Want to own a drive-in movie theater?
The Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre west of Jefferson is up for sale, longtime owner Lee Burgess announced last week in the drive-in’s weekly email newsletter.
“I’m proud of having brought this theatre back from the dead and have enjoyed operating it over these past 25 years,” Burgess wrote. “ But I’m in my mid-70s now, I don’t have the energy and patience of earlier years, and no one in my family wants to take over the business. So it’s time to start the process of turning things over to a new owner.”
The theater, about a 45-minute drive east of Madison, finished off its 2023 season last weekend with the Wisconsin Thrillers Film Festival, a collection of low films including horror, science fiction and fantasy — perfect for a drive-in.
The theater, which features a 90-foot metal screen, was opened in 1953 by local entrepreneur Walter Baier at a time when there were over 4,000 drive-in theaters across the United States.
But business declined in the 1970s and ‘80s. Burgess bought and restored the theater in 1999. In 2010, Burgess switched the projectors at the outdoor theater from film to digital in anticipation of the technological shift to come.
During the summer of 2020, when indoor movie theaters were shut down because of the pandemic, outdoor theaters like Highway 18 were essentially the only way to go out to the movies. According to the website driveinmovie.com, there are currently 330 drive-ins left in the United States.
Those interested in purchasing the drive-in should contact Barry Luce of RE/Max Commercial Realty, 920-222-9307.
