Google Dooble celebrates first drive-in theater with short clip

Mountain View, Calif., United States (4E) – Wednesday’s Google Doodle celebrates the 79th anniversary of the opening of the first drive-in theater with a short animated movie.

Users who visit Google’s home page are greeted with a Google Drive-In Theater sign amid a starry evening background. In the center is an admission ticket. When clicked on, the show begins.

The camera pans panoramically around a parking lot, focusing on a car pulling into a parking spot. The movie rolls—music and all.

The Google clip ends at a snack bar, stocked with traditional movie fare, and a popcorn bucket bearing the Google logo.

The first drive-in theater was in Camden, N.J. The first film shown there was Adolphe Menjou’s 1932 comedy “Wife Beware.”

The Camden drive-in stayed open about three years, but the concept quickly spread in other states, with popularity peaking in the 1950s and ’60s before eventually fading out as indoor theaters took over.

While a smattering remain around the country, drive-ins are few and far between.

The End.

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