Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Apr-Jun 1929)

April 28, 1928 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD 29 For the most part the power of regulating construction is delegated to the 39 cities and towns of the state. Rules and regulations relating to the prevention of bodily injury and loss of life in buildings used for public meetings made by the attorney general under the provisions of Section 3, of Chapter 1042 of the public laws 1927, being in amendment of Chapter 173 of the general laws, by adding thereto Section 16. Free and unobstructed ways by doors, foyers, corridors, passageways or stairways shall be provided The auditorium floor and each gallery shall, respectively, have at least two independent exits, as far apart as may be. Where the use of an entrance as an exit may be interfered with by the location of the moving picture booth, such entrance shall not constitute an exit within the meaning of these regulations. Every such exit shall have a width of at least 1 foot 8 inches for each 100 persons of the seating capacity of such auditorium, floor, or gallery from which such exit leads, but two or more exits of the same aggregate width may be substituted for either of the required exits, but none of the required exits shall be less than 5 feet in width; provided, however, that the exits from a gallery with a seating capacity of not more than 150 persons may each be less than 5 feet but not less than 3 feet wide, and no such egress shall liave direct connection with the stage. A landing of at least 6 inches wider than the door must be between any egress door and any step downward in front of the door. The stage shall have two approved exits, each not less than 3 feet in width. Theatres hereafter erected, with a seating capacity of more than 800 persons, upon direction in writing from the governor and attorney general, shall have exits on both sides of the auditorium, connecting with a street or open court, not less than 6 feet in width and open to the sky, located as directed. Exits from balconies and galleries shall not communicate with the basement or cellar. The steps of egress stairs shall have a rise not less than 6 inches nor more than 7^ inches and a run not less than 10^ inches nor more than 12 inches, and there shall not be more than 15 nor less than 3 risers between landings; they shall have solid treads and be capable of sustaining a live load of SO pounds per foot of width of stairs with a factor of safety of 4; there shall be handrails on both sides; the wall-rails shall have an approved number of heavy wrought iron or bronze brackets, and the upper ends shall have circular returns secured with joint bolts or wall plates, and where not less than 10 feet 6 inches in width, there shall be center rails, with newel and landing posts not less than 6 feet in height, approximately every 5 feet in width; when returning on walls or directly upon themselves, the landings shall be the full width of both flights, and the outer lines of landings shall be curved to a radius of not less than one-half the width of landing, or beveled so as to maintain a width of 1 foot more than that of the stairs, to avoid right angles. For required widths, measurements shall be taken between hand rails. No winding steps shall be used, and no closets for storage shall be placed under any stairs. Where the auditorium floor is the second floor of the building, the stairs shall be enclosed in fireproof walls and shall have no connection with the basement or first floor. In theatres hereafter erected where there is more than one, gallery, the stairs from the level above the first r.-\lcry shall run directly to and connect with a street or open court, and shall have no direct connection with any part of the theatre. Stairs to basement and boxes shall be located and constructed as directed in writing by the governor and attorney general. The stairs from the stage floor to the fly gallery and gridiron shall be not less than 2 feet iii width, of easy incline and suitably railed on one side. « * • South Carolina Sam B. King, insurance commissioner, Columbia, S. C. Although South Carolina has a building code, the regulations vary somewhat according to the building codes of the various cities and towns. In the Columbia code is the following relative to the "Proscenium Curtain" : The proscenium opening shall he provided with a rigid fireproof curtain, built in conformity with the following specifications, or their equivalent in efficiency when approved by the Inspector of Buildings. The curtain shall have a rigid, rivet-jointed, steel framework. The front or audience side of the frame shall be covered with sheet steel of a thickness not less than No. 16 