There's a drive-thru for almost everything - including funeral homes and more!

There's a drive-thru for almost everything - including funeral homes and more... plus more drive-thru related facts.

Drive-thrus are not just for fast foods anymore as we all know, but although many of you may already know about the funeral homes there are others below that you may not have heard of or even thought was possible!

For you selected few that don't know what a drive-thru is: a drive-through, or drive-thru, is a type of service provided by a business that allows customers to purchase products without leaving their cars.

In the case of the funeral home drive-thru however - no purchase is necessary.

For over 40 years, the Robert L. Adams Funeral Home has provided grief-stricken families in Compton, Los Angeles, with a rare convenience that does not usually accompany death: the drive-through. The Robert L. Adams parlor is thought to be the only drive-through funeral home in southern California and mourners never have to stop to express their sorrow.

Since 1974, the mortuary has offered a simple alternative to traditional funerals. According to office manager Denise Knowles-Bragg, the parlor is convenient for older people who find it hard to walk, for those who want to make a quick stop during the lunch hour, and for the families of well-known deceased people who expect many visitors.

The glass in the drive-through home is bulletproof and MSNBC speculates the drive-through’s success may stem from the 1980s when the Compton area of Los Angeles was filled with gang violence. Gang members were hesitant to have traditional funerals and graveside services due to the cemetary shootouts that would occassionally follow a gang member’s death. The LA Times speculates the bulletproof glass made the Robert L. Adams Funeral Home a popular place for gang funerals. Photos: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson. NSFW.


The funeral parlor has been in business since 1974, and is thought to be the only drive-through funeral home in southern California, according to office manager Denise Knowles-Bragg. Knowles-Bragg said the parlor offers a convenient alternative to older people who find it hard to walk, those who want to make a quick stop during the lunch hour, and the families of well-known deceased people who expect many visitors.

Henrietta McDade, 63, (R) of Pasadena views her late friend Robert Sanders, 58, at the Robert L. Adams drive-through funeral parlor in Compton, Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2012.

Other Drive-thru Businesses

Drive-thru Prayers
The Cathedral of Faith Church of God in Christ Drive-thru Prayers in Michigan, USA...

John W. Adkisson | The Flint Journal

There is the Pull-Over-For-a-Prayer drive-through service where drivers do not have to get out of their cars to receive prayer, and are free from any obligation. They don't have to do anything other than roll down their windows, and then a minister will pray with them while their cars idle...







At Your Service: Main Place Christian Fellowship Church Prayer Booth

...people park next to the booth while a pastor prays with you for a couple of minutes...


A few years ago the “Main Place Christian Fellowship," an evangelical church located in Tustin outside Los Angeles, converted a former photo booth in a nearby parking lot into a drive-thru prayer booth. Any driver in need of a prayer can drive through and remain in his car while a pastor on duty prays for him through a window. In addition to free prayers, the booth also gives away free Bibles, bottled water and sometimes flowers.








The Drive-thru Daquiris in New Orleans ...
Thirsty but want something more than your average soda?  This is the place for you - you don't have to get out of your car to pick one up... and it's all legal, well, sort of.

The Double Shot Liquor & Guns Drive-thru in Texas, USA...

Photo by Flickr user roy.luck

If having just a beer just doesn't cut it and you want a beer AND a gun, why not stop by... without getting out of your car of course, at the Double Shot Liquor & Guns Drive-thru and pick one - or both up at the same time.

The Cowgirls Espresso Drive-thru in Washington, USA...

Serving up coffee with bikini-clad baristas is definitely the best way to have your morning cup of joe!

At Cowgirls Espresso in Seattle, WA, caffeine isn't the only thing that will get your heart going. The bikini-clad baristas will jump-start your morning with their fresh brewed java and daily themed, barely there uniforms. On the first hot July day that the ladies shed their shirts, sales skyrocketed 100%. Their menu is as extensive as their imaginations, so, make sure to stop by for the country's hottest cup of coffee next time you're in Seattle.

The Contemporary Art Gallery Drive-thru in Vancouver, CANADA...

Now this is one drive-thru we were surprised we never heard of, being from Canada and all.

A new program from the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver allows viewers to access art via a drive-thru window.

"It's innovative," says Ian Grais of Rethink Advertising. "It uses the gallery space and it's an accessible way to see art."

Drivers can pull up to the kiosk and select from one of six short videos from Vancouver artist Brady Cranfield. Each piece from the series, called Day Tripper, is modelled after a hypothetical day in the life of a Vancouverite.

Gallery director Christina Richie says the program blurs the distinction between art and marketing.

