Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1939)

ADVICE AGAINST OVER-DOING A GOOD THING Theatre operators who overdo the business of air conditioning were taken to task recently by W. B. Henderson, executive vice-president of the Air Conditioning Manufacturers Association. Managers who turn their systems on so forcibly that patrons shiver in hot weather are over-zealous, he claims. “Some theatre owners are setting the controls of their air conditioning systems too low,” he said. “This practice defeats the purpose of air conditioning by making people uncomfortable and is likely to drive away customers instead of attracting them.” Mr. Henderson publicly urged theatre owners to conform to the so-called “comfort zone” which air conditioning engineers devised after exhaustive experiments with human subjects under varying conditions of temperature and humidity. Humidity is a highly important factor in theatre air conditioning because when an auditorium becomes crowded, the air Next to the picture, the sort of seating you provide affords the best yardstick for measuring your boxoffice, and after all, it’s only the box office that really counts. If you could do as much business without chairs, if you could continue using the same chairs indefinitely, if you could use the cheapest sort of chairs to as good advantage as the best, you probably would be satisfied. BUT YOU CAN'Tl G^t 'Qo\xfft 'fit ettAi Theatregoers today expect a new standard of comfort. The old backbreakers that once were acceptable are no longer tolerated. Poorly designed, cheaply constructed chairs do not last, require constant attention and repair, cost far more than the best you can buy. Plan now to improve your business through better seating. We suggest that you write today for the Ideal catalog and name of your nearest dealer, that you may learn more about the comfort, style and service afforded by this most modern of all theatre seating. </ GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN Export Office: 334 West 44th St., New York City. Attention: J. E. Robin IDEAL SEATING COMPANY conditioning system is called upon to remove the moisture given off by the people. Unless the theatre operator has adjusted his controls properly, this dehumidification process imposes such a heavy load on the plant that it may cause the system to over-cool. To be comfortable, indoor temperatures should be governed somewhat by the weather outside, Mr. Henderson points out. Tlius, the advertisement of “20 degrees cooler inside” proclaims a temperature that is altogether too cool inside if the weather is moderate. This much cooling may be necessary when the weather is blistering hot, say above 100 degrees, but in temperate zones a 10 to 15 degree reduction of temperature from that prevailing outside is generally ample for comfort. At the lower end of the scale, when, for example, the temperature outside is only 80 degrees, the inside temperature may be allowed to reach 75 — a difference of only five degrees — and still produce comfort. Air conditioning engineers have developed controls which are fully automatic, and which make compensation automatically for the outside weather. Once the controls are set, they require virtually no attention and will maintain theatre temperatures and humidities precisely where they should be for comfort. Tire theatre owner who deliberately sets the controls too low was characterized by Mr. Henderson as a thrill-seeker. “He is no more considerate of other people than the automobile owner who races down the highway at 75 miles an hour, or the sv/ing music enthusiast who turns his radio up loud enough to annoy his neighbors.” CQINOMETER Save Time AVOID MISTAKES Handsome Coinometer is mechanically perfect coin changer. Works with new or worn coins. Guaranteed for 10 years. Used and approved by thousands of theatres. No theatre should be without it. Write TODAY for complete descriptive circular and price list. Universal Stamping & Mfg. Co. 2839 N. Western Ave., Chicago, 111. Insist on fowst A complete line of dependable DCpT|C|CPQ for every purse and purpose IILUlil ILIIU LD-30 Low Intensity Rectifiers LD-60 for Simplified High Intensity M C S with Mallory Rectifying Units THERMIONIC RECTIFYING TUIES, I'A-M AMPERES FOREST 4mctl9l2 • ELLEVIllI N I W J E t S E Y RECTIFIERS 50 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION