About this item
Shortly after World War II, three Dearborn brothers bought a vacant parcel to build a drive-in theater. Local groups opposed them, fearing such a place would elicit immoral behavior." But the Clark family persevered to see its movie palace become a Metro Detroit mainstay, hosting celebrities, rock stars and a never-ending line of families with kids in footie pajamas. A handshake transferred ownership to movie magnate Charles Shafer and his business partner, Bill Clark, who expanded the theater to a massive nine screens. But blockbusters and hordes of teens couldn't mitigate the effects of Detroit's decline, auto company bankruptcies and Michigan's economic malaise. Despite it all, the mighty Ford-Wyoming kept the movies showing, bringing a bit of Hollywood glamour to the gritty Motor City.
About the Author
Karen Dybis is a Metro Detroit writer who has blogged for Time magazine, worked the business desk at The Detroit News and many other publications. She is the author of "The Ford-Wyoming Drive-In: Cars, Candy and Canoodling in the Motor City," "Better Made in Michigan: The Salty Story of Detroit's Best Chip," "The Witch of Delray" and the upcoming "Strange Detroit."
