The Sky View, which opened in 1950, offered the novel experience of watching movies under the stars at a time when most people did not own a black-and-white TV. Like most outdoor theaters, it had a busy playground below the screen where children played before the movie began, and during intermission hotdogs danced across the screen to lure moviegoers to the concession stand. As the last original Route 66 drive-in theater in Illinois, it recalls an era when drive-ins were popular gathering places for families, friends, and couples, with automobiles providing privacy for romantic dates or a place for families to tuck in youngsters for a night’s sleep while the adults watched the movie. In Litchfield, its grand opening did more to upset daily life than Walmart later did, because in a farm community it seemed unthinkable to wait until dark to watch a movie and stay out so late.
