The Cascade Drive-In near Grand Rapids, Michigan opened for
business May 9, 1969. The Cascade was situated on a 40 acre plot
on the southwest corner of 28th Street and I-96. Opening night
featured Gone With The Wind on the Red Screen, and A Fistful Of
Dollars with For A Few Dollars More on the Blue Screen.
Initial plans called for a summer 1968 opening, back-to-back
screens with two projection booths, and it was to be called
the Deluxe Twin Drive-In. However, these ideas didn't make it
past the drawing board. Construction commenced in early 1968,
and oddly enough, it didn't open until over a year later. One delay
was a screen that blew down in a wind storm in July 1968.
Conventionally located screens were erected at opposite ends
of the site, along with one large centrally located projection booth/snack bar. One unusual feature that did make the cut was
curved screens. Michigans tough winters weren't going to stop the
Cascade, there were in-car heaters for year-round movie going.
Another name considered for the drive-in was Cascade Red and
Blue. National Amusements finally settled on calling it the
Cascade Twin.
Not only was the Cascade the first multi-screen drive-in in
the state, it was also the largest drive-in in the state with a
2,500 car capacity. The Cascade would only hold that title for
about three years. In 1972, Detroit's Bel-Air Drive-In was twinned
and enlarged to a 3,000 car capacity.
A drive-in with capacity of 2,500 cars had some special requirements.
Obviously they didn't want cars backed
up onto 28th Street waiting to get into the drive-in. To help
alleviate this, the entrance driveway was six lanes wide, and the
drive-in lot was located at the back of the site, with three ticket booths that were situated about 1,000 feet from 28th Street.
A large drive-in also required a large snack bar, and the Cascade didn't disappoint. It featured a huge cafeteria style snack bar with eight service lanes.
High ceilings and glass sides made it easy to see the
movie while purchasing snacks, air conditioning made it comfortable.
The brick and glass building also housed large restrooms and a
second floor projection booth.
The Cascade Twin also had a "twin" in Mid-Michigan, the M-78
Twin Drive-In near Lansing. The M-78 was another National Amusements
drive-in and it opened a few months after the Cascade, in November 1969.
The Cascade and M-78 had identical
snack bars, ticket booths and managers offices. The two drive-ins
also shared very similar layouts. A third National Amusements twin
drive-in was opened near Flint in 1973, the Miracle Twin.
A concept shared by all three drive-ins was color-coded screens, intially "Red" and "Blue" screens. The Cascade Blue screen was on the north
side of the lot, and the Red screen was on the south side. The Blue
screen had large "Cascade" letters on the back, which could be seen
from nearby Interstate 96.
In 1977, third screens were added at the Cascade and M-78 and going along with the color coding system, their new screens were called "Green" screens. The Cascade debuted it's Green screen on July 8,
1977. This screen was located on the east side of the lot, in between the other two screens.
One of the primary contributors to the downfall of drive-in theaters was the advent of the multiplex indoor theater. In 1985, National Amusements dropped a 10-screen multiplex right at the Cascade Drive-In's front door. This move very likely sealed the fate of the Cascade. The Showcase Cinemas multiplex was built at the front of the Cascade lot and was meant to operate alongside the drive-in. However, the two theaters only coexisted for three short years. The Showcase Cinema also had a short lifespan, it closed in 2002, and was demolished in 2003.
By drive-in standards, the Cascade had a relatively short run of 18 years. The final shows flickered onto the three screens on August 31, 1987, and then the Cascade quietly began a slow slide into obscurity. Sadly, the once proud
drive-in was abandoned and left to rot for ten years. Demolition finally came around 1997, forever ending any hopes of a reopening. Today, Grand Rapids residents don't have any drive-in theaters to attend. But, they can purchase snacks and DVD movies at Target on 28th Street, one of the retail stores standing on the grave of the long forgotten Cascade Twin Drive-In Theater.
Cascade Twin Drive-In Theater
Updates & Comments
1968 News Article: Twin Drive-In Rising At Grand Rapids - Construction is in progress on a new 2,500-car twin
drive-in, the first of its kind in western Michigan, for National Amusements, to be operated by Redstone
Management. Location is in the southeastern Grand Rapids area at Interstate Highway 96 and 28th Street.
The project, budgeted to cost $300,000, is planned for opening by summer. A back-to-back type construction
is planned for the two units, with 50x120-foot screens. (These plans were changed, the back-to-back screen
design was NOT utilized, the screens were actually placed on opposite ends of the lot - ed.) The tower is
designed for wind resistance up to 120 miles an hour. Operating plans include provision for staggering starting
hours, showing the same bills in both sections, as well as running entirely separate attractions in a flexible
policy. (Box Office Magazine 2/19/68)
1968 News Article: Wind Topples One Screen At Grand Rapids Cascade - One of the screens at the Cascade Twin
Drive-In, under construction for Redstone Theatres at Grand Rapids, was blown over by high winds. A construction
spokesman attributed the disaster to the accumulation of wind pressure by the bowed construction of the tower,
functioning much like a sail. The theatre was planned for a November opening but this loss is expected to delay
the opening of at least one unit for several months. (Box Office Magazine 9/2/68)
1969 News Article: The Cascade Twin Drive-In at Grand Rapids has been renamed as Cascade Red and Cascade Blue
and is set for a May 7 opening. Bill Kelly is the film buyer. (Box Office Magazine 4/23/69)
1969 News Article: The Deluxe Twin Drive-In at Grand Rapids will open this month, and construction has begun
on another twin drive-in at Lansing, to be completed in the fall.
