Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Oct-Dec 1928)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

104 BETTER THEATRES SECTION OF October 27, 1928 The quite "different" exterior of the Mayfair. A Theatre Built and Operated to Feature Both Radio and Screen Shows The Mayfair in Shenandoah, la., is one of those things you dont expeet THE step from selling snappy-eyed, wild Wyoming horses to the heart throbs of "Street Angel," is not a great one at the Mayfair theatre in Shenandoah, la., which is a radio studio by day (station KMA) and a motion picture theatre by night. This house is of Moorish design, and the building contains a store, as well as the theatre proper. Heavy harness, juicy prunes, dainty dress goods, accident insurance, Colorado sheep and recently a carload of wild horses from Medicine Bow,' Wyo., form part of the merchandise of this unique establishment. The theatre was erected at a cost of $90,000 by the May Seed & Nursery Company to entertain the thousands of visitors who come to the "friendly farmer" station to see and hear the radio performers, whose music and words are daily tuned into the homes oi the Middle West. The broadcasting is done from the richly curtained stage, which forms the studio proper of KMA. A heavy plate glass curtain separates the stage from the audience. When the announcers sign off at 8:30 o'clock, the motion picture and vaudeville performance begins. The selling, however, continues in the store just off the lobby. The radio station was one of the first to introduce direct advertising by air and intermingled with the songs of the Paint Boys, Russ and Bill (formerly Ray-O-Vac Twins of radio and stage fame), and the other performers, are sales talks not only on paint, tires, prunes, sheep and occasionally wild horses by cowboys from the west, but also descriptions of the latest "movie" thrillers. When, for example, Janet Gaynor in "Street Angel" was an attraction, the love thrills of this drama were briefly stressed in a theatre ad over the radio. The auditorium, where people may watch the broadcasting, was turned into a motion picture theatre soon after its opening last November. It is of Moorish architecture and was designed by W. M. Raapke of the \J. S. Scenic Studio, Omaha. The architect was George L. Fisher, of Omaha, and the constructing engineer was H. J. Joseph. The structure adjoins the main building of the May Seed & Nursery Company, which was founded by E. E. May, who later became interested in radio broadcasting and won the Radio Digest's gold cup as the "world's most popular announcer." The theatre is 132 by 61 feet. The auditorium, which seats 900, has a large balcony. Regular theatre seats are used. The studio stage has a plate glass front, which is raised by a mechanical device. The velvet curtain drops arc rich in color, and there is a front curtain like that of the usual theatre. The ccilinir is finished to resemble a blue sky in which bright stars twinkle and across which clouds keep floating. Doves (Continued on faye 130)