Drive-ins allowed for two favorite pastimes in the middle of the 20th century. People loved their cars, and they loved motion pictures. With drive-ins, there was no need to dress up (a customary practice when attending walk-in theaters at the time), and parking was easy. By 1958, more than 4000 drive-ins were operating in the United States. The Fun-Lan drive-in opened in 1950 with the movie The Story of Seabiscuit starring Shirley Temple. The admission price was $.48. It had a capacity for nearly 700 cars, had a playground called Kidde-Lan, and would serve dinner in your car. It was a full family fun experience.

Attendance at drive-ins began to decline towards the end of the 20th century. Cable television, VCRs, and larger flatscreen TVs had a greater appeal. In 1981, Fun-Lan opened a flea market (swap shop) four days per week to try to increase its profit and footprint. They later added three more screens in an attempt to appeal to a broader audience. They operated until 2021 when they announced their closure. In February 2022, the land was sold to Richman Hillsborough Apartments for $11.3 million, with plans to build multi-family housing.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved