Formerly: Shankweiler's Park-In Theatre
Orefield, Pennsylvania · Founded 1934 · Building: 1934
Opened in 1934, Shankweiler's is the oldest continuously operating drive-in cinema in the United States and the world.
Wilson Shankweiler opened Shankweiler's Park-In Theatre in Orefield on April 15, 1934, less than a year after Richard Hollingshead opened America's first drive-in in Camden, New Jersey. The Camden theater closed in 1936, while Shankweiler's continued operating through ownership changes, technological shifts, and Hurricane Diane. Guinness World Records identifies it as the oldest drive-in cinema still in operation.
Wilson Shankweiler opens Shankweiler's Park-In Theatre in Orefield as Pennsylvania's first drive-in and the second drive-in theater in the United States.
Source: Guinness World Records, "Oldest drive-in cinema"; Shankweiler's official history
The theater installs speaker poles and car speakers for movie sound.
Source: Shankweiler's official history
Hurricane Diane destroys the original projection booth and screen. Shankweiler's builds a new CinemaScope screen and a replacement snack-bar, projection, and restroom building.
Source: Shankweiler's official history; historical summary of Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre
The theater introduces micro-vicinity AM radio broadcasting for movie sound while retaining traditional car speakers.
Source: Shankweiler's official history
Shankweiler's introduces micro-vicinity FM stereo broadcasting for in-car movie audio.
Source: Shankweiler's official history; The Morning Call, "A true Hollywood story"
Matthew McClanahan and Lauren McChesney acquire Shankweiler's through The Moving Picture Cinema from Paul and Susan Geissinger.
Source: Lehigh Valley Live, "Shankweiler's, oldest still-running drive-in in America, is sold to new owners"; Boxoffice Pro, "Shankweiler's Next Generation"
A CNBC profile reports that Shankweiler's continues to operate under McClanahan and McChesney after their 2022 purchase and reopening.
Source: CNBC, "Couple took out $1M loan to save America's oldest drive-in theater"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Guinness World Records identifies Shankweiler's, opened April 15, 1934, as the oldest drive-in cinema still in operation. Richard Hollingshead's 1933 Camden drive-in opened first but closed in 1936, leaving Shankweiler's as the surviving continuous-operation claimant.
Shankweiler's introduced FM stereo broadcasting in 1986 and was an early U.S. adopter of in-car FM sound. However, available comparative reporting identifies Australia's Dromana 3 Drive-In as using FM stereo by 1984, so a worldwide-first claim is not sustainable.
The theater's history and regional reporting date its FM stereo implementation to 1986. That makes it an early adopter of the technology, although this pass did not complete a national comparative review to establish a U.S. ranking.
Hurricane Diane destroyed the original projection booth and screen in 1955. The theater rebuilt with a new CinemaScope screen and a replacement building that combined snack-bar, projection, and restroom functions.
Shankweiler's was the first drive-in movie theater in the United States.
Shankweiler's was the second drive-in theater in the United States, opening in April 1934. Richard Hollingshead's Camden, New Jersey, theater opened first in 1933 and closed in 1936.
Source: Guinness World Records, "Oldest drive-in cinema"; Shankweiler's official history
Shankweiler's was the first drive-in theater in the world to use FM stereo sound.
Shankweiler's introduced FM stereo audio in 1986 and was an early adopter, but available comparative reporting identifies an Australian drive-in using FM stereo in 1984.
Source: Shankweiler's official history; historical summary of Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre
The original 1934 screen and projection booth survive.
Hurricane Diane destroyed the original screen and projection booth in 1955. Shankweiler's rebuilt with a CinemaScope screen and replacement projection/snack-bar/restroom facilities.
Source: Shankweiler's official history
Shankweiler's endured because successive owners retained its core drive-in identity while adapting its screen, projection, and audio systems to changing movie-industry technology. Hurricane Diane destroyed its original booth and screen in 1955, but the theater rebuilt and continued. Its current owners, Matthew McClanahan and Lauren McChesney, purchased the property in 2022 through The Moving Picture Cinema and have maintained the venue as a working theater rather than a preservation-only attraction.
Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre opened in Orefield, Pennsylvania, on April 15, 1934, when hotel owner Wilson Shankweiler launched Shankweiler's Park-In Theatre. It was Pennsylvania's first drive-in and the second in the United States. After Hurricane Diane destroyed its original screen and projection booth in 1955, the theater rebuilt and continued operating under successive owners.
Yes. Guinness World Records identifies Shankweiler's as the oldest drive-in cinema still in operation. It opened in 1934; the first drive-in, opened in Camden, New Jersey, in 1933, closed in 1936.
Matthew McClanahan and Lauren McChesney own and operate Shankweiler's through The Moving Picture Cinema. They bought the theater from longtime owners Paul and Susan Geissinger in 2022 and continued operating it as a working drive-in.
4540 Shankweiler Rd, Orefield, PA 18069
(610) 481-0800
Shankweiler's operates year-round, generally with a reduced weekend schedule in colder months; check current showtimes before visiting.