Formerly: Lee Drive-In
Lexington, Virginia · Founded 1950 · Building: 1950
A 1950 Lexington-area drive-in rescued from closure and operated since 2000 by the nonprofit Hull's Angels.
Hull's Drive-In began in 1950 as the Lee Drive-In, built by W. C. Atkins north of Lexington. Sebert W. Hull purchased the theater in 1957 and operated it under the Hull's name for decades. After the theater closed following the 1998 season, local residents formed Hull's Angels, a nonprofit that leased and reopened it in 2000 before purchasing the business and land lease in 2001.
W. C. Atkins builds and opens the Lee Drive-In north of Lexington on land leased from the Hostetter family.
Source: Hull's Drive-In official history; KCBX, "Hull's Drive-In Theatre Lexington, Virginia"
Sebert W. Hull purchases the Lee Drive-In business and land lease; the theater becomes Hull's Drive-In.
Source: Hull's Drive-In official history; Cinema Treasures, "Hull's Drive-In"
Hull's Drive-In closes after the 1998 season.
Source: Cinema Treasures, "Hull's Drive-In"; Hull's Drive-In official history
Local patrons organize Hull's Angels to seek a way to reopen and preserve the drive-in.
Source: Hull's Drive-In official history; KCBX, "Hull's Drive-In Theatre Lexington, Virginia"
Hull's Angels reaches a lease/purchase agreement for the drive-in and reopens it during the 2000 season with new projection and sound equipment.
Source: KCBX, "Hull's Drive-In Theatre Lexington, Virginia"; Hull's Drive-In official history
The IRS approves Hull's Angels as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Source: Hull's Drive-In official history; KCBX, "Hull's Drive-In Theatre Lexington, Virginia"
Hull's Angels exercises its option and purchases the drive-in business and land lease.
Source: KCBX, "Hull's Drive-In Theatre Lexington, Virginia"; Cinema Treasures, "Hull's Drive-In"
The nonprofit resolves projector issues and remains open for the season.
Source: WSLS, "The Hull's Drive-In fixes projector issues, will be open Friday night"
Hull's Angels promotes memberships, sponsorships, and special-event bookings for the 2026 drive-in season.
Source: Hull's Drive-In official website
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Hull's Angels, a local nonprofit, leased and reopened the theater in 2000 and bought the business and land lease in 2001. The theater, local tourism organizations, and official materials consistently call it the nation's first nonprofit community-owned drive-in or first 501(c)(3) drive-in, but this pass did not complete an independent national comparison of nonprofit theater incorporations.
Hull's Angels received IRS 501(c)(3) recognition in December 2000 and purchased the drive-in business and land lease in May 2001. Current official materials continue to identify the theater as nonprofit community owned and operated.
The theater closed after the 1998 season. Hull's Angels later negotiated a lease/purchase arrangement and reopened it during the 2000 season, so a continuous-operation claim is not accurate.
W. C. Atkins built the theater and opened it in 1950 as the Lee Drive-In. Sebert W. Hull acquired the business and lease in 1957 and gave the theater its long-running Hull's identity.
Sebert W. Hull opened Hull's Drive-In in 1950.
W. C. Atkins built and opened the theater in 1950 as the Lee Drive-In. Sebert W. Hull purchased the business and lease in 1957, after which it became Hull's Drive-In.
Source: Hull's Drive-In official history; KCBX, "Hull's Drive-In Theatre Lexington, Virginia"
Hull's has been continuously family-owned since 1950.
The Hull family operated the drive-in after Sebert Hull's 1957 purchase, but the theater closed after the 1998 season. Hull's Angels reopened it in 2000 and purchased the business and land lease in 2001 as a nonprofit community owner.
Source: Hull's Drive-In official history; Cinema Treasures, "Hull's Drive-In"
Hull's survived because residents transformed a threatened commercial drive-in into a community institution. Hull's Angels organized volunteers, fundraising, memberships, and nonprofit governance to reopen the theater after its 1998 closure. That model shifted its survival from reliance on a single private owner to broad community participation.
Hull's Drive-In began near Lexington, Virginia, in 1950 as the Lee Drive-In, built by W. C. Atkins. Sebert W. Hull bought the theater in 1957, and it became Hull's Drive-In. After it closed following the 1998 season, local residents created Hull's Angels, which reopened it in 2000 and purchased the business and land lease in 2001.
Hull's Drive-In opened in 1950, but this review did not establish it as Virginia's oldest operating drive-in theater. Its best-supported distinction is different: it was saved after closure and is now operated by Hull's Angels as a nonprofit, community-owned theater.
Hull's Angels, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, owns and operates Hull's Drive-In. The group formed after the theater closed in 1998, reopened it under a lease arrangement in 2000, and purchased the business and land lease in 2001.
2367 N Lee Hwy, Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 463-2621
Hull's generally operates seasonally from spring through fall; check the official schedule for current movie nights, event rentals, and weather updates.