A Lehigh Valley drive-in theater is once again in the running for the country’s best this year.
USA Today nominated Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre as part of its 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards, a Shankweiler’s news release announced. The drive-in placed second in the contest last year and fifth in 2024.
“It’s such a huge honor to be nominated for the third year in a row,” co-owner Matthew McClanahan said in the release. “We were thrilled to be voted 2nd last year and can’t wait to see what happens now.”
Online daily voting is available until noon on May 11, the 10BEST webpage said, and the 10 winners will be announced May 20.
“The first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, New Jersey, on June 6, 1933, and by the 1950s, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in the United States. The rise of home entertainment led to the decline of the classic American drive-in, and there are currently fewer than 350 in operation,” the webpage said. “Still, this great American pastime is undergoing a revival, with many drive-ins converting to digital projection and offering innovative concessions.”
Located at 4540 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township, Shankweiler’s opened in 1934 and is the country’s oldest operating drive-in theater.