(Box Office Magazine 5/12/69)
1969 News Article: Cascade Twin Drive-In Opens - On 40 acres, four miles out of Grand Rapids, Mich., the
Cascade Twin Drive-In Theatre was opened this summer. This was the first twin drive-in for the state. The
marquee shown in the picture above was coded red and blue for each theatre, using Adler silhouette plastic
clip-on letters. The shed beneath the canopy, constructed of redwood, is used for storing the letters and
equipment for marquee changes. The architect's drawing is shown, with the overall layout. (The architect's
drawing shown in the
article is actually the M-78 Drive-In - ed.)
The screens are on either side of the 2,300 car area. The cafeteria-style refreshment stand is of brick and
the common projection booth showing projectors facing both Red and Blue screens is shown. A special feature
of the Cascade is a free kiddie playground with equipment from the Miracle Equipment Company. A six-lane
entrance road approaches three toll booths which can handle two lanes each. Three-foot illuminated post
lights are coded red or blue to the color of each theatre. Cedar split rails and cedar pickets fence the
area and it is all landscaped. CREDITS: Architect: William Riseman, Cash Register: National Cash Register,
Changeable Sign Equipment: Adler, Cornpopper: Charles Manley Co., Counters: Formica by Mastercraft, Drink
Dispensers: Selmix, Food Warmers: Linsey Corp., Heaters: Eprad, Lamphouses: Strong, Lenses: Kollmorgen,
Playground Equipment: Miracle Equipment Co., Projection Equipment: Century, Sound Equipment: Altec, Screen
Towers: Segal Sign Co., Speakers: Eprad-Merit, Traffic Control System: Eprad Car-Check. See the article in
hi-res here.
(Boxoffice Magazine - November 1969 - Courtesy
Jeff Logan/Starlite Drive-In Mitchell, SD)
Status: Gone, Showcase Cinema indoor theater at front of lot, heavily overgrown drive-in field, ramps, and
driveway are still there. The screens, snack bar, and ticket booths are gone, this big drive-in had 3 screens, 4 ticket booths, and 8 traffic lanes, has possibilities? (Michigan Drive-In Theater Guide 10/98)
Update: It was torn done maybe a year (Oct 97) before you were there. The large screens were curved
(dished) with steel framework un-like anything else I have ever seen pictures of. I really wish I had
trespassed with my camera. (Les Hale 10/12/99)
Update: The Cascade site has been completely mowed, and has had some excavation. The ramps for all three
theatres remain intact, as do the ticket booth and snack bar foundations. Two of three screen foundations
were also found. Also, National Amusement's Showcase Cinema indoor theater, which ran in conjunction with
their Cascade Drive-In, has been closed. The building has been completely gutted, and the property is for
sale. (Michigandriveins.com 4/27/03)
Update: The demolition of the adjacent Showcase Cinema building is now under way. The lot is reportedly
destined to become a Lowes store. (Waterwinterwonderland.com 8/8/03)
Update: My friend sent me a link to the site. I was the manager of the Cascade Drive-In when it closed in September 1987 for the last time, although it hadnt been decided it would be forever at that time. I worked there from 1984-87 plus time at the M-78 Drive-In in Lansing and indoor at Showcase Cinemas until it was closed in January 2003 (open November 1985). The Drive-In buildings were demolished in the early to mid-90s but I forget when. Showcase Cinemas was demolished slowly from January-summer 2003.
I think I have a pile of photos around of both theatres and the original blueprints for both theatres, Ill have to take a look. It might also be interesting to know I run an independent record label out of my house called Drive-In Records, 61 releases so far with bands from Australia, Singapore, England, Canada, Brazil, the US of course and other counrties. www. driveinrecords.
com Finally, I am still in the theatre biz as a projection and sound tech for Audio Imaging Specialists and get around to theatres all over the state, including the Cherry Bowl Drive-In which is probably the coolest one Ive seen.(Mike Babb/Waterwinterwonderland.com 2/24/04)
Update: I worked here with Mike Babbs back in 1985. The third screen (Green, the original two were called Red & Blue) was added in the spring of 1977. (Roger Nead/Waterwinterwonderland.com 9/11/04)
Update: All traces of the Cascade Drive-In Theatre have now been completely wiped away with the construction
of a Costco store on the site. The adjacent Showcase Cinema indoor theatre is also history, only the battered
marquee and an entrance sign remain. (Michigandriveins.com 10/17/04)
Update: The Cascade Red & Blue Twin Drive-In became the Cascade Triple Drive-In in July of 1977 with the
addition of the third "green" screen. The July 7th ad newspaper ad proclaimed "Tomorrow - A New Concert
In Drive-In Theatres - 3 Screeens Red-Blue-Green At One Location!" The exact same ad was again run July 8th,
9th and 10th, most likely the green screen opened on Friday, July 8th. One of National Amusements other Red
& Blue Twin Drive-Ins, the M-78 in East Lansing, underwent a similar makeover in May 1977,
also becoming a triple. (MichiganDriveins.com 11/13/04)
Update: The Showcase marquee and sign have been removed, no trace of it or the drive-in remain. (Michigandriveins.com 6/11/05)
Update: I worked there in 1975 repairing speakers while going to United Electronics Institute. I swear there were three screens then, not 1977.
(Frank Ferguson/Waterwinterwonderland.com 2/7/06)
Update: Now a Target and Costco sit on the site where Cinema Drive In and Showcase Cinema stood. (Howard Parks/Waterwinterwonderland.com 8/20/07)
Cascade Twin Drive-In Theater Gallery
Click Thumbnails For Large Images
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