Southern Tier Drive-Ins Still Exist

Drive-In memories. I have quite a few. Some will stay secret forever because, well, I plead the fifth.

Most of us have visited a Drive-In in our lifetime, and unfortunately most of them across the country have closed to be replaced by some mega-structure, cow pasture or strip mall.

Having grown up in the Corning area, most of my movie memories are of the Corning Drive-In (located just off Route 17 in Painted Post) and the Bath Drive-In. Both are gone. I believe the Bath Drive-In closed and was demolished sometime around 2007 or 2008, and The Corning Drive-In was closed in 1971 to make way for a small shopping plaza that currently sits mostly empty. I propose they knock it down, and bring back the Drive-In!

The Corning Drive-In is where I saw plenty of first run Disney movies plus the big hits of the 1960s along with my parents and siblings. We stocked up on popcorn, soda ( or as I call it - Pop), candy, and bundled up under a blanket in the back seat to enjoy the feature movie, listening to the audio from that old 'hang on the window' mono speaker.

I also enjoyed spending time at the V Drive-In in Vestal and the Airport Drive-In. Both of course, are long gone. We  gave away lots of tickets for the Airport-Drive-In, and had fun taking the Whale Van up there, and hanging out with Whale listeners!

But alas, you can still enjoy a good movie and snacks at a couple of Drive-Ins within an hour or less drive! There's the Unadilla Drive-In which has been open since the mid 50s, and the Elmira Drive-In, located between West Elmira and Big Flats, which has been around since the late 1940s. Both are still going strong, and that's a good thing!

What are your memories of the Drive-In? Did you pay attention to the movie, or did you pay more attention to your date?