Lansing’s Old Northside Drive-In and an Unknown Band Named “Rush”

Yup...been to this one, many decades ago.

This one is the Northside Drive-In Theatre, formerly located at 14847 Old US 27 in north Lansing. The Northside opened on August 29, 1952 showing the Randolph Scott film Santa Fe. It started out as a one-screener with a capacity of 400 cars which eventually rose to 800 cars by 1977. It remained so until June 1984 when it became a triplex.

Part of the Northside's legacy came from a rock concert held on May 18, 1974 when a new, unknown Canadian band called “Rush” performed with a bevy of other bands. A stage was built in front of the screen and from Noon to Midnight, the bands played on. Attendance was less than spectacular, but many of the attendees were partaking in drugs and there were a number of overdoses.

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Not long afterward during the 1980s, the screen burned down thanks to careless fireworks. A few years after the replacement, two more screens were added to accommodate the crowd, making the theater a three-screener.

As the 80s trudged along, the theater became more of a place to party, get drunk, and high, rather than go for the movie. After enough of this, neglect, a lack of upkeep, plus numerous visits by the police, the Northside closed down in 1988.

And the party was over.