10 eerie photos of drive-in theaters that have been abandoned across the US

Tonto Drive In, Winslow, ArizonaLindsey Rickert

The first drive-in theater opened in Camden, New Jersey, in 1933. For less than a dollar, the whole family could enjoy a B Hollywood movie from the comfort of their own car.

At the height of their popularity in the 1950s, there were almost 5,000 drive-ins across the US. Today there are just over 300 of them, which has left a lot of drive-in graveyards around the country.

For photographer Lindsey Rickert, drive-in theaters were a staple of childhood.

“There was something so special about the experience [of the drive-in],” she recently told Business Insider. In 2014, she ventured across the country for 65 days to document as many drive-in theaters — either in working order or abandoned — that she could find.

Ahead, see 10 of the most haunting images she took of those that have been left behind.