Idea for Saving Starlite
david
profit group formed and bought the theatre. Here is the website...
http://www.hullsdrivein.com/ . Has there been any thought of doing
something like this? It would be a good amount of work, but would be
rewarding.
Thanks
David
Here is the Hulls Angels Story from the website.....
Who We Are
Hull's Angels is the name of a local non-profit group dedicated to
preserving Hull's Drive-In Theatre. Our group formed in 1999 after
Hull's Drive-In closed following nearly fifty years of operation.
After a two-year fundraising effort, Hull's Angels succeeded in
purchasing the theatre business in 2001. Several hundred drive-in
supporters each paying $5 annual dues now belong to Hull's Angels. We
are proud to be the new owners and operators of this community
treasure.
Where We've Been
Hull's Angels held it founding meeting in June 1999. Present were
fifty drive-in fans eager to find a way to re-open this beloved
theatre. During the summer we explored various options and built our
membership. By fall, we agreed the organization itself should try to
purchase Hull's. At that point we formally organized as a non-profit
corporation, elected a volunteer board of directors. By the spring of
2000, we negotiated an agreement enabling us to purchase the business
anytime during a two-year lease. Soon thereafter we launched a $75,000
capital campaign. By July 2000 we had raised enough money to make
urgent repairs and reopen the theatre for the season.
After a successful first season, we reopened in April 2001 for our
first full sixth-month season. Thanks to the donations of literally
hundreds of people, we were able to purchase the business in late May
2001. As operators of the nation's only non-profit community drive-in
movie theatre, Hull's Angels has enjoyed widespread media attention
for their efforts.
Where We're Going
Our goal is to keep on operating Hull's Drive-In Theatre in the
respectful, family-friendly manner of longtime owner Mr. Sebert Hull.
Now that we have purchased the drive-in business, we're turning our
attention to keeping this historic theatre in good physical condition,
showing great movies, and extending our community outreach through
special events and other charitable projects benefiting our local
area.
We welcome your donations to help us with the above mission. All
donations to Hull's Angels, a registered charitable organization, are
tax-deductible.
Stephen White
Hull's Drive-In was my main inspiration for the http://DurhamScreenSavers.org website. The only way I see the Starlite coming back is through community effort. I don't really have the resources to advertise the site in anyway, but thankfully Bob Cirillo, webmaster for http://StarliteDurham.com (The Drive-In's official website) has directed your attention my way.
I'd like to ask your help in this matter as well. Please send your friends and neighbors to the Durham Screen Savers website. Encourage them to become active on the site by registering, responding to postings as they appear on the main page, and by joining in the available forums (see the left-hand navigation column of the site for a link). If you aren't doing this yourself, then I encourage you to do so, and then tell your friends. :-)
You might look at the million-dollar price tag and say it is way out of reach for the community, and then you might get focused on and discouraged by the seemingly insurmountable task of fund raising. While fund raising is important, the people are more important. People will bring money. The more people you have, the more viable the idea of a community owned and run business becomes, be it a drive-in, swimming pool, or civic club.
Also, here is some food for thought: I've read interviews with Mr. Groves where he said that his land might become too valuable to keep. However, he also said he would continue the drive-in business, but just a little further out of town. If the battle for keeping the land where the Starlite sits is lost, then it's not unfeasible to still pursue another dream of Mr. Groves', by building a new drive-in. (I've briefly looked into some available technologies for outdoor theaters, such as DLP digital cinema...wouldn't that be awesome?!?)
Regardless of where the future leads--whether we save the Starlite, build a new Starlite, or simply fade away--this community experience will be great! We'll make new friends, we'll meet our neighbors, and we'll be doing something positive in a city that is known for its negatives.
Your being here means a lot to me, but it means so much more to the future of the Starlite. Please tell your friends!
Thanks,
--Stephen White, DurhamScreenSavers.org Webmaster
PS Just as an FYI, I have set the News Aggregator function on the website to pick up the RSS feed for this group. In English: What you post to this Google group will be seen on the DurhamScreenSavers.org site under the "News Aggregator" section.