Founded in 1847 with just a flour and feed mill, today Cambridge’s quaint downtown filled with brick buildings boasts a few pubs, a winery and little shops—like the Avid Gardener, a gift and gardening boutique on the main drag. 

In her hit “Big Yellow Taxi,” singer Joni Mitchell lamented that “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the alumni association has done just the opposite. It removed a parking lot and replaced it with Alumni Park, celebrating UW alumni and traditions.

In their heyday, there were 79 drive-in movie theaters in Wisconsin—they have since dwindled to the single digits. But, these nine popular ones have withstood the test of time by carving out a niche.