William LeGoullon has been going to the drive-in movies for as long as he can remember. The local photographer says he was always drawn to their "iconic Americana" feel and timelessness, which is also why he was so disappointed to hear that the Scottsdale 6 Drive-in (pictured above) had closed and was was completely shut down as of yesterday.
The Drive-in, operated by a California-based theater company called
West Wind, was one of the last three drive-ins in the state after the De Anza Drive-in Theatre was demolished in 2009.
LeGuollon began photographing drive-ins in 2009, as part of a series of decaying places and nostalgic spots in Phoenix that were only occupied at nighttime. His completed series of Drive-ins, titled "Intermission" will be re-exhibited on October 21 at Bokeh Gallery in downtown Phoenix.
LeGoullon describes the series as an observation of the relationship between people and the waning outdoor-theater tradition in the U.S. He writes in the exhibition statement:
As night turns to day, and the Drive-in landscape stands empty, sunlight reveals the altered effects that the absence and presence of people's continued occupation and use of the place create.
Evidence of the change in awareness of a tradition suspended in time becomes apparent while traces depicting the tension between timelessness and evolutionary change are revealed. "Intermission" explores what happens between shows and symbolizes the physical appearance, the eternal psychological embodiment and the ever-changing character of the iconic American Drive-in.
LeGuollon admits the timing of his show is odd, and tragically coincidental.
He says he'd been to the Scottsdale 6 a number of times since he made his photographs there in 2009, and says theater representatives had told him the theater was on pace to have a record year in terms of attendance and that revenue in the drive-in movie theater industry as a whole is up nationwide.
Last week, representatives of the
Scottsdale 6 posted photos of a banner that had been hung by members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which owns the lot at 8101 E. McKellips Road in Scottsdale.
LeGoullon writes that more than 5,000 drive-in theaters screened films through the 1950s, and that an estimated 350 were still operating in 2009. Of the 50 drive-ins that once operated in Arizona, only two remain.
To see more of LeGoullon's series, see his website and check out "Intermission," which will have an
opening reception at Bokeh Gallery (inside monOrchid) from 6 to 10 p.m. on October 21.