A POPULAR 1930s drive-in movie theater offers film buffs year-round showings and cheap double features. Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre in Orefield, Pennsylvania — about 20 minutes northwest of Allentown — opened on April 15, 1934. It was opened by Wilson Shankweiler, a hotel owner and movie -lover, and originally named Shankweiler’s Park-In Theatre , according to its website .

Shankweiler's was the second drive-in to open in the United States after the opening of the first drive-in theater in New Jersey in 1933. The Moving Picture Cinema, a mobile movie theater, bought the drive-in in 2022 aiming to preserve its historical significance. In the same year, the company announced the theater would now be open year-round, offering movies every day.

"It's a huge honor to be the next stewards of this piece of American cinematic history," Matt McClanahan, co-owner of Shankweiler's, told The U.S. Sun.

"Lauren [co-owner of Shankweiler's] and I aim to continue Shankweiler's long tradition of innovation through evolving and growing our business in a way that resonates with modern moviegoers and our community at large. "One thing is for sure, the drive-in experience is timeless!" In the last 90 years, the theater has gone through many changes as technology advances. In 1948 — 14 years after the drive-in opened — speaker poles and car speakers were installed at the theater.

However, in 1955, most of the theater including the projection booth and shadow box screen were leveled by .