The Exhibitor (Nov 1938-May 1939)

BM-18 BETTER MANAGEMENT GENERAL SEATING COMPANY DISTRIBUTED BY CROWN MOTION PICTURE SUPPLIES CORP. 614 NINTH AVENUE. NEW YORK CITY EMPIRE THEATRE SUPPLY CORP. 1003 Broadway, Albany, N. Y. JEP — Your BEST Services fin©® ®ito FRONTS WILL INCREASE YOUR ATTENDANCE Our ARTISTS and craftsmen are experts in the creotion of sparklingly new and different streamlined theatre fronts and lobbys. Bring us your problems. Modern usage of weather proof stainless steel, plastics, glass and paint will give your new theatre that modern touch, or give your old theatre a “face lifting" that will build your box office receipts. The low cost of expert knowledge and ability will amaze you. Designs and estimates without obligation Libman-Spanjer CORPORATION 1600 BROADWAY. NEW YORK CITY ' — ■ »■ Magic Doors ( Continued from page 8) necessity for keeping them closed has been their only objection to air conditioning. Magic doors offset this disadvantage to a large extent, as customers can enter or leave with no exertion on their part. A recent installation, which attracted even more than the usual amount of attention when it first went into service, is the one at the Bank of Manhattan, in New York, New York. This is the tallest structure in down-town New York, and, until the new doors were installed, the entrance was subject to considerable congestion. On a normal day, 40,000 persons enter and leave the structure. These doors are unique in construction. Save for narrow bronze strips at their tops and bottoms, they are composed entirely of %-inch thick, super-strength "Herculite” glass, manufactured by the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. As door stiles are eliminated, both inside and out, a solid wall of glass extends clear across the lobby when the doors are closed. The mechanism that controls the operation of the doors is concealed beneath the floor, even the brackets and connecting arms being hidden. All sounds of the air valves and of the air itself have been muffled and, as invisible infra-red light is used in the beams that play upon the photo-electric cell, there is little outward indication of how the doors are operated. The day the doors were placed in service, their resistance to shock was demonstrated when Hank Greenberg, major league ball player, batted balls against them, and J. B. Weber, professional golfer, drove golf balls against them. The crowd that assembled on the first day was so great as to receive editorial mention in several of the New York papers. Although complex and delicate in details, the mechanism of the magic doors is so well designed and constructed as to be highly reliable. Automatic counters with which they are equipped show that many of them operate several hundred thousand times without giving trouble. They are also practically fool-proof, although two practical jokers in New York one day hit upon an ingenious way to tamper with them that caused consternation for a time. The pair of wags chose one of the elevators in the RKO Building at Rockefeller Center as the scene of their first prank. All of the elevator doors there are equipped with electric-eye controls that prevent their accidentally being closed while a passenger is entering. On the morning in question, hundreds of people were attempting to get to their offices on time and cars were crowded. One door failed to close properly, however, when the operator pushed the lever. It went part way shut, then suddenly retracted. Several times this was repeated, whereupon the passengers were shunted to another car. There the same thing happened. Finally after several different elevators had been tried, one was found which functioned normally. By that time, though, the two men who were responsible had left. They entered a nearby restaurant and took seats at a table close to the magic doors leading to the kitchen. After a few minutes, those doors, too, began to behave strangely. With no waiter approaching them they would suddenly open. Service was demoralized and the manager was summoned. He could not solve the mystery until the two strangers confessed that they were the cause of it. They demonstrated how they did it by blowing cigar smoke so that it intercepted the light beam of the electric eye. A newspaper columnist heard the story and published it. Someone connected with the Rockefeller Center read it, and now there is a rule against smoking in the elevators of the RKO Building! Russell Catalogue Off Press Off the press last week came Catalogue No. 46 of the Russell Uniform Company. Featured is a complete line of woolens, washable summer materials. The catalogue is available on request. Highlights in Equipment News Equipment Men Report Recent Installations Baltimore, Maryland N. C. Haefele, Baltimore branch manager of the National Theatre Supply Company, reports the following recent sales in the Washington exchange territory: for Sam Craver’s Wythe, Wytheville, Virginia, two Simplex rear-shutter mechanisms, two Peerless Magnarc lamps, one Type HI 50-100 Hertner generator, one Walker White sound screen, 144 yards NT 15 5 National Imperial carpet, with carpet padding, two Simplex Five-Point pedestals, one 10-section Neutype film cabinet, one National rewind table, four No. 5 00 5 Stanley frames, two Series III Superlite lenses; for the Lincoln Amusement Corporation’s Roosevelt, Baltimore, Maryland, a Walker Silversheet sound screen; for the Glasco Corporation’s Ritz, Berkley Section, Norfolk, Virginia, two Simplex rear-shutter mechanisms, two Peerless low amperage lamps, two Peerless Five-Point pedestals, two 30-ampere Acme rectifiers, one 12-section Neutype film cabinet, one Neumade T-106 booth table, two 454-inch Superlite lenses, one Walker Silversheet sound screen and frame, one National DeLuxe admission sign; for James Rydzewski’s Aldine, Baltimore, Maryland, two Super Simplex mechanisms; for William L. Marshall’s Dunbar, Washington, District of Columbia, Simplex Four Star (Type A) sound system, Walker Silversheet sound screen; for the Lincoln Theatre Corporation’s Lincoln, Marion, Virginia, one Type HI 5 0-100 Hertner generator, two Peerless Magnarc lamps. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania From the Progressive Electric Construction Company, Inc., Philadelphia, comes news of recent installations of RCA sound in theatres of the Warner Brothers Circuit Management Corporation: in the Plaza, Keystone, Orpheum, Circle, Cross Keys, Forum, Fairmount, Broadway, Stanton, Ogontz, in Philadelphia; the Ambler, Ambler, Pennsylvania; the Seltzer, Palmyra, New Jersey; the State, Strand, in Hanover, Pennsylvania; the Majestic, Strand, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; the Manor, Moore, Pennsylvania; the Washington, Chester, Pennsylvania. C. J. Frank, of the Philadelphia office of the Voigt Company, reports lighting fixture installations, in the Philadelphia exchange territory, at Harry Chertcoff’s new theatre in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, at the Stonehurst, Stonehurst, Pennsylvania, and at the Apollo, Stratford, Standard, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the Washington exchange territory, installations were made at the new Park, Richmond, Virginia, and at the Rockbridge, Buena Vista, Virginia. Buffalo, New York The National Theatre Supply Company, advises V. G. Sanford, branch manager, has made the following equipment sales: for Joe Warda’s Lancaster, Lancaster, New York, two Peerless Magnarc lamps. Strong Zipper change-overs, Hertner high intensity 50-100 ampere transverter; for Harry Tishkoff’s Empress, Rochester, New York, 2 50 Irwin No. 400 line chairs; for the Fitzer Amusement Company’s Rivoli, Syracuse, New York, two General Electric copper oxide rectifiers; for the Syracuse Cameo Theatre’s Cameo, Syracuse, New York, two Simplex E-7 mechanisms, two Peerless Magnarc lamps, two General Electric copper oxide rectifiers, one Walker Soundscreen (1754x22 feet), two Strong Zipper change-overs; for Elizabeth and Percy Knight’s Sheldon, Buffalo, New York, a Mirrophonic M-5 Western Electric sound system; for the Willard Straight Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, a complete Simplex "A” Four Star sound system; for the Buffalo Niagara Electric Corporation’s Capitol, Buffalo, New York, a new Hertner high intensity 50-100 ampere transverter. February IS, 19)9