ABSTRACT
Variously called “ozoners,” “airers,” and “passion pits with pix,” the phenomenon of watching a movie outdoors while seated in the comfort of your own car began in 1932. Richard M. Hollings-head, an inventor and manufacturer of chemicals, created the first prototype of the drive-in in his own Camden, New Jersey driveway. He placed a 16-mm projector on a stand, attached a screen to supports, turned on the projector, and got in his car to see the results. Hollingshead was not disappointed–the picture looked fine as long as there was nothing in front of him to obstruct the view, such as another car. As the story goes, he sweated through multiple experiments before devising the fan-shaped parking lot, terraced rows, and inclined ramps. He got a patent on the ramp–a metal incline that allowed the driver to park at enough of a tilt to see over the top of the forward cars.
