Wisconsin’s depleted roster of drive-in movie theaters is shorter by two.
The Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre, W6423 Highway 18 in Jefferson (at Highways 18 and 89), closed after the end of the 2024 season. Owner Lee Burgess — who had put the drive-in property up for sale after the 2023 season — announced in September 2024 he was retiring and again putting the property up for sale.
The drive-in, which was built in 1953, was in bankruptcy when Burgess bought it. He reopened the Highway 18 in 2000.
“It’s just time to retire,” Burgess told WISC-TV in Madison during the drive-in’s final weekend in 2024. “I’ve got grandkids. I want to spend more time with them, and I’d like to pass it on to somebody else.”
The drive-in property is currently listed for sale at $595,000.
The Highway 18 wasn’t the only Wisconsin drive-in to go dark after the 2024 season. Mike and Vicki Radue, whose Get Reel Cinemas owns the De Pere and Chilton cinemas, said on social media in October 2024 that they would not be renewing their lease for the Chilton Twilight Drive-In Theatre. The couple had operated the drive-in for 13 seasons.
The Chilton Twilight, at 1255 E. Chestnut St. (Highway 57) in Chilton, is still available for lease.
The loss of the Highway 18 and Chilton Twilight leaves Wisconsin with eight drive-in movie theaters, and only one in southeast Wisconsin: the Milky Way Drive-In Theatre in Franklin, which opens for the season May 16.
This story was updated to add new information and because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre, one of Wisconsin’s last drive-in movie theaters, is closed
Reporting by Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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