The Chandelier Drive-thru Tree Park in California, USA...

The Chandelier Tree in Drive Thru Tree Park is a 315 foot (96 metre) tall coast redwood tree in Leggett, California with a 6 foot (1.83 m) wide by 6 foot 9 inch (2.06 m) high hole[1] cut through its base to allow a car to drive through. The hole was carved in the 1930s. A vintage postcard of the Chandelier Tree was shown during the opening credits of National Lampoon's Vacation.

Drive-thru Banking in USA, CANADA, GERMANY etc...

In 1928, City Center Bank, which became UMB Financial Corporation, president R. Crosby Kemper opened what is considered the first drive-up window. Shortly after the Grand National Bank in St Louis opened up a drive through, including a slot to the side for night time deposits. Westminster Bank opened the UK's first drive-through bank in Liverpool in 1959, soon followed by Ulster Bank opening Ireland's first in 1961 at Finaghy.

In recent years, there has been a decline in drive-through banking due to increased traffic congestion and the increased availability of automated teller machines and telephone and Internet banking.

However, many bank buildings now feature drive-through ATMs.

Drive-thru banking in Germany

Drive-thru Pharmacy...

This one is in Indiana, USA

Drive-thru Wedding Chappel in Las Vegas, USA

Complete with a drive-thru Tunnel of Love!

In 1991, Charolette noticed a disabled couple having difficulty getting out of their car and into the chapel. Having a heart for the disabled, the idea of a drive-up window became very clear to her.

She instructed her son, a contractor, to knock out a wall. After the window opened on Valentine’s Day, it became such a novelty that all kinds of couples began lining up for a “drive thru” wedding of vows.

Drive-thru Public Library in Ottawa, CANADA

Ottawa Public Library in Ontario, Canada, opened a drive-thru window in 2005. It was the first library to open a convenient and quick way to drop the books - with a drive-thru to drop books open 24hrs

Drive-thru Fire Fighting?... in USA

Photo credit by Flickr user gene5335

While most of the time, the firefighters come to your house when you’re in need of assistance, they’ve unveiled a new drive-through service in McMinnville, Oregon.  Basically, when you’re on fire, they’ll come to you or you can come to them!  Craig Brown was their first customer.  When his pick-up truck’s engine caught on fire, rather than pulling over and freaking out (like I would), he just drove to the fire station to get the flames extinguished.

Way to cut out the middleman, Craig!

In a way, Craig got lucky because firefighters were already there, rather than out fighting some other fire.  He was doubly lucky, because two of them were outside the building washing an ambulance when he pulled up, vehicle smoking from beneath the hood.  The two firefighters merely turned the hose on his truck and blasted away the flames.

Did You Know?

• The drive-through format was first pioneered in the United States in the 1930s but has since spread to other countries. 
• Red's Giant Hamburg was a cafe on U.S. Highway 66 in Springfield, Missouri which claimed to have been the world's first drive-through restaurant.
• In the summer of 2009, Burgerville gave use of the drive-through window for bicyclists.
• Back in 2000, the Climax Gentleman's Club in Pennsylvania, U.S. operated it's first of a kind in the country - drive-thru strippers. For a mere $5, motorists could  view strippers from the comfort of the front seat of their cars.  The club has been closed since 2009.
• The drive-through line on opening day at the McDonald's restaurant in Kuwait City, Kuwait was at times seven miles long.



A doctor takes vital signs from a pretend patient
during the September 2009 test of a novel
triage system for handling a pandemic.

• In 2009, Stanford Hospital & Clinics in California tested a drive-thru emergency room as a way to treat highly contagious patients, such as those suffering from swine flu or a bioterrorism attack. Amazingly, the study found that doctors were able to reduce exam time by more than an hour. 
• Drive-thrus, like any other business, has it's own share of predicaments:

a) A naked couple arrested for ordering combos at an Illinois McDonalds.

b) A Californian man accused of robbing three drive-thrus (Sonic, Taco Bell and In-N-Out Burger) in the span of two hours.

c) A Tennessee man accused of threatening to blow up a drive-thru with a bomb.

d) Two Toronto men accused of stealing debit machines through the windows of Tim Horton’s drive-thrus.

No?  Well Now U Know!

Remember when....

1960s FOTOMAT DRIVE THRU Kodak Film Vintage Photo Advertisement
Photo credit  Flick River user Christian Montone

Photo(s) credit:  1st above photo: Nathaniel McDade, 67, (R) and Henrietta McDade, 63, of Pasadena view their late friend Robert Sanders, 58, at the Robert L. Adams drive-through funeral parlor in Compton, Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2012.