Westmoreland County drive-in screen destroyed by Tuesday's storm

MOUNT PLEASANT, Pa. — The rubble left behind from the original Evergreen Drive-In movie screen, built in 1947, is a testament to how strong the winds were on Tuesday.

“One of the neighbors said it lifted up in the air,” said Joe Warren, Owner of Evergreen Drive-In. “It almost looked like, he said, like the Wizard of Oz when the house was flying.”

Warren said this is actually the second time the screen has been damaged by storms this year!

“Middle of March, I guess, when tornado winds went through the area. It damaged it internally, but it didn’t take it over,” he told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek.

Warren said after that damage in March, he was planning to replace the screen this year and have a celebration to retire screen one, since its the original that was built in 1947 for the Ruthorn Drive-In.

He was with the electricians inside the screen just an hour before the storm on Tuesday. They were looking to see what internal mechanics could have been saved for the new screen.

“It could have been [bad], but I think honestly, I’m smart enough, I wouldn’t have gone in there during that storm,” Warren said.

The good news, Warren said, is no one was hurt, and the screen didn’t damage anyone else’s property.

He also said the drive-in is still ready to go this weekend, with screens two and three.

But, he said, it will be tough this summer without all three screens running.

“We will replace it. It’s going to take some time,” Warren said. “The best case scenario, if this would have to happen, would have been at the end of our season but it’s going to be a challenge now during the peak of our season, now, the summer months.”

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