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4(1
BETTER THEATRES SECTION OF
December 22, 1928
A Journey Through the New Brooklyn Paramount Theatre
By WILL
I THOUGHT it was to be just another of those routine jobs of writing a description of a new theatre. Such jobs are distinctly mean, for who can adequately describe a modern, deluxe theatre? Who can paint a word picture of the glories, the vastness and the thousands of details of a structure costing millions and demanding the work and brains of hundreds of men?
But what a pleasure this particular job turned out to be. It was to write something about the new Brooklyn-Paramount theatre, the newest in the huge Publix chain, located at DeKalb and Flatbush avenue extension in Brooklyn.
Coming out of the subway from Manhattan, you immediately see a huge building. On one corner of the building two huge vertical electric signs flash the name of the theatre, as does another rectangular sign on top of the building. A beautiful marquise with flashing lights circles the same corner where is the entrance to the theatre.
But I took the stage door entrance and went up to the offices of the managing director, John L. McCurdy, ace manager in the Publix circuit. But I'll tell you more of McCurdy later.
On the third floor of the theatre I found him. He made me at home at once, and we chatted for a while about theatre operation. Then he offered to show me through. I had expected to wander around myself, trying to see the things of interest, but I now know that I would have been as unseeing as a blind man, without "Mac" along.
Down to the stage we went. "Sixty feet across," he told me, and I could not help being amazed at the great amount of space on the stage. And as I went through the entire theatre, this feeling of great space was amplified. McCurdy pointed out the great switchboard, made by Major, with its 238 dimmers, said to be the largest in the world.
I peered behind the panel and saw the huge bus bars. "A cat jumped on two of them the other day," said McCurdy, "and when we found him he was still stretched across the two bars. A workman touched him, and the cat crumbled to dust.
"Our peak current consumption is 100,000 kilowatt hours, which at even the small price we pay, mounts up into thousands each week."
We then saw the musicians coming from their locker rooms to the pit. No stooping and climbing through holes for these musicians. Space for everything. My sense of the vastness of this theatre continued to grow, but as Jolson would say, "I hadn't seen anything yet."
Down into the innards of the theatre we went. Huge fans for blowing air into the theatre were running full speed.
"Here's a novel feature for you," said McCurdy. "In our ventilating system, instead of forcing the fresh air into the theatre from the auditorium floor, wc carry it to the top of the theatre and force it down, and draw it out from the floor of the theatre. It takes 200,000 cubic feet of air a minute to supply our patrons with the right kind of air."
How clean this theatre is kept I Down in the basement, where all the machinery is