McHenry Outdoor Theater celebrates 75 years of movies under the stars

Just like they have on most every summer night for the past three quarters of a century, drivers made their way down gravel paths Wednesday evening, kicking up dust and passing rows of speaker poles as they looked for the perfect spot to watch a movie at the McHenry Outdoor Theater.

While the name has changed since that first car pulled into the Skyline Drive-In on July 20, 1951, to see “Rogues of Sherwood Forest,” the feeling of excitement when images start to flicker on the six-story screen hasn’t.

“It’s very unique, and I think it’s very important to preserve it,” owner Scott Dehn said.

The theater in Lakemoor (the property the theater is situated on was annexed from McHenry in 2020) is celebrating 75 years since first opening at 1510 Chapel Hill Road.

Open during the golden age of outdoor theaters, the McHenry is the only remaining drive-in in the suburbs.

Dehn purchased the theater 26 years ago. He said his earliest childhood memory was seeing a movie with his parents and sister at the very drive-in he now owns.

“I know exactly where we were parked, and I remember the two movies I saw were ‘Star Trek III’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,’” he said. “I already loved movies at that point. But this was the biggest building I’d ever seen at that young age, and I was like, ‘Wow! They show a movie on there?’ I was just captivated.”

The experience of being able to get out of the car and run around before the movie, and seeing people together in groups, stuck with him.

“I became infatuated with the whole communal movie experience,” Dehn said.

People are still embracing that experience. Dehn said they’ll get 600 to 700 cars on weekend nights to the theater, which is generally open from April to December.

Charles and Anna Ellis of Woodstock said they’ve had season passes for their family for two years and come every Wednesday for “subtitle night,” or any time a new movie comes out.

“I grew up going to drive-ins,” Charles Ellis said. “It was a whole family affair every summer. We like that it’s passing on to the next generation.”

Their experience showed.

Not only was the bed of their truck covered in cushions and pillows, but a hammock attached to a stand on the tow hitch allowed Charles to gently swing and pass the time before the movie started

“We’ve got it set up now so it’s almost as comfortable as sitting on our couch at home,” he said.

A few spaces over, Mason Snider and Chloe Schadle of Belvidere perched in the back of a pickup truck, eating popcorn and getting ready to take in their first drive-in movie. Both 17, they were the target audience when the industry was thriving.

“Seeing it in movies has kind of made it nostalgic for me, even though I’ve never been to one,” Schadle said. “When you see it, it always brings a vibe, and it looks cool.”

Dehn said he’s tried to make the theater a destination for families and has made a variety of improvements to the property over the years to enhance the movie-watching experience, including replacing the screen and renovating the concession stand three years ago.

“Everything’s as upgraded as it can be right now,” he said.

While only about 300 drive-ins still operate in the United States, Dehn said there were “thousands” when he bought the McHenry Outdoor in 2000.

Most closed because they couldn’t afford new equipment when the movie industry switched from traditional 35 mm film to digital projection.

Dehn faced the same dilemma, but saw an opportunity when Honda offered an online contest called “Project Drive-In” in 2013, which the company described as “a national effort to save as many of America’s remaining drive-ins as possible” by supplying them with free digital projection setups.

Dehn got the word out about the effort, which required people to vote online for the theater they wanted to receive the equipment. Moviegoers rallied, and they were one of nine theaters nationally chosen.

“What saved the theater is what I love most about it; it’s that the community comes together,” he said. “I mean, they come here because they want to see ‘Moana’ or ‘Toy Story,’ but they want to share that experience together, and it becomes like a block party where there just happens to be a couple of movies playing.”

To celebrate the anniversary, the theater will give the first 75 cars free admission on Tuesday, July 21, and Thursday, July 23, to showings of the live-action “Moana” and “The Odyssey.”

As part of the theater’s “golden ticket” promotion, one winner will receive a ticket good for every movie, every season, for the next 75 years. To sign up for the giveaway, visit goldenagecinemas.com/goldenticket.

Dehn said he still finds it hard to believe that the theater is turning 75 and that he’s been a part of it for over a third of its history.

“There’s not that many (drive-ins) that can say that,” he said. “I love movies. I love what you get out of seeing movies with your friends, your family, the community, your neighbors. It’s my job to take care of it and leave it better than I found it. I hope that whoever comes after me can keep that going for another 75 years.”