The Bioscope (Jul-Sep 1931)

August 19, 1931 MODERN CINEMA TECHNIQUE THE BIOSCOPE ix Owing to the narrowness of the site, the new A.B.C. house in York Road, Wandsworth, is being built with its centre line parallel to the road. Mr. Glen has therefore had a long elevation to deal with, and this architectural elevation shows how he has used it. Along the base is a bold band of black terra cotta, while the vertical treatment of the entrances and the big poster stations between them break up the monotony of the expanse A.B.C. House at Wandsworth 2,000 Seater to Open in November Rapid progress is now being made with the erection of the new A.B.C. cinema at Wandsworth, London, S.W. The theatre is being built to the designs of W. R. Glen, F.R.I.A.S. (the circuit’s own architect), of Heddon House, Regent Street, W., the consulting engineer being John Dewar, M. I. Struct. E. It will have a total seat capacity of 2,153 ; 998 being accommodated in the circle, while arrangements have been prepared for standing accommodation for a further 800 patrons. The building occupies an extensive site in York Road, and has a frontage of 1 86 feet with roofed-in exit ways, each 20 feet in width, on either side, specially constructed so as to permit of rapid emptying of the theatre. Owing to the difficult lay-out of the site it has been found necessary to lay the centre-line of the theatre parallel with York Road. Vertical Treatment of Frontage Full advantage has been taken of the great width by the architect to plan a very distinctive frontage, which, carried out in essentially modern vertical style, is by no means displeasing in proportion or line. Constructed in the main of red brown brick, with a roof of red Turner Trafford tiling, the front elevation will be very distinctive by reason of a deep black terra cotta plinth which will extend across the whole of the base of the frontage, and the deft use of light terra columns and panels which will stand out in relief over each of the two main entrances. One entrance will lead directly into the front of the house and the other will feed the rear of the auditorium and the circle. Oblong windows, 20 feet high, will also add dignity to the frontage, and all the entrance doors will be of mahogany with chromium fittings. Concealed floods will be placed above the steel and glass canopy. Immediately beyond the entrance doors will be an entrance foyer, 26 feet by 20 feet, with pay boxes on either side. Leading from the foyer will be a second waiting foyer, 31 feet wide and 44 feet deep. Each of these foyers will be paved with terrazzo. Entrance to the rear of the auditorium will be gained by a very wide staircase of five steps, while the circle will be reached by a generously proportioned staircase, which will lead into the balcony by way of a waiting lounge. A distinctive feature of this lounge, which will lie directly over the main foyer, will be a handsome oval domed roof, which will be illuminated by concealed lighting of a new design. Interior decorations will be carried out on essentially modern lines and will have as a background a colour scheme of rich amber. A distinctive touch will be struck in connection with the decorative treatment of the auditorium, which will be carried out in an unusual vertical treatment of the wall surfaces. A spacious orchestra pit with a concave ornamental stone guard is to be installed. The proscenium arch itself will be of ample proportions and will further be the medium for an ingenious system of Holophane lighting. Provision has also been made in the left-hand side of the proscenium arch for an organ unit, which will, if it is decided to instal an organ, speak through ornamental grilles situated over the proscenium arch. Ample stage accommodation has also been prepared, the stage proper having a depth of 25 feet and a total width of 45 feet. Plentiful dressing rooms, band rooms and rest rooms will also be incorporated. Ventilation from the Rear The projection room and attendant offices will be grouped together on the mezzanine floor at the rear of the balcony. Four projection machines will be installed in addition to spots. A plenum system of ventilation and heating will be installed, the fresh air being drawn into the auditorium from the rear and extracted through special grilles (which incidentally will be artistically masked) at the side and above the proscenium. It is hoped to open this new theatre about November 15th. The general contractors are Hunter k Clarke, of Wandsworth ; the steelwork is by Redpath, Brown k Co., Ltd. ; ventilating equipment by G. N. Haden & Son, Ltd. ; terra cotta by the Leeds Fireclay Co., Ltd. ; and the steel and glass canopy by Garton k Thorne. Mangan Troupe Opens Casino Following in the steps of other Francis A. Mangan troupes, one of which has opened every casino and place of entertainment in the South of France during the past four years, the 24 Mangan Tiller Girls created a sensation at the opening of the new Eeach Casino, Monte Carlo, in the presence of a very distinguished audience. The Palais de la Mediterranee, Nice, the Casino, Juan les Pins, the Casino de Paris, Monte Carlo, and the Pergola, St. Jean de Luz, each had one of these troupes at their opening. In recent weeks the Paramount Tiller Girls were at the Pergola, St. Jean de Luz, the Plaza-Tiller Girls were doubling between the Paramount Theatre and the Ambassadeurs Restaurant, Paris, and the Carlton -Tiller Girls were at the Colonial Exposition, Paris. The 24 Mangan-Tillerettes opened in Francis A. Mangan’s greatest production “ The Ladder of Roses ” on Friday last, at the Plaza Theatre, London. This mammoth presentation ran for five weeks at the Paramount, Paris. On August 1 5th the combined troupes of Plaza-Tiller, Paramount -Tiller and Carlton -Tiller Girls went to Palm Beach, Cannes. In addition to all these activities, a permanent troupe of 24 girls will be required at the Colonial Exposition from September 4th to November 1st. Barrow-in-Furness Reopening The Palace, Barrow-in-Furness, which has been reopened after extensive structural alterations by the Three Theatres, Ltd., can claim to be one of the most luxuriously furnished and best equipped in the NorthWest of England. Those who have flocked to the cinema since its reopening are loud in their praises of the comfortable seating arrangements, the remarkably clear projection and the perfection of the “ talkie ” apparatus installed by Western Electric. The cinema has accommodation for 836 people in the stalls and 520 in the circle. There are no supports either in the auditorium or balcony, so that the screen is visible from all points. The contract was carried out by Rainey Bros., Barrow, and the decorations by G. F. Holding, Ltd., of Manchester.