Rustic Tri-View Drive-In

[Frankie811]

It wasn

[runawayjim]

My wife and I went there a couple years ago and have been meaning to go back. We keep forgetting about it. It's a great deal as long as you're not looking for top quality sound or picture. It made for a great date night. We bought a bunch of snacks cheap, packed pillows and blankets in the car and laid down in the back of my wagon. It was quite cozy.

[Patrick Ward]

My wife and I went there a couple years ago and have been meaning to go back. We keep forgetting about it. It's a great deal as long as you're not looking for top quality sound or picture. It made for a great date night. We bought a bunch of snacks cheap, packed pillows and blankets in the car and laid down in the back of my wagon. It was quite cozy.

[Jenks]

We used to go to the Lonsdale Drive-In. I saw Saturday Night Fever there!

It's all protected wetlands around the bike path now, but they recreated the drive-in signs, which was cool.

[ArtInRuins]

A recent story in the Valley Breeze: http://www.valleybreeze.com/Free/MAIN-4-23...-04-22T06-17-34

There is a great story behind the history of this drive-in. I have meant to put this on AIR but I haven't yet... It's part urban legend and part true. True mainly because of friend of mine was involved:

When I was little, between 1976 and 1984, maybe even before that, the Drive-In must have hit upon bad economic times and turned to showing "adult" films, much like the Columbus Theatre and many older venues. Competing with the new suburban indoor theaters was tough, and traffic on 146 had changed from the sight seeing type to the destination seekers. Cars flew by between Providence and Worcester, but no one stopped, and besides, Drive-Ins were old fashioned and uncool. So, the Rustic was basically a Drive-In Porno.

Now, I vaguely remember being able to drive by late at night sometimes and catch a glimmer of flesh on the screens. My friends who had friends around the corner from it definitely used to peek through the fence behind their back yards. This was also during the era of the tri-view, so, imagine being inside the gates and surrounded by sex! I wonder if it ever met its capacity of 550 cars at that time?

Sometime in 1989 or 1990, I think, there was a mysterious fire in the projection booth. I say mysterious, but my friend was the one that started it... accidentally. Whether or not that should be in quotes, I'll never know. But shortly after, the owners must have had a good insurance policy on it, because it reopened as a family-theatre again in the early 90s.

Now that you know the story, take another look at the old retro metal lightbulb sign. Look suspicious? Makes me wonder if that sign was the original one from 1951... it certainly is old. If it is the original, then maybe it opened with the intentions of being an X-rated Drive In.

[Dan]

I'm wondering if this business is closed and/or for sale. I called back in October to see if they were still open weekends and the number was disconnected. I know there was a fire in the projector booth and concessions building in 2008 or 2009. Maybe the sudden closing and loss of business, renovations expense, and the slowing economy put them under?

Anyone in the Lincoln area know anything about the Rustic's plans for 2010?

[runawayjim]

I'm wondering if this business is closed and/or for sale. I called back in October to see if they were still open weekends and the number was disconnected. I know there was a fire in the projector booth and concessions building in 2008 or 2009. Maybe the sudden closing and loss of business, renovations expense, and the slowing economy put them under?

Anyone in the Lincoln area know anything about the Rustic's plans for 2010?

[Dan]

I'm pretty sure they were open this past summer. My wife and I were gonna go, but they never had a double feature that we wanted to see both movies (the problem with double features).

[runawayjim]

They were open in 2009. I'm just wondering if that was the end.