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Just went past this one in Weatherford, Oklahoma. My wife remembers stopping there when traveling Route 66.
Just went past this one in Weatherford, Oklahoma. My wife remembers stopping there when traveling Route 66.
It's good to know that some have survived. On our side of the pond supermarkets are the favourite whipping boy for being responsible for the community garage's decline, curiously though, many a supermarket has bought up derelict garage and turned them into a convenience store, but you can still buy fuel there. Convenience? What a misnomer that is. There was a time when I would fill up, or, have an attendant fuel my car, be treated to a smile, a quick chit-chat about all and nothing, pay my bill and be on my way. Now, I have to select, pay at pump or kiosk. Given that fraudsters target pay at kiosk with some sort of gizmo that reads your card details, I select pay at kiosk. Then I stand in a queue of four or more each with a small basket of purchases. Annoying or what?There’s still one area where I can drive from one major city to another on a road where in between are small towns with local gas stations and diners.
⇧ similar to the concessions at the movie theater - same economic driver.
I haven't seen the number in years, but the average profit per dollar of revenue aggregated for all US businesses is something like 6 or 7 cents.
To be sure, 6 or 7 cents on billions of dollars of revenue adds up, but most companies exist on very thin margins.
I recall going to the “Convenience Store” to purchase candy prior to going to the
theater because the cost of goodies was conveniently lower than “concession candy”. I enjoyed sneaking it in to the
theater. Felt like a kid!
I stopped going to the movies because I could no longer tolerate sitting with strangers who would talk during a scene explaining to their moron friend what was coming up next.
But mostly because I was not able to
stop the scene and rewind.
The rising cost of movie ticket sealed it.
Last time I went to the movies, I saw
“Raiders of the Lost Ark”.
Was disappointed because I listened to
friends who went overboard on how great
it was.
Later I came to enjoy it at home but
once in a while Polo will poke me tell
me to watch the next scene.
Several years ago, we decided to invest in a new TV and sound bar (not super high end - Samsung) and stop going to the theater which, in NYC, was costing us $25 - $35 a movie between tickets (two @$10 -$11 each) and shared soda and popcorn or candy. We allow ourselves one movie in the theater a year, but used to go +/- six times a year, so we save ~$180 a year. That was about five years ago, in another three or four, we will have fully paid for our TV and sound bar.
The economics as described were compelling, but like you, we were not enjoying the experience either - others talking, sticky floors, twenty minutes of pre-views and sound too loud (when we go to our once-a-year movie, we are amazed at how loud they played movies - has it always been this way?). Also, getting there, waiting on line, shuffling out with a crowd was all annoying versus a darn good experience at home. We have even had years now where we didn't avail ourselves of our "one" movie because nothing hit our radar that made us want to go.
My take on movies in the big screen:
Growing up, movies was it.
There was no other entertainment at home except radio. Which I loved.
My imagination had no limits.
I didn’t have television until I was
eight or nine.
Movie tickets were cheap & so was the candy.
Movies included a serial, cartoons and
you could stay and watch as many times
as you wanted.
As kids.... we put up with many things that as adults we won’t.
My movie experience growing up started with going to the movies with my grandmother as she loved them and took me to see what she wanted - so I was seeing movies for adults in the theater up to age 8 (when she passed away).
Then, we inherited her old B&W TV and put it in a small room were I discovered classic movies on Saturday and Sunday afternoons - I wasn't allowed to watch our main TV as my dad didn't want me "fooling with it," but basically, I had free reign over the antiquated one and developed a passion for "old" movies that continues to this day as can be seen by my obsessive watching of TCM.
My other movie experience was on some Saturday's when I'd go to the $2.50 matinee (mid '70s) - crummy theater (old, but not cool), but still was the highlight of the week.
With my grandmother, we'd go to some cool theaters that still let you come in when you wanted and stay as long as you wanted (we'd sometimes show up in the middle and then stay for the next showing until it go to the point in the movie where we had come in). The theater I went to later for the matinees didn't let you do that - and, in general, had an antagonism toward kids, especially kids without parental accompaniment like me.
But as a kid, noise, sticky floors, lines, prices (other than if I couldn't afford it, the "fairness" of the price never occurred to me), other people never hit my radar - going to the theater was just fun, period. Now, staying home and watching it without being annoyed is much more fun.
I grew up always conscious of the movies as a way people earned their living. My uncle was a projectionist and later a theatre manager, and he always made sure we kids understood that it wasn't out of the goodness of his heart that we saw the movies: we paid full price for concessions just like anyone else, and to this day I would no more smuggle my own snacks into a theatre than I would take my own steak to a restaurant. Those who think they're sticking it to the man are really sticking it to the people who actually do the work in the theatre, and by doing so are stealing the bread right off their tables.
They built that Sinclair station from stuff they salvaged from the abandoned minature-golf course down the street.