History: The Capri Drive-In was built in 1964, in a 20 acre alfalfa field, by John and Mary Magocs. The Capri featured a big 115-foot wide single screen, a modern snack bar, and a 1,000 car capacity. The Magocs successfully operated the Coldwater-area institution for more than twenty years. In 1977 William Clarke leased the Capri from the Magocs for a short time, and during this period the Capri was nearly lost forever, like so many other drive-in theaters. Fortunately, sons Tom and John Magocs Jr. stepped up and assumed operation of the Capri in 1980, saving it from a near-certain loss. The improvements began immediately, by installing AM radio sound, and removing nearly all of the speakers and poles. The snack bar had been leased out to an outside concessions company since the Capri opened, but in 1982 Sue Magocs assumed control, another great improvement. Screen two was installed in 1986, making the Capri a twin theater. Capacity on screen one was 550 cars, and 300 cars on screen two. The new screen was salvaged from an unknown, closed Pontiac-area drive-in. Platters were installed in the projection booths, and the few remaining speaker poles were removed, also in 1986. The Capri managed to survive the 1980's, a very devastating era for drive-in theaters. Half of Michigan's 126 drive-in's closed between 1977 and 1988, leaving only 62. It was down to 29 by 1990, and half of those closed by 1992, leaving only 14. Yet the Capri survived, and flourished with the drive-in resurgence of the late-1990's. Fm-sound was another late-1990's Capri improvement. 1996 saw the unfortunate passing of the Capri's founder, John Magocs. The Capri received national attention in July 2001 when it was named one of America's Top 10 Drive-In Theaters by USA Today . Also in July 2001, the Capri's original 1964 marquee was damaged in an accident, when a westbound car left US-12 and collided into it. The damage was significant, so an indentical marquee was constructed and installed. In early 2003 the Capri lot received a fresh load of gravel, and new "speaker" poles were installed in both theaters. These poles do not have speakers attached to them, they actually serve as parking markers. Another big improvement in 2003 was the Capri's website, CapriDrive-In.com . The site was redesigned by, and is now maintained by Gary Ritzenthaler. Gary is also the webmaster at WaterWinterWonderland.com , and the web designer of MichiganDriveIns.com . Nostalgia lives in 2003 and beyond at the Capri Drive-In. Regular special events include Capri anniversary parties, car shows, and Halloween parties. With a great family atmosphere, friendly staff, excellent projection, and awesome food the Capri is a must-see. The Capri normally operates from March thru October, with a seven-day schedule from May through August, and weekends only in March, April, September, and October. (MICHIGANDRIVEINS.COM)

News Article: One Of Michigan's Finest - New Drive-In Theater To Open Coldwater's newest entertainment facility, the $125,000 Capri drive-in theater and cafeteria on US-12, just west of Memorial Airport, will have its gala opening this Friday night. annoucement of plans for the opening are made by the owners, Mr. and Mrs. John B.Magocs, in an advertisement appearing elsewhere in today's issue. Construction of the giant outdoor theater was started in May and in design it combines the best features of seven or eight auto theaters in the Detroit area. Situated on a 20-acre site purchased from Karl and Wenzel Gruner, the theater features a giant 115 by 60 screen said to be the largest in Michigan aside from one in the Detroit area. Conveniently located in the middle is an attractive 60 by 60 foot building which houses the projection and sound equipment, a spacious snack bar and cafeteria, and large, completely modern rest rooms.The theater can accomodate a total of 804 cars and the snack bar-cafeteria is equipped and staffed to provide fast and efficient service to customers. Further development of the facility is planned for next year, according to Magocs, who revealed today they plan to add a children's playground. The Magocs came here in May from the Detroit area where he had been associated with the wholesale electronics business with M.N.Duffy & company since 1947. The theater will open at 7 p.m. daily with the official opening being at that hour tomorrow evening. (Coldwater Daily Reporter - Thursday, August 20, 1964)

News Article: Driver's vehicle veers into marquee sign at drive-in Branch County - A Coldwater man was listed in critical condition Thursday afternoon after his vehicle struck the marquee at the Capri Drive-In Movie Theater outside Coldwater. Thomas Eugene Rimbey, 69, was westbound on U.S. 12 at about 10:50 a.m. Thursday when for some reason his vehicle crossed into the oncoming lane and then left the road. Officers at the scene indicated that witnesses saw Rimbey slumped over the wheel of his vehicle prior to the accident. Rimbey's car had traveled about 700 feet before hitting the sign, having moved through part of a field and then the lawn of the drive-in. The car hit the marquee, taking with it bushes and bits of the structure, as well as knocking off all but a few of the letters on the marquee. The vehicle became lodged beneath the marquee. Michigan State Troopers, assisted by Branch County Sheriff's deputies and Bronson Police were on hand following the accident. LifeCare officials and the Bronson Fire Department also assisted at the scene. Rimbey was taken to the Community Health Center of Branch County, and was then was flown to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo. There were no other occupants in the vehicle. The accident remains under investigation. (By Nikki Sattler-The Coldwater Daily Reporter July 06, 2001)

Update: A TV crew from the The Food Network was at the Capri Drive-In on Saturday September 27, filming for an episode of the series Top 5 . From the Top 5 page at foodtv.com: Sticky buns, deep-fried candy bars, TV dinners, flambe and $20,000 cakes. From quirky to outrageous, Top 5 pays homage through food to the Top 40 countdown shows each generation has grown to love. Join host Bobby Rivers on his colorful trips back in time to see how your favorite treats made it to the American Bandstand of food. Top 5 airs Mondays at 10:30 pm and 2:30 am and Thursdays at 9:30 pm and 1:30 am. All times ET/PT. We will post an update when this episode is due to aired, be sure to catch it! (MICHIGANDRIVEINS.COM 9-28-03)

