Midway, Magic City

Ravenna, Ohio

The Midway Drive-in has a single screen with an unusually large gravel field. Densely planted trees serve to provide both privacy and protection from direct light pollution.

Barberton, Ohio

Magic City is the nickname of Barberton, OH, supposedly because shortly after being founded it grew "like magic." The marquee used to be much more elaborate with an Arabian nights magical theme, but when the theater changed hands years ago the new owners objected to the magical imagery on religious grounds and removed it. The current management told me this, sad about the loss of the great marquee. People do strange things.

Barberton, Ohio

Speaking of strange, the Magic City is the only DI I've seen with a pair of screens set up like this. You can see both screens from the parking area for screen two. The field is tightly bordered—few DI theaters survive so close to built-up areas—so the more usual 180° positioning wasn't practical. Two or more screens has become more or less an economic necessity, relatively few single screen theaters survive. Notice there are still traditional pole speakers here, along with FM broadcast of the movie soundtrack.