Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

.1/flv 27. SHOW M 1'. N ' S T RAD K R 1^ V 1 K W Page 23 OLD On the left, the old Ihcalrc. which originally was called the Grand Opera House, built in 1892. The theatre was built in connection with a hotel — as shown here, and belozv, the auditorium as it served long as a picture tlieatre. NEW Here is the remodeled theatre, inside and out. In the reconstruction the hotel was wrecked and a new fireproof addition erected in its place. On the right, the front, and auditorium of the Illinois theatre as it is today. in the upper section of a five-sided marquee which extends around the corner so as to display on both street frontages. The corner box office is of etched glass and deep maroon colored tile, ornamented with panels of tile in shades of cream and rose, set off by insets of turquoise. The entrance doors carry the same design used in the box office windows, with door mouldings outlined in silver. Cast aluminum, and stainless steel display frames in the vestibule are illuminated indirectly by lumiline tubing. The lobby is 18 feet by 36 feet, modern in design, with walls broken by wide pilasters outlined with bronze mouldings in angular designs and horizontal mouldings lining the panels between pilasters. All trim and doors are dark blue, set off by bronze mouldings. The ceiling has beams of old gold color with area between the beams decorated in a lighter shade of gold. Lumiline tubing in semi-indirect fixtures illuminates the room. Arches in the Foyer The main foyer, 20 feet wide and 60 feet long, is divided by two large half-round arches, with corresponding arches at each end of the room to match. The end panels are decorated in modern effect, and the foyer ceiling is of old gold stucco with bronze high-lighting. Walls are in Chinese red large-swirled texture plaster. The men's and women's lounges are at one side of the lounge, one above the other: that is, five steps ascend from the foyer to the women's lounge, and fourteen steps descend from the foyer to the men's lounge. The main floor of the auditorium seats 775 and 316 seats are placed in the balcony. Chairs are 25 inches in width. They are American Bodiform chairs upholstered in shell pink mohair and cavalon leather. Metal parts are coral pink with cream striping. Auditorium walls are finished in shell pink acoustical plaster, with a large sunburst painted on either side wall. Wide corbeled pilasters at each side of the stage lead up to heavy beams overhead to form the proscenium opening. FLOOR PLAN Jacksonville has a school for the deaf and dumb. To provide for this large addition to the average hard-of-hearing groups of the population, the theatre has installed two types of hearing aids. One is of the boneconduction type, and the other is of the air-conduction type. The latest types of projection and sound equipment have been installed. New Peerless Mag-narc lamps, super-Simplex projectors and Ross lenses, with Western Electric Mirrophonic sound system, make up the major apparatus of the sound and projection equipment. The projection booth is air-conditioned. Motor generator set is placed in a room adjacent to the booth. It is a thirty kilowatt set, and supplies current for three high intensity arcs, two low intensity arcs, two projectors and a spotlight. Year 'Round Temperature Control The air-conditioning plant, located in the basement under the stage, conditions the entire building. Year-round control of temperature is obtained by the circulation of air from 15,000 to 35,000 cubic feet per minute, controlled by a variable speed fan through a duct system distributing air to all parts of the theatre. In winter a mixture of fresh and recirculated air is heated by passing over a coil filled with steam. During the intermediate seasons, all fresh air is used. Trane coils and Vilter compressors, condenser, and specialties are used. A cooling tower is used with the air-conditioning system. The new theatre was constructed with union labor under a general contract handled by Smirl & Gibson, of Jacksonville. Selection of all furnishings and equipment for the theatre was under the personal supervision of L. E. Pope, of Kansas City, purchasing agent for the Fox Midwest circuit of houses.