AUT-O-RAMA Drive-in Theater

North Ridgeville, Ohio

At the end of June, 1999, I was traveling east at night on I-80, not far west of Cleveland. I'd been out to Montana to teach a platinum workshop at Photographer's Formulary, then spent some time doing large format landscape work as I made my way to meet with friends in Billings. But then I had to do a long straight-through ride back from Billings to Connecticut, making the trip in just over 48 hours. I had to get back to deal with a series of important doctor's appointments for my father in New Jersey. As I cruised in the dark along the interstate, I was amazed to see a huge moving picture just off to the right of the roadway. An enormous drive-in movie screen. I noted what the next exit number was so I could find out more about the drive-in. I hadn't really begun my DI theater project yet. When I did begin seriously researching and locating DI theaters in 2001, I found that this had to have been the AUT-O-RAMA. As I accumulated more and more 8x10 and 7x17 inch pictures of the theaters, I remembered the theater by the highway, and visualized, well, this.

When I'd gotten the clearing storm pictures at Norwalk, I called the owner of the AUT-O-RAMA and let her know I'd be arriving in the area late in the afternoon. She had chores to do at the theater and agreed to meet me for an interview. It was stormy again, but as afternoon moved toward evening it got a little brighter and I set up my 7x17" Korona for a nice framing of the lot and screen and highway with passing trucks, in the dull overcast light. Suddenly once again the clouds parted in the west, the sun dropped out and brilliantly lit the screen against a backdrop of dark clouds. I got 7x17 and 8x10 b&w negatives, along with color digital captures. A picture I'd had in my mind for more than a decade, finally captured.

North Ridgeville, Ohio

It was a great ending for this expedition, the last theater on my itinerary. I found a cheap place to stay less than a mile away and made some more pictures in early morning light the next day. They've got the transportation front covered here, not only is the Interstate adjacent to the main screen, but a railroad with lots of freight traffic runs on the south border, and planes constantly pass directly overhead, probably leaving Cleveland. It must make for some noise pollution, but the movie sound here is entirely converted to short range FM broadcast so a car stereo probably does a fine job countering the ambient noise.