In 1953, Chattanooga boasted at least six outdoor movie theaters as parents of baby boomers took children to drive-ins in their pajamas and teenagers on dates discovered the joys of watching movies under the stars.
The photo accompanying this article was taken at the Skyway Theater on Brainerd Road in October 1953 by Chattanooga News-Free Press photographer John Goforth.
Competition was so fierce for audience share at local drive-ins in the 1950s that several installed “Little Inferno” car heaters (like those pictured in this photo) to keep the outdoor businesses thriving in colder months. Otherwise, wintertime customers had to keep their vehicles idling with their car heaters running for hours.
In the photo, courtesy of ChattanoogaHistory.com, Don Shaw, then-manager of the Skyway Drive-in, shows off the location’s “Little Inferno” heaters to Jean Greenwalt and Jimmy Greenwalt. If you’re wondering, the car in the photo appears to be an early 1950s Buick Roadmaster.
Some drive-ins closed for the winter months while others offered “free gas” to customers when temps dipped below 40 degrees to compensate for all that engine idling. An article published along with the photo said the tiny heaters allowed “movie-goers to enjoy the movie in perfect and warm comfort.”