it was almost like being in your own place. The place was kept warm by the heaters that hung from the ceiling in the corners. You didn't have to keep the car running or any thing. Just back the car into one of the stalls and you were right over a hoist. you could raise it up if you needed to see out the windows. but then who needed to see out. Larry and Larry had their girls out tonight. and it sure looked promising.

a cold six pack and KATE radio. (now did I tell you radio reception was for crap in "Norby's Texaco"). but you still could catch the local stations. we would neck, tell jokes and just plain fool around those nights away at the Texaco. We could always count on a couple of hours of comfortable Heavy neckin and maybe just maybe you might get in a squeeze before her hand would pull yours away. Oh life at 16 or was it 17 was great.

An advantage I don't think any guy had an advantage. We were just warmer than other guys. You remember the guys that had to go out to the country road and would kill the battery with the radio. Then him and the lucky girl would almost freeeze to death before someone would come out to help.

Life was Good and as long as Larry could get in the shop at night. We had another one of the better neckin spots in Albert Lea. By the way the girls really thought it was nice the we had a warm spot to go to. That always helped you know.