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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Skyview Drive-In in
4Belleville on the occasion of its 75th anniversary; and
 
5    WHEREAS, On July 8, 1949, the Skyview Drive-In opened as
6part of the Bloomer family chain of theaters (BAC Theatres)
7with the film On Our Merry Way; the drive-in accommodated 900
8cars and had 200 seats for walk-in patrons; admission was 60
9cents; in addition to movies, the drive-in offered a
10playground with pony rides, miniature train rides, and a small
11Ferris wheel; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 1953, with the advent of Cinemascope, wings
13were added to the side of the screen to accommodate the wider
14picture; in the spring of 1955, the 60-foot screen and the
15playground were damaged by a tornado; as a replacement, a
16115-foot screen was installed, which was supposedly the
17largest in the Midwest at that time; in 1981, another storm
18damaged the 115-foot screen, and it was replaced by a somewhat
19smaller one; a second screen was built not long afterward,
20making the drive-in a twin; for more than 60 years, employees
21were trained to project movies on the big screen; in 1995, a
22radio sound system was installed, and the drive-in became
23digital in 2013; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Skyview Drive-In's sign is one of the most
2iconic movie marquees in the country; designed by Kirn Signs,
3the rocket ship marquee appeared in 1950; it was damaged by a
4storm in 1955; in the early 1980s, the drive-in turned off the
5function that made the sign flash, due to a sign ordinance in
6Belleville that outlawed flashing signs; since then, the
7drive-in has kept the lights off; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The Skyview Drive-In is one of the two drive-ins
9built by the Bloomer family and is the only remaining drive-in
10in operation in the St. Louis region; today, it is owned by
11Steve Bloomer; the first screen can host 440 vehicles, and the
12second screen can host 190 vehicles; the drive-in's season
13runs from April through November; and
 
14    WHEREAS, In May of 2024, the Skyview Drive-In was honored
15as the number one drive-in theater in the U.S. by USA Today;
16therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
18HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19we congratulate the Skyview Drive-In in Belleville on the
20occasion of its 75th anniversary, and we wish them many more
21successful years; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to Steve Bloomer as an expression of our esteem and
3respect.