Help bring a Drive-In Movie Theater to Clematis!

by Aaron Wormus | Jun 19, 2020 | Clematis Street Pictures

Tired being stuck at home watching Netflix? Well, the restaurateurs and merchants on the 500 Block (which is in the midst of streetscape construction) thought of a clever way to drum up business for their restaurants and entertain you at the same time.

The plan is to have a 50-foot long screen into the empty lot between Clematis Street and Banyan Boulevard and create a Drive-In movie theater on Clematis Street. While keeping you socially distanced in the comfort of your air-conditioned vehicle.

You would come for a movie, be able to order food & drinks from any of the restaurants on the 500 block.

Permission has been granted for use of the lot, & funds have been identified to pay for it. All that’s needed is the City of West Palm Beach to give it a thumbs-up.

What I am asking you to do is email to the Mayor & City Commission – Tell them what your favorite movie is and BEG them to allow a Drive-In theater to set up downtown.

To: KJames@wpb.org
CC: clambert@wpb.org, jpeduzzi@wpb.org, cfox@wpb.org, cneering@wpb.org, kshoaf@wpb.org
Subject: Help us bring a Drive-In Theater to Clematis Street

Dear Mayor & Commission,

My favorite movie is _________________ and I would LOVE to watch it at the proposed drive-in movie theater on the 500 block of Clematis.

This great idea will keep our City on the map as the most happening city in Florida while help support our struggling downtown businesses, keeping our residents entertained and help everyone practice social distancing.

Please do everything you can to support this project.

Best regards,
Your Name Here.

Did you send that email off? Ok – now let’s get into details of what this will look like. Here is the site plan:

The circles that are shown on the east side of the lot, closest to the screen are green circles that will be layed out 6-feet apart from each other, which will allow people to bring lawn chairs and watch the movies for free within their own circles.

Cool right?

If this works – we’ll have a drive in movie theater for 3 months which can be extended to a year… and possibly even made a permanent feature?

Has it been done before? Yes! Check out the following article and the hugely popular diner turned drive-in in Queens.

Astoria staple the Bel Aire Diner has quickly become one of the hottest tickets in town — because of a new drive-in theater. The 55-year-old diner launched the movie theater in its parking lot a little more than a week ago, and tickets sell out in minutes, the Wall Street Journal reports. At its most recent event — two Saturday night screenings of the 1993 comedy film the Sandlot — 80 tickets sold out just three minutes after they were released on Friday.

The diner allows 40 cars in its parking lot at a time, and customers can order using the diner’s app or website, according to Gothamist, which first reported on the diner becoming a temporary outdoor theater. Diner staffers then deliver the food to the car based on the license plate. Bel Aire held its first official screening, Dirty Dancing on May 13, shortly after Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifted the ban on outdoor movie theaters. Due to the popularity, the diner owners plan to have two movie screenings each week. The diner will announce movie schedules two weeks in advance and tickets will be sold on the restaurant’s website.

Read full article here.

Thanks for supporting our downtown businesses & I look forward to seeing you at the movies!