Now’s The Time To Bring The Drive-In Theater Back to Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids and Marion have a long history with drive-in theaters. Do you remember any of these?

• Cedar Rapids Drive-In (2925 Williams Parkway SW): Opened in 1948; Closing Unknown
• Collins Road Drive-In (1600 51st St. NE): 1967 to 1984
• Twin Drive-In (6300 6th St. SW): 1969 to 1987
• Twixt Town Drive-In (1400 Twixt Town Road, Marion): 1952 to 1978

Last week, we learned that a central Iowa businessman wants to turn an empty parking lot into a new drive-in. The Des Moines Register reports it would be in the former Younkers at Valley West Mall in West Des Moines.

At this time, the nearest drive-in to Des Moines is the Valle Drive-In in Newton. That's less than 40 miles away. However, if you live in Cedar Rapids and want to go to a drive-in, you'll have to drive for more than an hour. Both the 61 Drive-In in Delmar and Blue Grass Drive-In in Blue Grass are about 75 minutes from Cedar Rapids. For late-ending movies, that's an especially long trip. That got me thinking, why can't Cedar Rapids have a drive-in again? Unfortunately, we also have a lot of empty parking lots that could be options.

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Where would we put a drive-in in Cedar Rapids? That seems like an easy question until you start looking around:

Perhaps another idea would be a plot of land off the new Highway 100 extension, somewhere between Edgewood Road and Highway 30. That would certainly meet one big piece of criteria: a large piece of land. It would also get the screen away from city lights, making for an even greater viewing experience.

I'd love to see a drive-in in Cedar Rapids again. Here's hoping that starting the conversation will lead to something big.