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URBAN AFFAIRS TEXT BY HOLLY MATKIN PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED NEIGHBORHOODS 119024 German Gulch Road • Butte, MT f you're looking for an idyllic way to enjoy the warm summer nights that lie ahead, head on over to the Silver Bow Drive-In located just six miles southwest of Bue to take in a show beneath the expansive Montana night sky. Mark and Holly Hansen have spent the past 44 years welcoming visitors to their family-owned theater, which was founded using equipment Mark purchased from a theater his father established in Deer Lodge in 1920. "e interstate ended up going right through the middle of it," Mark says of his father's old theater. Mark thought residents would enjoy having a drive-in close to Bue, so he bought the concession stand and projection booth his uncle had at the former Deer Lodge theater and set off to establish the new site. e Silver Bow Drive-In made its debut in 1977. "e first movie we opened with was 'e Longest Yard' (1974)," Mark recalls. "It was a double feature with 'e Hustle' (1975)." For the most updated showtimes and to find out what's playing , call (406) 782-8095, or visit www.silverbowdrivein.com. B U T T E M O N T A N A e Hansens built a second screen in 1980, making their theater the first twin drive-in in the state. Decades later, they are one of just three drive-in locations le in all of Montana. "I think a lot of the drive-ins went away because the land became worth more than the business warrants," Mark says. Today, Mark and Holly's adult children, Jens and Alynn, help keep the family business I Movie Night Under the Stars SILVER BOW DRIVE IN: thriving. ey welcome travelers from far and wide, as well as locals and regulars from surrounding counties. "It's a friendly place," Holly says. "Some have been coming for so long, we know their names and they remember our kids when they were lile." Silver Bow Drive-In's season generally runs from late April or early May until about the last week of September. Shows run nightly aer Memorial Day beginning at dusk. e drive-in is a cash-only business, and visitors are also asked to remember to shut off their headlights during the show, especially if you have a vehicle with automatic headlights. "It's a friendly place," Holly says. "Some have been coming for so long, we know their names and they remember our kids when they were lile." SiG MT 14 Settle in for a show under the Montana night sky. The show starts at dusk. The Hansen family has been welcoming movie-lovers for generations.