Drive In, Drive Through, Drive By Post

 

Over the summer I went to Las Vegas for the first time celebrating my 21st birthday. I think the Las Vegas strip is a perfect example that highlights drive by architecture. The strip is infamous for its bright architecture that is inevitable to miss... you can even see the glowing lights from up above. Its bright and colorful features and large buildings make the strip worth passing by even if you are not staying there. The lights pretty much stay on for majority of the night so its vibrance makes it hard to miss. Some of its famous architecture it is known for is the Pyramid, the Bellagio Fountain, Paris Hotel. 

Something that I found fascinating is in my hometown we used to have a drive in movie theater located on Hemstead Turnpike which is near I live. The drive-in was opened on April 27, 1950 with William Bendix in “The Babe Ruth Story” & Leo Gorcey in “Blond Dynamite”. It was closed in 1963 and was demolished to make way for the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway which is a major highway system that everyone in Long Island uses. 

Today, one of the most popular drive ins near me is All American. It is an old school fast food joint located in Massapequa, NY. It is family owned and operated since 1963 and is arguably one of the best burger places in Long Island. The burgers are so "fresh" and cheap... everything being between $3-$5. It is open all year long but is the busiest during the summer time. Since the beaches are so close to us, everyone either goes here after or before the beach to grab food.. the lines can take up to 1 hour long. It is located on the main side of Merrick Road which is also one of the busiest streets for its commercial businesses. It is very old fashioned so there is no drive through but if you get lucky there are enough spots to park your car and eat there after. 

One of the more modernized drive ins today though is Sonic due to its ability for multiple drive ins at a time. Sonic makes it accessible for multiple cars to order at once (instead of two lines and waiting) and the best part is you can eat in your car after. This is probably one of the more efficient drive ins today that is easiest for both cars and people. 

Since COVID, some of the most interesting drive throughs/ins that have been normalized is COVID-19 testing/vaccines baby showers, and birthdays. In my area, Jones Beach set up a large testing and vaccination site where you could either show up or make an appointment online and get tested / vaccinated from your car under 15 minutes. Instead of going to urgent care, pharmacy, or doctors these cites were readily available and fast for people who did not have the time to wait for hours getting tested / vaccinated. 

I wish I had pictures to provide but during COVID-19 I went to two baby showers and birthdays that were drive bye which was unusual at the time but made sense. At the baby shower we dropped off the gift wearing masks and thank you gifts were provided outside in their driveway for us to pick up. Food was provided in "to go boxes" and sealed and we were unable to stay long as you normally would for a baby shower. Everything was socially distanced and outside. 

For my friend's birthdays a bunch of my friends and I would all text each other and coordinate a time to drive by whosever birthday it was. We would pass their house in a line of cars and honk and sing happy birthday and dropped off balloons and birthday cards.