Skyborn Cruise In and Skateland

Location: Fairborn, OH

Date Visited: June 26, 2017

I was driving home from a trip to Dayton when I had to detour to get some gas and stumbled upon a drive-in theater, mostly obscured by the trees that surrounded. I continued to drive home, not even sure if it was actually abandoned or not. After doing a little bit of research, I came back to explore the Skyborn Cruise In.

With movie production moving to digital, drive-in theaters are hurting. Many don't have the money to upgrade to accommodate the newer format, due to already decreasing sales. Three drive-in theaters closed in the Dayton area after the 2015 season, the Skyborn Cruise In being one of them.

The Skyborn Cruise In, located across the street from the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, opened around 1950. By the end of it's life, it was owned by Chakeres Theaters. 

The locals often referred to the theater as the "Skyporn" drive-in due to it's history of showing X-rated films in the 70s and 80s. This practice came to an end due to a police raid in 1989 in which three films were confiscated for being considered too obscene. A lawsuit was filed against the theater, but was settled when Chakeres Theaters decided to stop playing such films. 

The Skyborn Cruise In is currently for sale.

"Skyborn Theater"

The entrance.

Driveway to the drive-in.

ENTRANCE

Lights.

Box.

Everything was still pretty well boarded up.

The theater.

Locked... unfortunately.

Lonely chair.

The big screen.

Park here.

Where the magic happens.

Holes for the projector, I think.

Couldn't get inside, so I had to settle for a picture through a window.

Climbing on abandoned rooftops will never stop feeling sketchy as hell.

A view into the audience.

Skateland in the distance.

The screen appeared to be in surprisingly good shape.

With a couple of upgrades and some maintenance, this place could open back up.

Watch your step.

After learning about the porn history, I understand the walls.

As a fan of drive in movies, this saddens me a bit.

Blank screen.

It was huge.

I believe the bathrooms were also located here.

Concessions too, perhaps.

If only every abandoned place had no vandalism.

Poles.

 Located right next to the drive-in was a rollerskating rink called Skateland. It opened up in 1956 and I believe closed around the same time as the drive-in. I came across a news article from 2015 about the building having 42 fire safety violations, which probably helped lead to its demise.

Another interesting story about Skateland from the same article was that someone apparently living in the building. Two mattresses, a television, and several dogs were found. I believe I may have found a few of these items while exploring. (Not the dogs, though.)

Mattress.

Part of a couch, perhaps?

Sometimes I just need to vent.

A very shiny hubcap.

Back of the building.

SKATELAND.

I have mixed feelings about this exploration. It's sad to see these kind of places go out of business. I have fond memories of both drive-in theaters and skating rinks and I feel bad for kids that will miss out on these types of places. As much as I love exploring abandoned places, it can be a bit depressing sometimes.

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