U. S. gauge. The back shall be covered with cellular asbestos hoards at least one inch thick, or other material equally fire resisting. Both coverings shall be securely attached to the framework and the joints properly sealed. The curtain shall be designed to resist a wind pressure of ten pounds per square foot of surface without flexure sufficient to interfere with its closing. The thickness of the curtain shall be not less than three inches where the width of the proscenium wall opening is thirty feet or loss, and curtains for larger openings shall incre.ise in thickness in proportion to the increase in width of opening they cover. An asbestos roll of a diameter not less than onehalf the thickness of the curtain shall be securely attached to the bottom of the curtain to form a smoke seal between the curtain and the stage. The curtain shall overlap the proscenium wall One Picture Worth 10,000 Words, Says Brisbane "A good picture is worth 10.000 words," says Arthur Brisbane, Hearst editorial writer, in commenting on Harvard's plan to Aim educational pictures. "Harvard will make educational moving pictures, appropriating funds for a 'university foundation,' letting schools and colleges use the films. Harvard hopes to make the enterprise self-supporting. Well done, it would make money enough to run Harvard easily." twelve inches at the sides and no less than two feet at the top. The guide members at the sides shall be rolled steel shapes, none of which shall be less than threeeighths of an inch thick, and shall be of such character as to form a continuous smoke stop from top to bottom, with a clearance of not over three-eighths inch. They shall be installed in such manner that in case of fire on the stage the pressure of heated gases against the curtain will act to close the guide joints tightly. Provision shall be made to prevent the curtain from getting out of the guiding channel. The proscenium wall shall have an offset at each side of the opening, so located and of such thickness and height as to be suitable for the attachment of the curtain guides. The wall over the proscenium opening shall be smooth and plumb to approximately the top of the curtain when it is down, and shall then offset at least four inches for the rest of its height, thus leaving a bench along the line of the top of the curtain between which a smoke seal shall be formed by use of rolled steel shapes. The clearance at the joint of this seal shall not exceed one-half inch. No part of a curtain or any of the curtain guides shall be supported by, or fastened to, any combustible material. The hoisting apparatus for the curtain shall be designed with a factor of safety of eight. The points for curtain suspension shall always be an even number, but never less than four. Two of the suspension points shall be located at the extreme ends of the curtain, and the others may be placed at such points as best suit the design, but in no case shall the distance between any two points of support exceed ten feet. Half of the cables attached to these points shall lead to one set of counterweights and half to another. The curtain shall be operated by hydraulic or other mechanism approved by the Inspector of Buildings. If hydraulic mechanism is used, the water shall be taken from either the house tank or sprinkler tank supply. If from the latter, the supply pipe for curtain mechanism shall be so located in the tank that it cannot reduce the quantity of water below the amount necessary to fulfill the sprinkler requirements. The device for controlling the curtain shall be simple in design, and capable of convenient operation from both sides of the stage and from the tie galleries. The drop speed of the curtain shall be uniform and not less than one foot per second, but when the curtain is about two and one-half feet from the stage it shall automatically slow down so as to settle on the stage without shock. Besides the regular operating mechanism, there shall be an emergency device which will cut off the power and allow the curtain to drop by gravity. This device shall he so arranged that it can be easily operated by hand from each side of the stage, under the stage, and in the tie galleries. The device shall also bo so designed that its operation will be controlled by fusible links located at each of the above named points. The audience side of the curtain may be decorated with a paint in which no oil is used. No combustible material shall be applied or attached to the curtain. Drawings for every such curtain shall be submitted to the Inspector of Buildings and be approved by him before it is erected. The curtain shall be operated at the beginning of each performance. « • « South Dakota D. C. Lezvis, state fire vtarslujl, Pierre, S. D. The