Hull's Drive In
Encyclopedia
Hull's Drive In is a 319-space drive-in theatre in Lexington, Virginia
, one of the eight drive-in theatres still currently operating in Virginia
. It is the only non-profit drive-in theatre in the United States. It shows current, family-friendly movies every weekend (Friday-Sunday).
Relief came in the form of Hull's Angels, the local non-profit group dedicated to preserving Hull's Drive-In Theatre. Over the dark summer of 1999, the group formed and by that fall, agreed that they themselves should try and purchase the business. They organized formally as a non-profit corporation, and by spring 2000, signed a lease with an option to buy over the next two years. A $75,000 capital campaign followed, and by July, the Angels had raised enough money from around six hundred donors to make the urgent upgrades and repairs and reopen the theater for the balance of the summer.
2001 was the resurrected Hull's first full summer season, and in 2010, the drive-in marked its tenth year as America's only non-profit drive-in theater.
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, one of the eight drive-in theatres still currently operating in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. It is the only non-profit drive-in theatre in the United States. It shows current, family-friendly movies every weekend (Friday-Sunday).
History
The theater opened on August 5, 1950 as the Lee Drive-In. Its owner was Mr. Waddey C. Watkins of Roanoke. In August 1957, Mr. Sebert Hull of Buena Vista assumed ownership. Mr. and Mrs. Hull ran the newly renamed Hull's Drive-In for the next four decades. When Mr. Hull died before the 1998 season, Mrs. Hull sold the business to Mr. W.D. Goad, whose auto body shop is adjacent to the drive-in on Route 11, north of Lexington. Thousands of movie fans were thrilled when Mr. Goad kept the drive-in going that summer, much the way Mr. Hull had for all the years before. The following season (1999), the high cost of the technical improvements that were needed discouraged Mr. Goad from opening the theater. That summer, the big screen remained dark as Mr. Goad searched for a buyer who could fund the necessary upgrades and run the business.Relief came in the form of Hull's Angels, the local non-profit group dedicated to preserving Hull's Drive-In Theatre. Over the dark summer of 1999, the group formed and by that fall, agreed that they themselves should try and purchase the business. They organized formally as a non-profit corporation, and by spring 2000, signed a lease with an option to buy over the next two years. A $75,000 capital campaign followed, and by July, the Angels had raised enough money from around six hundred donors to make the urgent upgrades and repairs and reopen the theater for the balance of the summer.
2001 was the resurrected Hull's first full summer season, and in 2010, the drive-in marked its tenth year as America's only non-profit drive-in theater.