Source: Detroit Free Press
The Ford-Wyoming is metro Detroit's last remaining permanent drive-in, but some of its fans have become alarmed because of a sign on the Wyoming Avenue side of the theater advertising "14 acres for sale." The bottom line: The drive-in is not closing, but some of its land is, indeed, for sale. Charles Shafer, the Ford-Wyoming owner, said he leases the 14 acres along Wyoming that contain screens 6 through 9, and the owner of the land is trying to sell it.
Even if the owner finds a buyer, however, the screens will remain in operation for the rest of the summer, Shafer said. Shafer owns the land off Ford Road that hold screens 1 through 5, and that property is not for sale. "Were not going anywhere, Shafer said. "The theater is doing good." The metro areas first drive-in opened before World War II, and there were about 30 in the 1960s. Sprawl and rising land prices are reasons why most have closed. The Ford-Wyoming, on the eastern edge of Dearborn, turned 56 years old this month.