Romance Leads to Purchase of World’s Oldest Drive-in Theater
- Editor OGN Daily
- Sep 17
- 2 min read
Lauren McChesney got more than admission to a double feature when she handed her ticket to Matt McClanahan at a different drive-in he managed in 2018.
That chance encounter moved on to dating and, in August, they got got engaged. In between, they purchased Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre, which was Pennsylvania’s first drive-in and only the nation’s second when it opened in 1934. It was at risk of being sold to developers before the lovebirds saved the day. They invested their savings and took out a $1 million loan to preserve the historic space. “This was an undertaking that was leaps and bounds bigger than anything I’d ever done in my life, in terms of investment, monthly expenses, and debt,” McClanahan told the Associated Press. “It still feels surreal when I think about it.”
McClanahan, 35, who grew up going to Shankweiler’s, had managed another drive-in and started a mobile movie business during the coronavirus pandemic. In contrast, McChesney, 41, had never been to a drive-in before 2018, and she left a stable corporate job in the health care industry to take on this new venture.
Although they both acknowledge that the undertaking has been no easy endeavor, they also said it’s been worth it: In 2024, the theater reached profitability with roughly $550,000 in revenue, reports CNBC. Clearly, it takes a lot of hard work as the historic and now revitalised drive-in is open seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and Thursdays through Sundays the rest of the year. Tickets are $9 for children and $13 for adults.
McChesney said the success of the business played a role in the timing of their engagement.
“We knew we’d eventually get married, but we kept doing other things instead, like starting businesses and buying movie theaters,” she said.
