2001 Crossroads Drive-in Trip Reports
Friday evening, I learned of a new drive-in theater, named 'The Crossroads', east of here near Shiner, Texas. Saturday, I decided to perform a survey of the property.
The distance, parking space to parking space, is 84 miles. Clearly, this isn't a theater that San Antonio residents could visit on a weekly basis.
The property is located at the junction of Highway 90A East and Farm To Market Road 531. The actual entrance to the property is on FM 531.
My first impression was one of complete amazement. I felt like I had fallen through a time warp. This must have been what the first drive-ins were like before the age of the 'screen tower'.
The property is rather small and is "rowed out" for approximately 175 vehicles. The screen is set against the property line with its back to Highway 90A East. The area around the theater is rural with some development. There is a plant nursery across road and a house on the corner. A trailer house sits behind the property and to the side.
The ticket booth looks like a "guard shack" -- just big enough for one person. The combination concession stand / projection booth is also small. The entire building would fit inside the concession stand area at the Mission.
Prices are extremely reasonable. A hot dog is only a buck (yes, I known you can get a 20 minute phone call for it) compared to $2.50 at the Mission. The entrances to the restrooms are on the outside of the building and are physically located just behind the projection booth.
I met the owners and this project is clearly a labor of love. They built the concession stand themselves. I imagine they had help putting up the screen!
Business has been brisk since they opened in June. I found it interesting that they don't really know what film they will be getting from week to week. It might be 'Cats and Dogs' or 'Legally Blonde' next week. If it turns out to be 'Cats and Dogs', I'm heading out there!
If you like drive-ins, you should make the drive and check this one out!
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"Actually there were a few minor things about your article that were a little off. My ticket booth is actually a converted Deer Stand. Made by the fine folks of Lampassas Texas it is small but well made and very solid. I actually did build my screen myself with help from my brother-in law. I have enclosed a picture. I'm the fat guy with the yellow hat on the lift.
The screen is actually a modern economical design that is designed to hold up to a 110 MPH wind. Future Drive Ins that I build will use the same design. I wish we had more time to spend with you, holler at me next time and well talk."
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Terry usually writes up the site visits and I'm sure he will add one soon but in the mean time I thought I would put to print my impressions of the Cross Roads Drive-In.
When Terry first suggested driving 84 miles to visit Shiner Texas, a small town with just over 2,000 people I was a little less than excited. 84 miles is a long way to drive just to watch a movie. Since my daughter said she would love to go with us, I grudgingly agreed to the trip. There just doesn't seem to be enough of that quality time with her any more.
Instead of the trip there being long and boring it was really
rather fun. We went through Seguin and took pictures of the worlds largest pecan and we
even circled the block to get a photo of the recently burned down 100 year old hardware
store.
Once on the other side of Seguin the traffic cleared and scenery got prettier.
The time seemed to fly by and before we knew it we had arrived at the Cross Roads.
We actually drove past the lot and turned around so that we could get this shot of the screen and projection booth/snack bar.
I was amazed when we drove up to the front gate and met with the owner Steve Rodman. He explained that we were a little bit early and he wasn't ready to open up yet, but that we could drive on in and come back to the ticket booth later to pay. Then he looked across me and said, "Hi Terry, how are you?" He had only met Terry once before and yet he still recognized him in a different vehicle, before he had said a word. Terry was just as surprised as I was. This small town feeling was going to be a great experience.
Later Steve walked out to meet with us after we parked and explained which areas would be the best to park in and offered us some the lawn chairs he keeps in front of the snack-bar. He offered to show us around the ticket booth and show off his equipment. He was a bit busy at the time so we left him be and allowed him to get back to work. He told us to stop by later for the tour.
The next hour was spent walking the grounds, paying for our
tickets, and discussing the layout of the theater.
The backside of the screen is facing north and this allows for a great view of the sunset behind the Drive-In sign. You can see some of these views here in this animated GIF.
If you walk over to the far right side of the lot you can get this wonderful sunset view.
Stephanie (my daughter) decided just before the movie started that she needed to visit the snack bar. I handed her a $20 and figured I might get half of it back. A little later she returned with a hotdog, giant pickle, and a giant pretzel and handed me back $16. I was floored. Ok I figured for those prices the food couldn't be any good. I took a bite of the dog, WOW, it was one of the best hotdogs I have ever eaten. After I sucked down the rest of my succulent treat I snuck a bite of my daughter's pretzel. It was even better than the dog. It didn't take me long to fish my change out of my pocket and head off to the snack bar myself. Once inside I was greeted by the friendliest snack bar personnel I have ever met. Short of giving me my food for free, they couldn't have been more helpful. I purchased 2 giant sodas and another pretzel to hold me through the movie. My only complaint was with the soda choices. I am an avid Diet Coke lover and the lack of this beverage put a small dimmer on the experience. I've decided that next time I will take my own soda and just enjoy everything else that this wonderful little oasis of a snack bar offers.
If you think I was excited over the food, you should have seen my reaction to the picture. First off you must remember that I'm from San Antonio and light pollution at night is pretty bad. Well Shiner is at least 40 miles from any major light pollution so the stars twinkled brightly. About 10 minutes after the sunset, Stephanie was already commenting on the number of stars in the sky. Steve had also just installed brighter boxes on his projectors and the picture was as clear and bright as any I have ever seen in an indoor theater. The coolest part was halfway through the film Steve shuts down the film for an intermission. My first reaction to this was that they were just trying to boost snack bar sales, but a quick trip to the restroom showed me that there was a long line of young children that were in dire need of the facilities. This was on of the best marketing ploys I have ever seen.
It has been a long time since I have been this taken with something. As a group we concluded that we really enjoyed the Cross Roads Drive-In and we will be returning. We talked about it so positively that even my wife may go with us next trip. Great work Steve and crew. Keep it up and Cross Roads will be around for many years to come.
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