The drive-in movie theater is an endangered art form in Indianapolis. More than two dozen drive-ins once existed in the area, but now only one remains.
Between March and late October, people from all around the city and beyond travel to the Tibbs Drive-In Theatre on the west side for a unique movie-watching experience under the stars.
Once you get your tickets, all you have to do is find a parking spot, tune your radio to the right frequency and enjoy the show.
But that’s just the basic experience. The theater has been around since 1967 and offers a lot more than just its four screens. Earlier this year, the theater unveiled a new look, a new menu that features vegan alternatives and wider parking spaces that allow patrons to bring in bigger vehicles.
If you go
What: Tibbs Drive-In Theatre
When: Friday through Sunday until late October. Screenings begin at 8:30 p.m.
Cost: Admission is $12 per adult and $6 for each kid under 13. Kids under 4 get to watch for free.
More info: For a movie schedule and a full list of concessions, head to the theater’s website.
Vince Scott and his partner Jess Falvy make the trip to the drive-in from Irvington in their pickup truck. For them, the trip is about watching a movie in comfort and experiencing nostalgia.
“Being outside, feeling the wind while watching the movie — there’s something about that,” Scott said. “And the ambiance inside, getting snacks, waiting in line — you kind of feel like a kid again.”
To prepare for their movie, Scott and Falvy load up the back of their truck with a queen-sized air mattress, comfy blankets, a Milwaukee job site radio and lots of snacks. All that’s left to do is get up on the rear hatch, kick off their boots and jump in.
“We saw ‘Twisters’ out here when the wind was kicking up and it was raining,” Falvy said. “It was like a 4-D experience.”
Tanner Bryson and Kaitlynne Fisher draped a mattress with an American flag comforter, tossed it in the back of their truck and climbed aboard in their pajamas. It’s a comfortable place to wait for showtime.
Jill and Ryan Swanson threw some pillows from their patio furniture, covered them in blankets and headed to McDonald’s before heading to the drive-in. Jill Swanson received an ankle injury earlier in the week and needs a little help from her husband to get up into the truck bed but once she’s aboard, the setup has enough cushioning to endure a double feature.
Jeff Hahn and partner Judy Patton make the journey from the east side to the Tibbs Drive-In Theatre whenever they can. They love being able to bring their dog, Isabel, to the movies. Isabel was a stray, unchipped dog who found Patton one day while she was visiting her daughter. Isabel wouldn’t leave her side and hasn’t since.
They toss in some snacks, pillows, fold-up chairs and a blanket for Isabel into the back of their 4×4 before heading to the drive-in.
Tashlynn Harney and her kids, Alaiya and Zariyah, were set on making their viewing of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” an experience to remember.
All three wore Beetlejuice shirts for the showing and laid a couple of blankets and a few pillows atop their SUV for cushioning. After the setup was complete, Tashlynn went to the driver’s seat of the SUV and let the kids open up and eat the contents of two buckets of sweets above.
For James and Charlce Baker, the three most important things to planning their visit to Tibbs Drive-In are the weather, the company and the movie.
They pack a foam mat, pillows, a cooler and snacks into the back of their truck and show up early to park near the drive-in playground. Their kids get to run around and tire themselves out while James and Charlce snack and talk with their friends, Courtney and Kara Murphy, who traveled from Avon.
All Josh and Dana Thompson need are a couple of fold out chairs, a cooler full of drinks and a portable radio to hear the movie from the bed of their truck.
“I just like the fact that I’m not pressed into a chair that 100 people have sat in,” Josh Thompson said. “It’s a bit more comfortable.”
For the Thompsons, the drive-in experience has always been about family.
“My parents were talking about coming here in the ’70s and they’d set up stuff in the back of their (Dodge Power Wagon), and I’d sleep in the back as a kid,” he remembered.
The family experience has continued for another generation. Josh and Dana Thompson tied the knot Sept. 1 after dating for seven years. This is their first drive-in trip as a married couple.
They said they might continue the tradition of sleeping in the back of their truck.
“Sometimes we nap during the movie we’re not interested in,” Dana Thompson said.
“Yeah, but sometimes we nap during the movie we are interested in, too,” her husband said.
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @heyEnriqueSaenz.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
