Detroit Area’s Newest ‘Memory Lane’ Drive In To Open Soon

Since the pandemic began, we saw the pastime of going to the drive in theatre make its triumphant return, and since then, we're seeing a once dead industry make an incredible comeback. In Southwest Michigan alone we have 3 drive in theatres, with one also in Muskegon. The newest drive in will be a little bit of a hike from Kalamazoo however, as the Memory Lane Drive In will be located at 6501 North Monroe
Frenchtown, MI 48162.

The drive-in is actually located on the site of the former Denniston Drive-in, which was originally built in 1956 but closed and demolished around 1985. The theatre will host 3 screens and admission will be charged by the carload, rather than individual tickets. The owner of the Memory Lane Drive-in wrote that this drive-in has been a dream of his for the last 10 years. One of their screens was actually purchased from the Pontiac Silverdome site and is now permanently on their location.

Get our free mobile app

This has been a long time coming for the new owners as this theatre was first announced all the way back in September of 2016. It's taken years to get prepared considering how neglected the land was since the first drive in closed 36 years ago. The owner spoke about how they came to discover the sight and how it instantly felt right:

We looked at several locations around the area and once we found this abandoned drive-in we knew we found our new home. Everything about it was perfect for us and bringing back the history made it all that much more appealing. This location is a 15-20 minute drive from the heart of downriver. It's a very beautiful and peaceful environment for our families to enjoy.