![]() ![]() “We had the Cine in Roxana and bought that one in the late 60s. “We had the Starlight and then in the mid-80s we bought the Cameo,” said Steve Bloomer, owner of Bel-Air Drive-In, built in 1949 by Bloomer’s grandfather, Frank Bloomer, and Frank Bloomer’s two brothers, Tom and Leslie. The Bloomer family once owned as many as 17 theaters in the area, including the Starlight Drive-In and Cameo theaters in Alton, as well as the Bel-Air Drive-In in Pontoon Beach, the Skyview Drive-In in Belleville and Roxana Cine in Roxana, Illinois. “When we were kids on a hot summer evening and (my) dad would say let’s go to the drive-in, (I remember) the excitement I shared with my brother jumping in the back seat of my parents’ red Maverick.” “Going to the drive-in was an exciting thing to do back then,” said Kitsmiller. Demolished in the mid-90s, the site of the theater is now an industrial park. who also once owned the Starlight, the Bel-Air was similar - if not slightly smaller - than Alton’s theater. Todd Keith said he remembered his dad sneaking in grocery bags of popcorn by putting them in the trunk and Jason Rexford said he remembered “packing as many people as we could into the station wagon and sitting on the roof watching the movies.”Īlthough the Starlight closed in 1984, the Bel-Air Drive-In located in Pontoon Beach off historic Route 66 remained open until 1987. “No sound, but the screen was big enough you could watch from across Homer Adams Parkway,” he said. Doug Bush, another Alton resident, said he had a friend who lived close enough to the theater that he could watch movies from his bedroom window. “I remember one year the cicadas being really loud as my dad tried to raise the volume up,” said Kitsmiller. “Someone always had an aftermarket weird horn.” “When there was a break in the film, everyone would honk until it was fixed and the movie resumed,” said Bierman. Watching movies on outdoor screens from a car had its perks, offering a variety of experiences unique to drive-in theaters. I think we saw some of the Star Wars movies there - good childhood memories.” “It was pretty close to where we lived on Milton Road. “I remember going and sitting on top of the car or in the back of a truck in sleeping bags, watching the movies, playing on the swing sets in front of the screen just before the movie started,” said Phillip McFarlane. In the summer, you could be eaten by mosquitoes and watch a movie at the same time.”Ī second screen was added in the mid-70s and a playground built soon after. ![]() There were heaters on the speaker posts that you could put in the car and have the illusion of heat. “I went to see a John Wayne movie on Christmas of 1969,” said Phyllis Bierman. ![]() Having opened in 1950, the theater originally had space for 400 cars and beckoned movie goers of the time with it’s futuristic screen tower and theater name in giant illuminated letters. ![]()
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