High winds drop the curtain on one of Minnesota's last remaining drive-in movie theaters
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On an ordinary summer afternoon, one could expect to see a line of cars form at the entrance of the Sky-Vu Drive-In theater and spill out onto the state road just beside it. As people in each vehicle drove by the marquee to pay admission, they’d park in front of the screen as the sun set and the film began.
But now, the two metal poles holding the marquee are bent so far back that the sign is facing the ground. Warped metal and broken wood lie where the screen once stood. It’s the result of a 75-mile-per-hour wind gust that blew through this part of the Red River Valley, according to local weather data.
Chris Novak and his father, Steve Novak, co-owners of Sky-Vu, tread around the wreckage. Two sets of speakers are crushed beneath a pile of wood that no longer resembles a screen. Steve said a worker was about to check the sound system in front of the screen mere minutes before it caved in.
“All of a sudden, boom, the drive-in's gone,” said Steve.
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The wind was so strong that it lifted a chunk of concrete that anchored the screen off the ground and threw it 10 to 20 feet away. The destruction happened moments before the venue was set to open for the night. The venue announced on Facebook there would be no showing that night, or for the rest of the season, for that matter. Passers-by offered their condolences and prayers. Chris said he couldn’t sleep for the following five days.
“It was hard to eat. You're just sick to your stomach,” said Chris. “Just a crappy deal.”
Steve called his mom.
“As I was crying, I says, ‘I need you,’” said Steve. “I usually don't call her up, and she lives in Argyle. She came down. The first thing we seen each other, we started crying.”
The damage sets the pair back $250,000, according to their estimates. They expect insurance to cover some of the costs, and through a GiveSendGo account they’ve set up, they hope donations cover the rest.
The financial setback is tough. Especially since business has slowed down over the past couple of years, the Novaks say, and the drive-in industry has changed over the last few decades.
Drive-ins: Real estate disguised as a movie theater
Drive-ins used to be spread throughout Minnesota. Over a dozen could be found around the Twin Cities alone, and the state as a whole was home to over 80.
Dave Kenney, a freelance writer specializing in Minnesota history, said drive-ins were a big part of his childhood. As a teenager, he’d go to the drive-ins with friends — often in mischievous ways.
“Sometimes we would hide in each other's trunks of their cars and sneak in, which was a pretty common thing to do,” said Kenney.
He added drive-ins were a real estate business model at first. People bought plots of land, screened movies on them and waited for their value to grow.
“One of the big drivers of the demise of the drive-ins was the fact that the land underneath them just got to a point where it made sense for the owners to sell,” said Kenney.
The drive-in theaters that remained then had to compete with the rise of VHS, videocassette recorders and, as technology improved, DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. The teenagers who used to frequent drive-ins now had the option to stay at home.
The clientele then transformed from teen posses to groups of families.
“[Drive-ins] had to make sure they had G-rated films or PG things that the parents could be comfortable showing their kids,” said Kenney.
But the family clientele brings its own set of challenges for drive-ins such as Sky-Vu. Many of these venues are far from metro areas, so it could take visitors hours to arrive. And when they do, they still have to wait for the sun to set and the movie to start.
“You can't start the movie in the midsummer until 10 o'clock,” Chris Novak said. “If you're going to start a three-hour-long movie, it gets done at 1 a.m. Most people, our clientele, are between 30 and 60 miles away. That puts them falling asleep around 2:30 in the morning. Who wants to do that?”
Steve Novak added that there was a time when business was so slow that they threatened to close the drive-in unless they received community support.
“We were going to put an X-rated movie out at 3 o'clock in the morning,” said Steve. “And we did. And they lined up and packed the place.”
The theater has since returned to showing family-friendly features, and its bond to the community has strengthened. Many say that without Sky-Vu, Warren simply wouldn’t be the same.
A cinematic beacon for northwestern Minnesota
Lance Pierce, who lives in Drake, N.D., had been looking for a drive-in for a while, with none left in his state. When he found Sky-Vu, he packed his family into their car and drove three and a half hours to get there.
“It was a real treat because not only was the movie going, but the auroras came out that night too. So it was a second show,” said Pierce.
It was a nostalgic night for Pierce, who grew up going to drive-ins in Sacramento, Calif. He called Sky-Vu a “gem” and hopes it rebuilds. If it doesn’t, he says it would be a huge loss.
Visitors to the drive-in, like Pierce, also means visitors to Warren, which is a mere four minutes away. Cody Kobetsky is the owner of Hank’s Sports Bar and Grill in Warren. He said that over the years, people have decided to stop by for a meal before visiting the drive-in. During the summer, he says they often see an uptick in clientele, especially in the hours leading up to a drive-in showing.
“I definitely appreciate that they're drawing people into our community,” said Kobetsky. “That results in us having more business as well.”
Sydni Schroeder, a server at Hank’s, said she used to work at the drive-in as a teenager. She remembers those times fondly, saying it was an opportunity to meet people from all over.
“I was actually flying out of Fargo, and somebody there was like, ‘Oh, you're from Warren?’ and they're like, ‘You know the drive-in?’” Schroeder said. “I just meet people out and about everywhere who have been there.”
Steve and Chris Novak say they have no plans to shut down for good. They say reopening will be a way to honor the memory of Steve Novak’s father, Leonard Novak, who passed away last year. Leonard rebuilt the Sky-Vu the only other time it was destroyed by a twister, in 1975, during a showing of Jaws.
“My dad grabbed me,” recalled Steve. “He threw me underneath the Ford Falcon next to that post there, and he held on to the post, and before you know it, everything was gone.”
The Novaks’ will to revive their drive-in after natural disasters seems to run in the family. Steve imagined what it might be like for his father to hear about the latest destruction of the theater.
“He's in heaven right now, looking down, shaking his head. Like, ‘What more can happen?’” Steve said. “I leave all of a sudden, we've had the projector go down three times, the screen go down twice. It's like, what is going on?”
Steve turned to his son, Chris. “What would he say, pal? What was it?”
“Better you than me,” replied Chris.
The two hope the drive-in will reopen next year. This time, they plan to install steel beams for the screen to prevent future falls.
