Jenny was an exceptional tour guide, finding all the very cool sites we visited. This, the Sage Crest Drive-In in Yerington, was a fantastic conclusion. I have a thing for drive-ins!
Its history comes from the Nevada State Historic Preservation officer's statement: "Plans for the theater were publicly announced by Regina Gina Perry in the Mason Valley News on April 11, 1952. The facility was to be constructed on BLM lands that were currently under lease to the Anaconda Mining Company; Perry obtained a sub-lease from the Anaconda Company’s main office in New York. A name was not determined at that time but would be announced later through a contest."
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What happened to the Sage Crest Drive-In? Gina's dream lived on until about 1983. It changed ownership multiple times between 1983 and 1995. Closed down around 1991 and briefly re-opened in 1995, it was finally shut down and abandoned entirely in November 1995, when the public water system at the facility failed to pass inspection. Since then, graffiti is the only thing on display now. Why it's not better secured, I can't even imagine.
So, what's left to do with the old drive-in? It's now an area of study for archaeologists with Broadbent & Associates Inc. "When people think of archaeology, they think it's just the study of humans," says Margo Memmott, Senior Archaeologist. "It's actually the study of both human activity and human history. Sometimes, it can be the pyramids in Egypt, sometimes it's old cans on the desert out in the middle of Nevada, or a even a drive-in movie theater."What makes this unoccupied and derelict example of an early 1950s drive-in theater historic and worth studying? Drive-in theaters represent a particular form of entertainment that can contribute to our understanding of community dynamics. Because drive-in theaters are generally open, accessible, and inexpensive in comparison to other types of theaters, their users include young people, families, and both high- and low-income subsections of the community. The 50s-era drive-in theaters are an increasingly rare resource class that played an important role in the development of automobile and entertainment culture in the mid-twentieth century. They are important recreational landscapes for the local community that were shared by a large sub-set of the population."While the memories of Sage Crest Drive-In may be left in the dust of the desert, the destination of drive-ins and their (possible) resurgence could bring back a time where we were separate by spaces or cars, but joined together to enjoy some entertainment." I love it!
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