Closest Drive-In Theater to Shreveport is “Adult Only”

When I was a kid one of the things I looked forward to most during the summer was going to Benji's Drive-In and seeing a movie. I can't really explain it...but there was just something magical about seeing a movie outdoors on that giant screen. It seemed like my dad would take me every week or every other week. It was great!

With it being summer time and a lot of great movies coming out, I got the urge to hit a drive-in theater. Now, I know that there isn't a drive-in anywhere in Shreveport or Bossier. But, I figured there just HAD to be one somewhere relatively close by. And I was right. I googled "Drive-Ins near me" and at the top of the list was the Apache Drive-In in Tyler Texas. I was stoked! I don't mind the hour or so drive to get the unique experience I was craving.

Luckily, I clicked the link to see what was playing...because if I just drove over there I definitely would have gotten a unique experience. Because, apparently, the Apache Drive-In is one of America's last XXX, adult only drive-in theaters. Yeah... I didn't know this was a thing either.

Apparently, from what I could find online, at some point in the late 70s, the drive-in theater business was going down the tubes. Film companies were overcharging to get movies, customer traffic was down, theaters were closing. So, in an attempt to stay afloat, many drive-ins switched over to "adult only films". Most of those theaters either went back to traditional films or were shut down by the local communities who did not want that in their neighborhood. (From what I found out, apparently, The Don Drive-In in Bossier City, where Pierre-Bossier Mall is, was an adult only drive in at one point.)  But one of the few remaining adult film drive-ins left in America is located right down the road in Tyler.

I don't know if we should be proud that our region holds one of the pieces left a forgotten era of cinema or embarrassed that the only drive in within driving distance only shows skin flicks.