With summer in full-swing, you may be tempted to spend as much time as possible beating the heat in a nice air-conditioned building. There’s no doubt that a movie theater can provide cool, dark relief on a sweltering day.

But at Mucho Milwaukee we are solidly advocates of the bygone movie trend of Drive-In movie theaters. The experience of a drive-in movie doesn’t compare to sitting in a theater. Hanging with friends, eating food, teens and adults making out in cars, looking up at the stars when the movie gets boring…this kind of fun is the epitome of summer and you can do it all at the drive-in.

Unfortunately, like most urban areas, Milwaukee doesn’t have a drive-in super close. As real estate costs rose in past decades, these theaters couldn’t bring in enough revenue to pay high prices for city or even suburban locations. So, most drive-ins are in out-of-the-way areas and, even then, they often host flea markets during the day to offset their real estate costs. (Although, driving around Milwaukee it looks like they’re a plenty of areas where a drive-in could be squeezed in. Maybe we can attract some entrepreneur here to start one. I’m going to ask my alderman). Anyhow, the closest theater to our burg is the Keno Drive-In in Pleasant Prairie.

Keno Drive-In in Pleasant Prairie (Image borrowed from "MinnesotaDriveIns.com"...ironic, huh?)

Keno Drive-In is the oldest continuously operated drive-in Wisconsin. It’s been around since 1949! It’s got one screen and the cost for a double feature this summer is $8 per person. The movie times start at 8:30, which, at this time of year means it’s still kind of light out during the opening minutes of the movie but since drive-in movie fare is usually brainless summer blockbusters, you won’t lose a lot of nuance. The ambience of the surroundings feels like a parking lot so if you want to sit outside, bring a folding chairs or a good blanket. A portable radio with batteries is also good to make sure you can hear the movie in case you’re far away from your car radio.

West of Milwaukee there is the Hi-Way 18 Theatre near Jefferson, Wisconsin. Can’t speak to the quality of that place but considering they have two different pages of rules it seems that this place may be run by a bit of an eccentric who will come around tapping on your window asking if you have beer or marijuana cigarettes in your car. But hey, that’s the risk you run at a place like a drive-in. Think of them as the dive bars of movie theaters: owner-operated, non-corporate, with a dash of unique character.

For more drive-ins throughout Wisconsin, check out this site for a current list and some great 1998-era web design. (EDIT: the good people at Travel Wisconsin have a list of Wisconsin drive-ins that has a more contemporary feel but we’re leaving the original link up since it has some anachronistic charm about it).

Remember: even if the movie is bad, it’s still a lot of fun when you’re at the drive-in.