Speaker:Drive In

Americans have always loved their cars. As car ownership increased dramatically during the 1920s, whole industries developed around catering to the needs and desires of motorists, giving rise to motels and fast-food restaurants that sprang up along highways across the country. In 1933 cars went to the movies at the nation's first drive-in theater in Camden, New Jersey. The number of outdoor screens mushroomed in the decade following World War II, growing from a mere 300 in 1945 to well over 4,000 in 1955. As Americans became more dependent on their cars, moving to suburbs in record numbers and raising families at the dawn of the Baby Boom, drive-ins were there to meet their entertainment needs. According to a New York Times Magazine report in 1955, the image of drive-ins began to change at that time: once a source of cheap and sordid amusements, "the drive-in theater has become solid and respectable, attracting millions of car-borne families, showing first run movies, and even serving somewhat as community centers." This movie speaker was a fixture at a Rochester, New York, drive-in around 1960, when drive-ins were at the height of their popularity. Patrons simply parked the car, hung the speaker on the window, and sat back to enjoy the show.