Kanopolis Drive-in Theatre

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Kanopolis Drive-In Theatre
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Kanopolis Drive-in Theatre
Location of Kanopolis Drive-in Theatre in Ellsworth County, Kansas
Former namesLakeview Drive-In
Address804 N Kansas Ave, Kanopolis, KS 67454
Location Kanopolis, Kansas
Coordinates 38°43′06″N98°09′31″W / 38.718409°N 98.158611°W / 38.718409; -98.158611 Coordinates: 38°43′06″N98°09′31″W / 38.718409°N 98.158611°W / 38.718409; -98.158611
OwnerJosh Webb, Amanda Webb
TypeTheatre
Genre(s)movies
Seating typebench
Capacity 165 cars
Surfacegravel, grass
Construction
Opened1952
Renovated2011, 2013
Closed2006 - 2011
Website
http://www.kanopolisdrivein.com/

Kanopolis Drive-in Theatre, opened in 1952, is a single-screen Drive-in theater located on the northwest side of Kanopolis, Kansas. The theater, which has a 60x30 feet screen and a capacity of 165 cars, ran in continuous operation until 2006. The theatre re-opened as the Kanopolis Drive-In in May 2011.

Drive-in theater form of cinema structure

A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches.

Kanopolis, Kansas City in Kansas, United States

Kanopolis is a city in Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 492. The town is built on the site of Fort Harker, a United States Army post that housed infantry and cavalry troops involved in the Indian Wars from 1867 to 1872.

History

Kanopolis Drive-in was opened by U.S. veteran Tony Blazina in 1952. Prior to its opening, Blazina had a mobile movie business, in which he and his wife, Olga, were hired by merchants in surrounding small towns to show movies for customers. From this experience, Tony designed a drive-in theater initially with a smaller screen. The current 60x30 feet screen was installed after the original was damaged in a wind storm. Following Tony's death in 1994, the family business was managed by Olga, and daughters, Liz Ray and Irene Pacey. [1]

The theater operated continuously until Olga's death in 2009, followed by Ray two months later. Pacey considered reopening after five years, but decided to sell the theater to Ellsworth County residents Josh and Amanda Webb. The Webb family invested in maintenance and modernization of the theater, including the installation of a new roof on the projector house, new FM audio transmitters for movie sound, and repainting of the movie screen. The theater was reopened in May 2011, and converted to a digital projection system in 2013. [2]

Frequency modulation encoding of information in a carrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave

In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation (FM) is the encoding of information in a carrier wave by varying the instantaneous frequency of the wave.

Transmitter Electronic device that emits radio waves

In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating current, the antenna radiates radio waves.

Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical use of reels of motion picture film, such as 35 mm film. Whereas film reels have to be shipped to movie theaters, a digital movie can be distributed to cinemas in a number of ways: over the Internet or dedicated satellite links, or by sending hard drives or optical discs such as Blu-ray discs. Digital movies are projected using a digital video projector instead of a film projector. Digital cinema is distinct from high-definition television and does not necessarily use traditional television or other traditional high-definition video standards, aspect ratios, or frame rates. In digital cinema, resolutions are represented by the horizontal pixel count, usually 2K or 4K. As digital-cinema technology improved in the early 2010s, most theaters across the world converted to digital video projection.

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References

  1. Mowery-Denning, Linda (May 12, 2011), "Kanopolis Drive-in offers old-fashioned movie experience", Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, Ellsworth, KS, 135 (38), p. A1,A5
  2. Bickel, Amy (May 30, 2014). "Medicine Lodge drive-in goes dim". The Hutchinson News. Retrieved 20 January 2018.