Tower Drive-in Ad January 16, 1958

This ad, which ran in the January 16, 1958 edition of the Lorain Journal – 55 years ago this month – explains how it was that the Tower Drive-in on Lake Avenue in Elyria Township could stay open in the winter months. The very next day the theater offered its patrons in-car heaters for the very first time.

Even with the piped-in heat, though, winter drive-ins are still a strange concept to me. What if it was snowing? It's bad enough when it rains at the drive-in, but it's hard to imagine looking at the screen with the fluffy white stuff coming down. Plus, who wants to risk getting stuck in a snowbank while trudging to the concession stand?

Maybe global warming will eventually make it possible to go to the few remaining drive-ins year-round again.

Anyways, while we're waiting for the Aut-O-Rama Twin to reopen in early April, here's a classic 1950s intermission ad to put us in the mood for some good old concession goodies.

Stock music aficionados (like me) recognize the background music in the animated commercial as "The Cheeky Chappy" by Phil Green. It was used in a couple of Quick Draw McGraw cartoons.