Retro Drive-In Theater Coming To Denver
DENVER (CBS4) - The Denver Merchandise Mart announced plans to open an old school drive-in movie theater with modern technologies. Adams County's Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the plans last Friday, supporting the Denver Mart's private business endeavor.
The theater will be state-of-the-art with the highest grade projector on "one of the largest screens out there," said Denver Mart CEO John Doyle, according to the Denver Post.
Approximately 40 feet tall and 92 feet wide, the steel and aluminum screen will be raised 20 feet off the ground to make it visible to all 440 parking spaces in the lot designated for viewing. The screen will be parallel to Interstate 25 and face east so that drivers cannot see it.
Viewers can tune in to a movie's audio through FM radio's simulcast, and the adjacent pavilion building will open for bathroom facilities as well as concessions. The Denver Mart also has a liquor license and plans to serve in the pavilion lounge.
Some people were resistant across social media, instead supporting of Commerce City's 88 Drive-In Theatre, one of the few original drive-ins still standing. But many like the idea of bringing back a novelty from earlier times.
The new drive-in theater will be open seven nights a week during the season, from April to November. And during the off-season it may open for some three-day weekends.
The Denver Mart is a wholesale marketplace, an enormous complex capable of hosting a variety of trade shows, consumer shows, banquets, conferences, and special events. It is the largest facility of its kind in the Rocky Mountain 14-state region.
The movie theater will be located on the northwest portion of Denver Mart's 28-acre complex, taking up 15 percent of its total parking space.
Doyle plans to work with the hundreds of Western wear vendors based in the Denver Mart to do promotional giveaways and business with the drive-in. It should not interfere with such businesses because the two have opposite hours of operation.
