Newark, Drive-in movie theater to reopen after nearly four decades:
https://www.democratandchronicle.com...ster-nletter65
"Before closing in 1985, the last movie shown at the Rose City Drive-In was “Ghostbusters.” When it reopens April 5, the first movie shown will be “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.”
Like the blockbuster about pesky paranormal beings, the cinema under the stars at 5418 Route 31 West, just outside Newark, Wayne County, is getting a sequel. New owner Paul Cole couldn’t have planned it that way.
“It was dumb luck,” said the lifelong Newark resident, 53. “The movie just came out last week.”
When his purchase of the 17-acre site was finalized last year, “The only thing there was the screen and whole lot of scrub brush,” he said.
Flash forward: The overgrown vegetation has been cleared, and the screen, which is 100 feet wide by 45 feet high, has been made to look new with Bondo and paint. A state-of-the-art 55,000-lumen laser projector has been installed, as has a new digital marquee. And inside a new 2,400-square-foot concession building, moviegoers will be able to buy pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, soda, popcorn, nachos and candy.
Friday’s showing of “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” starts at 7:30 p.m. and is part of the 370-car venue’s soft-opening period. Tickets (available at
www.rosecitydrivein.com and the gate) are $8 for people 12 and older; $6 for children 5 to 11; free for children younger than 5.
Next week, when the normal double-feature format begins, priced tickets will rise to $10 and $8.
Cole’s cost for bringing the 68-year-old attraction back to life (which also involved adding new electric and septic)? “I’m probably creeping in on three quarters of a million dollars,” he said.
It’s not his only business.
He also owns SuperGen Products, a Newark company that sells generators and other equipment, and operates Lands of Legends Raceway in Canandaigua.
“I’m drinking from the proverbial firehose right now,” he said.
However, he’s grateful was able to make a deal with the drive-in’s previous owners, the Colacino family, who had a sentimental attachment to the place.
So does Cole. His parents took him to Rose City when he was a kid.
“That was a thing that people did in the ’70s. We had four channels of TV, and you didn’t have iPhones and Netflix. So, you went to the drive-in,” he said.
Under his direction, it will continue to be a destination for family fun, as evidenced by the ground rules posted online: No cursing, no loud talking, no alcohol and no pot-smoking, including inside vehicles.
Shoes must be worn at all times, running around on drive-in grounds isn’t allowed, and “Children must be supervised at all times, and parents are responsible for their children’s actions.”
Besides first-run films, Rose City will show classics.
In addition, “We have a stage, so we’ll be doing some concerts,” Cole said. “And we’ll host other events, so if somebody wanted to have a flea market or a farmers market or a car show.”
Regardless of the programming, though, the goal is the same: “putting smiles on people’s faces when you can,” he said."
Also, here is a list of some drive in movie theaters upstate:
https://wandercuse.com/drive-in-movi...ound-syracuse/
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