As the pandemic continues to disrupt the daily lives of all Americans, the retail giant Walmart has launched a campaign to make the endless social distancing just a little bit more tolerable with a pop-up drive-in. On July 28, 2020, Walmart filed an intent-to-use trademark application for WALMART
History of the Drive-In
The first drive-in theaters began popping up across the country in the early part of the 1900s. However, it was not until years later, in 1932, that the first patent for a Drive-In Theater received approval. Awarded to Mr. Richard Hollingshead, the patent disclosed a novel construction of a theater. In particular, the construction of the theater allowed viewing of the performance from a series of automobiles. Arranged in such a way that “the successive cars behind each other will not obstruct the view,” all moviegoers could equally see the screen.
A year later in 1933, Mr. Hollingshead opened his first drive-in theater. Offering family fun for the whole family or a cheap date cuddled up next to your significant other, the success of the drive-in spread across the country like wildfire. Eventually peaking at around 4,000 drive-in theaters across the country in the 1950s, the number of drive-in theaters has slowly been declining across the country. However, recently their popularity made a resurgence due to mandatory social distancing as a result of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
The WALMART DRIVE-IN
Bringing back the nostalgia of the drive-in, the WALMART
It is great to see companies and people coming together to provide outlets for Americans across the country to have some activity. With so many people working from home and being stuck inside all day, it is great to have some creative outlets for people to leave their homes in a safe, socially distant, and responsible manner.
