reason #943827 why i don't miss living in Belleville
Skyview, the last drive-in movie theater in metro-east Illinois, is for sale, and it, along with the adjacent and long boarded-up BAC Quad cinema, will probably be demolished and replaced with housing.
i've only been to the Skyview a handful of times as I prolly average three or four movies a year, and I usually made a point to see at least one summer movie there a year. It was most fun with Keith, Aimee and the rest of the gang where we would all pile in A&A's suburban vehicle, load up on snacks and alcohol, and watch (and sometimes give the MST3K treatment to) the movies. I think the last movie I saw there was "The Incredibles". the neon sign at the front (pictured above) looked really retro and neat at night when lit up, and I am sad to see another piece of history go by the wayside so someone can build some more shitty housing.
The Quad Cinema next door was where I all three of the original Star Wars Trilogy movies for the first time (and also a second viewing of Phantom Menance - about a few weeks before the place closed for good). The main screen was pretty huge and curved at both ends, and I'll always remember the mustard yellow curtains that would part to either side when the previews started.
with the probable sale of Skyview, that leaves the "stinkin" lincoln as the only theater in belleville, and i believe there's only one more drive-in in Illinois (somewhere in the north/central part of the state). St. Louis closed its last remaining drive-in theater five years ago.
sad, really.
i've only been to the Skyview a handful of times as I prolly average three or four movies a year, and I usually made a point to see at least one summer movie there a year. It was most fun with Keith, Aimee and the rest of the gang where we would all pile in A&A's suburban vehicle, load up on snacks and alcohol, and watch (and sometimes give the MST3K treatment to) the movies. I think the last movie I saw there was "The Incredibles". the neon sign at the front (pictured above) looked really retro and neat at night when lit up, and I am sad to see another piece of history go by the wayside so someone can build some more shitty housing.
The Quad Cinema next door was where I all three of the original Star Wars Trilogy movies for the first time (and also a second viewing of Phantom Menance - about a few weeks before the place closed for good). The main screen was pretty huge and curved at both ends, and I'll always remember the mustard yellow curtains that would part to either side when the previews started.
with the probable sale of Skyview, that leaves the "stinkin" lincoln as the only theater in belleville, and i believe there's only one more drive-in in Illinois (somewhere in the north/central part of the state). St. Louis closed its last remaining drive-in theater five years ago.
sad, really.