The Hollywood Drive-In Theater (TM) is located on Route 66 just eight miles outside of Troy, N.Y. TheTheater was built in 1952 by the late James Fisher who oversaw the operation for the next sixteen years. In the beginning he, his wife, Beatrice, and son Frank kept the theater open year round. It ran seven nights a week in the spring and summer months and on weekends September through May. For the colder weather the theater offered heaters for the cars at no charge. The heaters plugged into the side of the speaker pole you were parked next to. The poles in the drive-ins you see today are mostly bare but, in the beginning a car would park on either side of the pole which hung two speakers. You took these speakers and hung them on the side of your window for the picture's sound. Some theaters still have a few speakers in use but most have gone to transmitting the sound over radio waves. In its era the speakers were considered high quality sound but became outdated with newer hi-tech innovations. Today you turn your car onto auxiliary and tune in your cars radio. With some of the stereos in cars today you will experience a sound as good if not better than
the indoor theaters.

In 1968 Frank took over the business from his father and still enjoys running it to this day .He has learned everything from the projectors to the concessions when he was just a teenager working with his father and through trial and error and have improved the theater tremendously from those early days.

The theater began with two pre-1950's carbon arc projectors which held 2000 foot reels. Then came 6000 foot reels and the projectors had to be reconditioned to handle the larger reels. After that the projectors were changed to Xenon (zee-non) which gave off a more brilliant light, in return the picture became crisper, clearer and brighter. With the change to xenon also came a platter system which allowed the film to run continuously with not having to switch from one projector to the next. The chance of the picture going off the screen because of error became non- existent, and there was no longer a need for a projectionist. As of April 2012 the theatre has converted to a digital projection system with Dolby digital sound giving you an experience equal to that of indoor screens on a larger than life outdoor screen. At the Hollywood Drive-In (TM) the movie is projected onto a 36'h x 88'w screen for all patrons to enjoy. In 1952 the theater held 250 cars but has expanded over the years and now can accommodate approximately 400 cars.