Bill Text: IL HR0481 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates the Skyview Drive-In in Belleville on the occasion of its 70th anniversary.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-10-28 - Resolution Adopted [HR0481 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HR0481-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the Skyview Drive-In in | ||||||
| 4 | Belleville on the occasion of its 70th anniversary; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, On July 8, 1949, the Skyview Drive-In opened as | ||||||
| 6 | part of the Bloomer family chain of theaters (BAC Theatres) | ||||||
| 7 | with the film On Our Merry Way; the drive-in accommodated 900 | ||||||
| 8 | cars and had 200 seats for walk-in patrons; admission was 60 | ||||||
| 9 | cents; in addition to movies, the drive-in offered a playground | ||||||
| 10 | with pony rides, miniature train rides, and a small Ferris | ||||||
| 11 | wheel; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, In 1953, with the advent of Cinemascope, wings | ||||||
| 13 | were added to the side of the screen to accommodate the wider | ||||||
| 14 | picture; in the spring of 1955, the 60-foot screen and the | ||||||
| 15 | playground were damaged by a tornado; the screen was replaced | ||||||
| 16 | with a larger, 115-foot, one, which was supposedly the largest | ||||||
| 17 | in the Midwest at that time; in 1981, another storm damaged the | ||||||
| 18 | 115-foot screen, and it was replaced by a somewhat smaller one; | ||||||
| 19 | a second screen was built not long afterward, making the | ||||||
| 20 | drive-in a twin; for more than 60 years, employees were trained | ||||||
| 21 | to project movies on the big screen; in 1995, a radio sound | ||||||
| 22 | system was installed, and the drive-in became digital in 2013; | ||||||
| 23 | and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The Skyview Drive-In's sign is one of the most | ||||||
| 2 | iconic movie marquees in the country; designed by Kirn Signs, | ||||||
| 3 | the rocket ship marquee appeared in 1950; it was damaged by a | ||||||
| 4 | storm in 1955; in the early 1980s, the drive-in turned off the | ||||||
| 5 | function that made the sign flash, due to a sign ordinance in | ||||||
| 6 | Belleville that outlawed flashing signs; since then, the | ||||||
| 7 | drive-in has kept the lights off; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, The Skyview Drive-In is one of the two drive-ins | ||||||
| 9 | built by the Bloomer family and is the only remaining drive-in | ||||||
| 10 | in operation in the St. Louis region; today, it is owned by | ||||||
| 11 | Steve Bloomer; the first screen can hold 440 vehicles, and the | ||||||
| 12 | second screen can hold 190 vehicles; the drive-in's season runs | ||||||
| 13 | from April through November; therefore, be it
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| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 15 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 16 | we congratulate the Skyview Drive-In in Belleville on the | ||||||
| 17 | occasion of its 70th anniversary and wish them many more | ||||||
| 18 | successful years; and be it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to Steve Bloomer as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 21 | respect.
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