Elmvale Drive In

The Elmvale Drive In sits empty in Springwater Township. Rapidly overgrowing, the big screen no longer shows movies and is missing more and more tiles. This place has been abandoned for the last few years... I can remember watching movies here with my parents when I was little.

Davenitro: Elmvale Drive-In was family owned and operated for 51 years. Sam Russ operated the projector from 1960 when he bought the theatre. His wife Joanne Russ handed out the tickets since 1970. It was a huge hang out spot for those 51 years, for beachgoers and cottage folks alike. They even came up from Toronto to visit the Drive-in and had specials for kids under 12 free. Some days in its prime in the 1970's they filled the 500 car lot to capacity and still had to turn away people. It was the summer go to place! Unfortunately by the 2000's the cost of doing business including the minimum wage increasing and the cost of upgrading equipment was too much and also ailing health put the death knell on the theatre and it closed its doors for good. Now what is left is a huge screen with holes in it and the Drive-In lettering falling off the back of the screen. The yard is full of overgrowth and weeds and the Snack bar/Projector building has been ransacked and destroyed by vandals....you can almost see the lights starting up and seeing the rows of cars about to watch the drive-in movie....