Update: Went to the Capri Drive In theatre Coldwater MI on the last weekend of the season Oct 22. Sue Magocs wife of the owner showed me around. Very good drive in theater. I rate it 5 stars, go for another 40 years. (Sidney Beintema 11-23-04)

News Article: At the drive-in - A night at the big screen without the theater This summer, take a break from the costly, crowded atmosphere of your local 28-screen megaplex. Imagine a night under the stars instead, enjoying the company of your friends, the quiet hum of your automobile and the pleasure of seeing two films for the price of one. By doing so, you'll also be supporting a dying Michigan tradition - of the once more than 150 drive-in movie theaters in the state, less than 15 survive. "The exhibition business has been forced into (building multiplexes) in a lot of degrees because of the distribution of films and the way studios are," said Gary Ritzenthaler, a Wixom resident and drive-in enthusiast who operates a Web site about historical places in Michigan . "Multiplexes are a financial reality." The death of drive-ins, Ritzenthaler attests, is mainly a result of major film company control of production, exhibition and distribution. In the past few decades, independent theaters have been forced to take poorer-quality products from major film companies in order to receive big-budget, popular films. At one time, Ritzenthaler said, theaters were able to change what films they showed several times a week - now, venues are obligated to keep unsuccessful films playing on screen for up to 4 weeks at a time. "You're forced to take a product, and if it dies, you still have to show it," Ritzenthaler said. Due to such block booking, operating expenses and film company demand for 70-90 percent ticket sale returns, most drive-in theaters survive solely on profits from concession sales, said Tom Magocs, who owns the Coldwater-based Capri Drive-in theater with his wife, Sue. On Saturday, Magocs sat in the Capri's box office, selling tickets to the few carloads of people who braved the erratic snowy weather for a double feature of either "The Amityville Horror" and "Sahara" or "Fever Pitch" and "Beauty Shop." "I'm going in the hole tonight," Magocs said. "If you told me last Saturday that this Saturday it would be snowing, I'd go, 'Yeah right, what are you smoking?'" Despite occasional bad weather, the Capri has generally remained a successful drive-in theater since it was built by Magocs' parents in 1964. "It's been in my life so long that I just assume it always will be," Magocs said. "But then again, you never know. It's just like anything else - as long as we have the movies and the weather, we're all set." For many cars that drove up to the Capri gate, Magocs doesn't even need to give them instructions on what to do - a great deal of the Capri's guests are regulars. "Most people that live in Coldwater don't come to the drive-in," Capri projectionist and Coldwater resident Joel Harman said. "It's always out-of-town people. It's a heck of a lot better deal than the cinema, too, which charges 50 cents more and you only see one movie." The Capri didn't always have such a strong out-of-town market, Magocs said. Once videocassette recorders and cable television became popular in the late '80s and '90s, less people were coming to the drive-in to see a movie. "It was pretty slow times," Magocs said. "But we didn't have a high overhead, so we could hold on." The main factor for revived business at the Capri can be traced to one of Lansing's own morning radio programs, the Tim and Deb Radio Show at WMMQ (94.9-FM) . "Back in the early '90s they did a segment on drive-ins because they were tearing down the last one in Lansing ," Magocs said. "People started calling in and telling them about the drive-in in Coldwater - and we got more and more phone calls." Magocs' father, John Magocs, who worked at the Capri until his death in 1996, was interviewed on the show, and shout-outs to the Capri have aired ever since. Other outdoor theaters were not so lucky to survive the last few decades, and many closed drive-in lots remain undeveloped, grown over with weeds and often cluttered with the remains of theater materials. Ritzenthaler, who grew increasingly interested in drive-in theaters in the mid-'90s after noticing such lots while on road trips, started to photograph the ruins. "If I see (a drive-in) that I haven't seen before, it's exciting to know that I've seen it," he said. "But it's sad in a way too, because you realize that's a day gone by. The homogenization of our architecture is happening right before our eyes, and everything that is unique and different is leaving. "Everything looks like it's from the same cookie-cutter plan. In the past you have these art deco things, these old theaters, and at the time they probably looked cheesy - but you look at it another way and say, 'Yeah, it was very cool, very unique,' because there weren't two alike." One such closed drive-in, the Lakes Drive-In in Lake Linden , was particularly jolting, Ritzenthaler said. "I took pictures of what was left of it," he said. "The screen was on the ground, the concession stand was all decrepit, there were projection reels everywhere and even a dog that was following me around. It was pretty eerie looking." Surviving Michigan drive-ins can be found in Carsonville, Flint, Muskegon and Dearborn, among other locations. All seem worth the drive, and Magocs said, people often make day trips out of them. All in all, there's something magical about a night at the drive-in, Ritzenthaler said. "The vibe about being outside - it's more of a unique experience," he said. "Half the time at the drive-in I don't even watch the movie, I just talk to my friends. If the movie sucks, you can just rip on it. "In a drive-in, you're in your car, nobody cares if you talk. You can eat, you can do whatever you want - you have that advantage that people kind of forget about now." (Emily Buckler/Statenews.com 4/28/05 )