Cottage View Drive-in Seed Art

One of my past favorite places to photograph was the, closed in 2012, Cottage View Drive-in. One of my photos of the sign is on the wall of my local Applebee's. This year while looking at the seed art at the Minnesota State Fair, there was a dedication to the sign. Kudos to the artist.

On The Move

It's being reported that the Cottage View Drive-In sign, a local icon of the city of Cottage Grove, will be saved and moved to Hastings.

"The iconic Cottage View Drive-In marquee that has welcomed outdoor cinema-goers for nearly five decades will soon be en route to the Little Log House Pioneer Village in Hastings.

A late Monday afternoon deal was made between the city of Cottage Grove, drive-in owner Gerry Herringer, and local preservationist Steve Bauer, sealing the fate of the now-closed outdoor theater."

Little Log House Pioneer Village, which is the home of many lost treasures of the Twin Cities, opens it's land to the public one weekend per year to it's visitors.

Emily Buss. (2013, April 01). Cottage View Drive-In sign, screen headed to Hastings. South Washington County Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.swcbulletin.com/event/article/id/22506/

Close Up

Close up view of the neon sign. Quite rusted and a top section has completely fallen out!

The End

Tonight was the final showing for the Cottage View Drive-In. The weather was cold, damp and dreary. I guess, fitting weather to the theater's 46 year run. In it's place will be a a very familiar super store that starts with a "Wal" and ends with an "art".

I first photographed the drive-in back in 2007 in late August, but didn't post the photo until September 10. I know it was August because it was a very hot and buggy night, I really needed bug spray badly and made a very short night of it. The very next season, half of their lights burnt out and I never got second chance to improve this shot.

That very photo, from the hot buggy night, can be seen in my local Applebee's Restaurant on their wall. It is part of a photograph mural of sites of Cottage Grove. What's funny to me is, they never asked for permission to display my photo on their wall, but there it is. What do I do? I'm honored to have my photo there and never want it to go away. Soon I will take a photo of me by my photo and post it here on the blog.

As for the theater closing, it is a bummer for the community, but the city will benefit in the long run. The taxes collected are ten fold since the drive-in is only open seasonally. I believe they estimated $20,000 versus $230,000 from the Super Store. I don't quite remember the exact figures, but it is pretty close. A piece of our history has closed, but the untold story is, the theater would be soon closing, regardless of the Walmart purchase, as they needed a projector upgrade from an analog film projector to a digital one, thank you Hollywood. The cost of the upgrade was $70,000 and with the small grossing theater, it was never going to happen. So really, it was a matter of time before they closed and the lot collected no tax dollars.

As sad as it is to see it go from the city of Cottage Grove, I am happy that I was able to give my kids ever lasting memories of the Cottage View Theater for the last six, seven, eight years, or whenever it was I first brought them here.

Entrance

The entrance sign to the Cottage View Drive-In Theater.

Cottage View Returns

I've gotten word, the Cottage View Drive-In will be open for at least two more years! From all of us drive-in theater fans, we couldn't be happier. From my understanding, with the downturn in the economy, the interest in purchasing the land is dead. Thus, at least two more years the theater will be open.

To see what is currently playing: Now Showing at Cottage View Drive-In

Entrance To Cottage View Drive-In

This is the metal fence entrance to the Cottage View Drive-In. It's obviously closed during the day time hours. Perhaps this is the final season for the drive in, only time will tell.

Indiana Jones Movie At The Drive In

Well, we made our first trip to the Cottage View Drive-In theater in Cottage Grove off of Highway 61. We saw the new 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skulls' movie as the feature movie. This was followed up by 'Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian'. Having seen the previous three Indiana Jones movies when I was much younger, I was looking forward to the latest release. Well, while it did keep up with the action from the previous movies, I was a bit taken back by the story line. I won't give the plot away, but it was easy to figure out where the story was going. Some of the other Indiana Jones movies, sure, there is a lot to believe for the viewer. This was a bit over the top for me. My kids enjoyed the movie and want to see the first three movies now. I can easily sit through them. As for the second Chronicles Of Narnia movie....having not seen the previous movie, I was unsure of any of the characters or what had taken place previously. I was able to follow the story line and if you have not seen the first movie, this one is has a decent enough story line for the viewer.

Cottage View Drive In - Opening Soon

I reported in the fall of 2007 that the Cottage View Drive-In, one of two drive-in theaters in the Twin Cities area, would be closing and selling it's land to the highest bidder. Due to overwhelming support, much praise, and a bit of a backlash by the community on the sale of the land, I'm happy to report the Cottage View Drive-In will be open in 2008 for business. My circle of friends in the Cottage Grove area have been talking quite a bit about the drive in being open once again. We brought six or seven car loads of families several times last year and have plans already in the works for this summer.

See what's playing at Cottage View Drive-In

The first showing is this Friday, April 18th. The theater will only be open on weekends until school is just about done for the year.