The Hi-Way 50 Drive-In in Lewisburg, Tennessee is a single screen drive in theater that first opened in 1946.
Jim and I went for the first time last night.
We saw Spiderman 3 and Vacancy.
At the Hiway 50 Drive-In, you always get a double feature for just $7 per person.
You’ve gotta love that!
Here’s our review of the Hiway 50 Drive-In movie theater…
Hi-Way 50 Drive-In Changes
If you’re from around here, then you may have heard that the Hi-Way 50 Drive-In experienced a fire in the Control Room and the Concession Stand in March of 2007.
For awhile, the owners, Gary & June Douglas, were unsure as to whether they would be able to show movies at the Hiway 50 Drive-In anymore.
Fortunately, thanks to donations and their ability to repair or replace much of their equipment, they were able to reopen in a matter of weeks.
UPDATE: The Hiway 50 Drive-In has new owners now, and they’ve made a lot of great changes!
Our Review Of The Hi-Way 50 Drive-In
We had a lot of fun last night!
We’ve only been to one other drive-in together. It was 2 years ago — at the Pink Cadillac Drive-In on Highway 100 in Centerville, Tennessee.
Some of the higlights from our night at the Hiway 50 Drive-In:
- The place was packed. I guess everyone was eager to see Spiderman 3 (ehhh) then Vacancy (surprisingly good… especially at a drive-in).
- We parked in the 3rd row, right in the middle. It was perfect. Since there’s only one screen, and it’s a pretty small one, you want to get there early to get a prime parking spot.
- One thing I noticed… When half the cars left after the first movie (which is typical at drive-ins — especially when the first movie attracts a lot of kids), I had a harder time blocking out the passing cars on the highway that runs behind the movie screen. I guess all those SUVs filled with kids were serving as peripheral-vision-blockers for me.
- I’m kind of a stickler for “distractions”, so at the drive-in, I do everything in my power to block out extraneous sights & sounds. (There was also a barking yippy dog on this night.) Once all the cars left, I had to huddle down low in my seat, so the Jeep’s doors bocked most of the side views. Then I propped my pillow up higher than normal between the seat and the door. Then I turned my baseball cap just so… to block out the last little corner that I kept seeing cars’ headlights in. And, just like last time, we draped an old map down over the glowing light from the Jeep’s clock/radio.
- They had really good popcorn! It was just like “real” movie theater popcorn …even the butter. Mmmm!
- They also had some pretty cool drive-in movie T-shirts they were selling for just $10. I got one!
- This theater had “digital FM sound” which resulted in noticeably better sound quality than at other theaters. (No speaker boxes here… you just tune your FM radio to a particular station.)
- Pets are welcome.
- We were impressed by all the incredibly friendly workers (and owners). Gary talks to the crowd over the intercom before he starts each movie. He also served us our popcorn. He’s a really likable guy! (I don’t think we met his wife, June. Unless she was the ticket-taker on this night. If so, then yep, she was very sweet, too!)
Closing Thoughts
Here’s our list of things to take to a drive-in movie.
If you live around here, then you’ll want to check out these other drive-in movie theaters in Tennessee as well.
See at a glance what the upcoming movies at Hiway 50 Drive-In are going to be via their Facebook page.
We moved from Florida to Tennessee in 2001. All signs point to the fact that we will probably retire here — by choice. We L O V E Nashville! Our favorite places to live are just south of the City — we’ve had houses in Brentwood, Franklin, and Spring Hill. And we have properties in Leipers Fork, Cookeville, and Lewisburg. This site is where I share my best tips for moving your family to Nashville and/or visiting Nashville for the first time — with the ultimate goal of helping you find fun things to do in Williamson County and Davidson County. When I’m not out & about enjoying the Nashville area, you’ll find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites). To date, I’ve written over 500 articles on this site! Many of them have upwards of 100K shares.
