MANISTIQUE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Manistique is home to one of only a few drive-in movie theaters left in the state of Michigan—and the only one in the Upper Peninsula.
The original Highway 2 Drive-In opened in 1953, becoming the Cinema 2 in the ’70s. In 2001, the drive-in shut down.
“It almost got sold to become a log storage yard, which would’ve been the end of the last drive-in theater in the U.P.,” said Eric Sherbinow.
Sherbinow is a member of the Upper Peninsula Film Union, a nonprofit formed in 2016.
“We’d get together and talk about film quite a bit, and we always had a dream of having some form of a theater,” he said. “That turned into the person who owned this saying, ‘Why don’t you do it here?'”
What was supposed to be a one-time-only event became a tradition once again. The Film Union purchased the property and renamed it the Highway 2 Community Drive-In Theater.
“We weighed the names heavily, and that’s where we went with ‘Community’ Drive-In Theater,” Sherbinow said. “It is all about the community. It is free to the public to come in and see movies. We have area nonprofits running the concession stand to help their organizations. We’ve helped other nonprofits raise over $32,000.”
After going 15 years without use, the concession stand needed a lot of repairs. In the process of fixing it up, the Upper Peninsula Film Union also gave it a new—but retro—look.
“It is not the way it looked in 1953 when it was built, but it’s something that it could’ve looked like in ’53,” said Sherbinow. “It’s a style that we’ve tried to stay faithful to and continue to make it feel like you’re stepping back in time to the days when drive-ins ruled the country. There was over 4,000 drive-in theaters in the United States. Sadly, there’s less than 300 now, but we’re one of them!”
Last year, the Film Union launched a fundraiser to purchase a new projector and repaint the.
“Generous folks donated somewhere close to $12,000,” Sherbinow said. “Since SEMCO Energy donated this building to us, we were able to get a projector that didn’t cost as much. In order to project from the concession building, we would’ve had to spend over $100,000 on a projector alone.”
The screen has yet to be repainted. This will be its first time being repainted since it was new in the 1970s.
“The reason [the drive-in] is still here is because of that screen,” said Sherbinow. “That screen blew down in 1978, and it was made of wood. They’re not made to handle the elements. David Vaughan had it replaced with a steel screen that can handle the winds until this day. If not for that, this would’ve been done a long time ago.”
The theater hosts four to six showings each season. The next one will be held on Saturday, July 27, at 7:30 p.m.
“Barbie, right there on that big screen!” Sherbinow said. “It is, we believe, the largest screen in the Upper Peninsula. You will have no bigger viewing experience.”
More than just a place to see a movie, the Highway 2 Community Drive-In Theater aims to bring people together, support worthy causes, and create memories.
“The whole ritual of pulling into this lot, finding the perfect spot to park,” said Sherbinow. “Some people arrive really early, they set up outside of their vehicle, they make their own event out of it. The kids are throwing a football around to entertain themselves sometimes hours before the movie starts, which is wonderful to see. We have very poor cell service out here so people aren’t on their phones. It allows people to come and just experience something that you can’t get anywhere else, and especially for free. It’s keeping this one last piece of Americana alive in this community.”
The theater is located at 5885W US Highway 2. Follow the Highway 2 Community Drive-In Theater on Facebook or visit upfilmunion.org for updates on future events. Learn more about the Upper Peninsula Film Union on their Facebook page.
