More than 1,600 vehicles packed the Twin Drive-In Theater parking lot during closing weekend

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) – Nearly 60 years later, Twin Drive-In Theater Independence has officially been completely shut down.

Families and friends piled into their cars Sunday evening for the chance to be a part of the historic moment.

Canaan Sams watched the classics “The Goonies” and “Jurassic Park” with her mother and boyfriend.

“This is a great place to be right now. I wish more people knew what was going on,” he said. “The outdoors, the stars and everything; It’s a completely different experience.”

Logan Kirkland was also there with his friends and family, enjoying popcorn before the movie started.

“It’s kind of sad because I’ve been going here for a while,” he said.

Trish Gillette was there with her two daughters and was the first in line to arrive at 3:30 p.m., after seeing the large line of cars Saturday night.

“We got here at 3:30 to make sure we got in and found a great spot,” he said.

Grace Shoupes was accompanied by her friends who were preparing to watch Elf and Christmas Vacation in their comfortable pajamas.

“The first time I was here was with my whole family and we went to see “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” and it was so good,” he said.

Gloriana Smith also shared her experience with Shoupes and her team.

“I remember wandering up and down the roof of a friend’s suburban house. “I was 15 or 16.”

Generations of family members had also parked on that side of the lot, as Lyric King was ready to watch movies.

“We can take them into our own home, but it won’t be the same,” he said.

Since 1933, drive-in theaters in the United States have transformed the movie-watching experience. People get in safely and pay by the car to park and watch. People bring their food, blankets, chairs and even tents.

A person came from Arizona to watch a movie at the Twin on Sunday night.

This is a tradition like no other, and it is now extinct at Independence.

“It’s a pleasure for all of us to be able to go and pay by car, you can’t beat that. There will be very few people I can take everyone to the movies with,” Gillette said. “It’s very sad.

Jeremy Walker went on his first date at Twin 16 years ago and it led to marriage. He was joined by his daughter McKenzie at the finale event on Sunday.

“It’s emotional because I’ve been coming here with my family since I was little,” McKenzie said. “No matter what happens to the twin, we’ll all still be family.”

More than 1,500 cars piled into the parking lot off Missouri Highway 291 over the weekend; 1,027 of those were on Saturday alone.

According to B&B Theatres, which operates the property, a reasonable agreement could not be reached with the property’s landlord.

Boulevard Drive-in Theater It will reopen in April 2025 for its 75th season in Kansas City, Kansas.

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