laws of 1925 govern the construction of theatres in South Dakota. SECTION 9132: Audience Room, How Arranged — Seats, Exits, Aisles. Every audience room, opera house or other building used for theatrical or operatic purposes or for public resort or entertainment shall be provi<lcd with at least two exits on the main floor, easily accessible from all parts of the main floor by means of aisles, which aisles shall have in the aggregate, a width of eighteen inches for each one hundred of the seating capacity of such room, and for fractional parts of one hundred a proportionate part of eighteen inches shall be added: but no aisle shall be less than two feet six inches in width, anil no aisle required to exceed four feet in width. Where h.ilconics or galleric.-) are used by the audience, one c^it from such point to the street or alley must be provided for each two hundred seats or fractional part thereof installed. For rooms one hundred and fifty feet or less in length, the main entrance may be considered as one exit and a second exit must be provided at the opposite end or on the side of the room and open upon a public street, alley or other unoccupied space having unobstructed access to a street or alley. Exit doors must open outward and shall not be locked when the building is open to the public, and where only one exit in addition to the main entrance is provided, such exit shall be not less than six feet wide and seven feet high. Ejcits must open outward upon and be of easy access to a street or alley; and passageways, stairways or inclines, leading from exits to streets or alleys, must be kept well lighted at all times and be not less than six feet wide; switch shall be an indicating type; wiring for exit light installed in conduits and fuses for exit circuit placed ahead of the main line switch cutout. • • • Vermont Robert C. Clark, fire marshal, Montpelier, Vt. The office of fire marshal, Robert C. Clark, Montpelier, Vt., has jurisdiction over the construction of booths, exits, etc., although there are no building inspectors in the state. The State of Vermont has no regulations regarding the construction of motion picture theatres. • • « Washington Statutes governing the construction of motion picture theatres in the State of Washington are kept at the law library, W. J. Millard, librarian, Olympia, Wash. « • • Wisconsin Following are the state publications covering the laws relative to buildings and building work : Issued by the Industrial Commission: Building Code, State Electrical Code, Elevator Code, Boiler Code, Industrial Lighting Code, General Orders on Existing Buildings, General Orders on Safety in Building Construction, General Orders on Fire Prevention, General Orders on Sanitation, General Orders on Safety, Refrigerator Code and General Orders on Spray Coating. State Board of Health : Plumbing Code and Wisconsin Public Comfort Station Code. Films Grow in Favor in Europe; 733 Theatres New or Rebuilt in 1927 (U'ashitiffton Bureau of Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World) W.-XSHINGTON, April 24. — Increasing popularity of motion pictures in Europe is shown by the number of theatres newly built or reconstructed last year, as listed in the report of the American trade commissionersGeorge R. Canty, from Paris. Last year there were 733 theatres erected or remodeled, add-f ing nearly 400,000 seats to those already exist-' ing. . The greatest growth was in Germany, which led with 280 such theatres, having a capacity of 130,000; in Great Britain, with 100 houses seating 95,000; and in France, with 68 theatres seating 50,000. The European market, the report reveals, accounts for considerably more than half of the total revenue of American exporters of motion picture films. INCORPORATIONS i .\Ln.\.\Y. .\;inl 2t.— Vnx Popuii Film Corporm-; tion. $50,000, Hannibal and B. Holm Hanssen, Hugo C. Blatt, New York City. Narcor Distributors, Inc., $20,000, Harry Goldman, Bertha and .\lrxandcr Meyer. New York City. Greenwich Village Presentations. Inc. $20,000, Erelyn Krasnoff, Louis J. Seldin, Sol J. Shapiro, New Y'ork City. , , , Moving Exposition Corporation $10,000. Joseph A. Byrne. Tames L. Cartv. Arthur Buxenbaum, New York City. Hensonville Community Hall Corporation. Hensonville. $20,000. Horton H. Smith. Alfred T. Seeley. Charles A. Peck. Hensonville. Park PInia Theatre Corporation $5,000. Maurice I.ocbcl, Daniel G. Rosenblatt. David F. Cohen. New York Citv. ni.ick bird Productions. Inc., $.^0,000. Sidney K*Ifus Frank T. Frie<lm.-in, Bertha Safier. Brooklyn. n.ikcr.'ificld Le.isinc Corporation. $10,000. A. M. Wattrnbcrg L. E. Dresser, Barnard Kapbn. New York City. Em-Bess Corporation Philip KlatUcow, Evelyn Stem. Kulh Roscnbluni. New York City.