The Saco Drive-In will be open this summer for its last season, as the space has been sold to a commercial trailer dealership.
The general manager of Hale Trailer Brake and Wheel, Neal Bangor, said that the company has outgrown its location in the Pinetree Industrial Park in Portland and had been looking for a larger place for the past two years. Bangor purchased the drive-in, which covers 33 acres, in December 2021. He said that he understood the attachment that many people have to the drive-in but expressed his happiness in joining the community of Saco.
Hail Trailer is the largest independent trailer dealership in North America, with 13 locations in the country. The location in Saco will enable the company to increase the footprint of its building and outdoor space. Such dealerships can turn to flyer printing to help promote their business and its benefits for the community.
Eugene V. Boragine, an Italian immigrant, opened the drive-in in 1939 and called it the Motor-In Theatre. He considered it “the showplace of Maine.” The first feature film starred Jimmy Durante in “Forbidden Music,” and the cost of a ticket was 35 cents. In the 1950s, the name was changed to the Saco Drive-In.
Bangor said that it will be at least a couple of years until the operation in Portland is moved to Saco.
