Mahoning Drive-In screen damaged by high winds

A wind-damaged section of the projection screen at Mahoning Drive-In Theater should be replaced in time for opening weekend in April.

The drive-in has become a destination for film buffs in recent years thanks to an eclectic lineup of retro movies shown on 35 mm film, and inspired by a documentary which is set for public release this spring.

Part of their 70-plus-year-old screen fell during a recent windstorm. According to drive-in owner Jeff Mattox, the part that fell was set to be replaced in the next few weeks.

“We knew it needed to be repaired. It just happened that the wind took down what they had to tear down anyway,” Mattox said.

Less than one-quarter of the screen actually fell. Mattox explained that the screen was built in stages. When the theater opened in 1948, the screen was square because there were no widescreen movies. A few years later, widescreen or CinemaScope movies became popular, and the theater added two wings on each side of the screen. Part of one of the “wings,” on the viewers’ left, fell down in the storm.

Mattox said the right “wing” and center part of the screen had both been updated, and they were planning to do the same to the left one before it fell.

“The right wing was redone a few years ago. It’s still in good shape. The center section is in good shape,” he said.

Just over a year ago the theater’s well-known marquee sign on Route 443 was damaged in a storm. Drive-in fans donated thousands to an online fundraiser to save the marquee. Mattox said he didn’t want to do the same kind of public appeal this time around, though he said the sign fundraiser is still open for donations.

The theater plans to open its season on April 26-27 as it does each year, with a double bill of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Wizard of Oz.” For more information, visit www.facebook.com/mahoningdriveintheater.