When they were researching their just-published, coffee table-size book, "The American Drive-In Movie Theatre," Don and Susan Sanders made a picture-taking swing through Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.
That was four years ago, Don said recently during a telephone interview from their home in Dallas."My wife and I came to Salt Lake City in 1993 and took pictures of the Redwood Drive-In and the Motor-Vu in Provo. Then we drove to Rexburg and Pocatello, spent the night there and went up through Montana and Wyoming."
Among the 160-page book's nearly 265 photographs are a large, color shot of the Spud Drive-In Theatre outside of Driggs, Idaho, depicting the theater's "mascot" - a huge replica of an Idaho potato, taking up nearly the entire bed on the back of an antique (but still driveable) truck.
While no Utah photographs made it into the book, there are several Utah references.
The Nu-Vu Drive-In in Monticello ranks No. 3 on a list of the top five most unusual names for a drive-in theater. The others: the Ballo-Jack Drive-In, Roswell, N.M.; the Ben Hur Drive-In, Crawfordsville, Ind. (does it cater mainly to horse-drawn chariots?); the Garden Auto-Torium, Ledgewood, N.J., and the Y-Not Drive-In, West Point, Neb.
The Sanderses also mention one of Salt Lake City's first drive-ins - the Motor-Vu - as part of a segment spotlighting proprietors who built on-site homes into their screen towers.
"In 1947, in the Wasatch Mountains on the eastern edge of Salt Lake City, stood the Motor-Vu Drive-In. However, it was no ordinary theater. The Motor-Vu's owner, Erick C. Peterson, found that he and his family were spending far too much time at the drive-in during its opening season. So they moved a little closer. They built a house inside the screen tower of the drive-in."
Besides featuring all the necessities of modern living - two bedrooms, utility room, kitchen, breakfast nook and living room - it also had a sound studio and one of the best views of the Salt Lake Valley.
(FYI: the Motor-Vu opened on June 7, 1947. It was located at 3300 South and 3500 East.)
The book also includes the reprint of a menu from the Golden Spike Drive-In - but doesn't mention where the theater was located. Most likely somewhere around Box Elder County.
The menus, with such items as jumbo size hamburgers for 25 cents, milk shakes for a mere 20 cents and soft drinks ("ice cold in bottles") for only 10 cents, were handed out as patrons drove into the theater. There were instructions to "place this card under windshield wiper (and a) uniformed attendant will serve you."
"The American Drive-In Movie Theatre" is packed with fascinating information about the history and development of "ozoners."
Don and Susan Sanders agree that drive-in movies were a uniquely American phenomenon. While some few were built in other countries, they didn't catch on like they did in the United States.
There are some bits of humor throughout the book. Such as:
- In-car air-conditioners installed in some drive-ins in the Deep South. But there was a glitch. Mice, bugs and other critters would crawl into the underground pipes - and end up being blown into patrons' laps when the system was turned on.
- An unusual, wheel-shaped drive-in where every car had its own mini-screen, with the projection booth situated in the center of the spokes. This concept didn't take off, either.
One of the photographs in the book - the Edgemere Drive-In, Worcester, Mass., came from the Brigham Young University archives.
Don and Susan Sanders stopped briefly at BYU while doing their research in this region.
"One BYU student had done a thesis study on commercial land development and used drive-ins as an example of how property had become valuable. Later, BYU sent us a boxful of drive-in theater material, including site plans, etc. This was one of the photographs," said Don.
Don and Susan, who operate their own marketing company in Dallas, were turned down by 13 publishers until being invited by Motorbooks International, a Wisconsin-based company, to publish the book.
"At one time Texas had 475 drive-in theaters - more than any other state," said Susan. "Now there are only 11 left here. They were such a part of our lives and now they're all but gone. They're a vanishing American icon and they need to be documented. So many have been torn down in the name of `progress.' "
"The American Drive-In Movie Book," $29.95; 160 pages; Motorbooks International Publishers and Wholesalers. Available at major book stores.