Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Oct-Dec 1928)

December 22, 1928 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD 73 Mystic shrine organ grill of Oakland theatre. West Coast Builds Largest Theatre On Coast (Continued from page 66) richly colored, inlaid with mirrors. The lighting fixtures are gold, set with colored jewels, and the lights admit of many color changes. The stage equipment and scenic investure. installed by the Armstrong-Power Studios of San Francisco, is of course, complete. The heating and ventilating system consists in Buffalo Duplex Conoidal fans and carrier air ■washers. Two large fans and air washers supply 100,000 cubic feet of cleaned and conditioned air per minute, through the distributing system, to the theatre proper. There are two other fans taking conditioned air from the air washers and supplying the basement and projection room. Eight more Conoidal fans are used to exhaust the air from the theatre. In summer the air washers cool the air admitted to the theatre, while in winter the air is warmed by steam heat secured from public service mains. Of more than ordinary interest is the Westinghouse five-scene multiple-set switchboard, installed by the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. The design of this board is such that changes in lighting effects can be set up in advance, and after once set, rapid changes can be made from one scene to another simply by the operation of a single switch for each change. Another feature in the Oakland is a console organ lift device which has been worked out by the Westinghouse engineers in collaboration with specialists of the Spence Elevator Company of San Francisco. The organist is able to raise, lower or rotate the console at the mere throw of a switch. The organ is a three-manual Wurlitzer. This has all the advantages and effects found in the regular fourmanual organ, but a new coupling system has been developed which does away with the need of the fourth manual. This is said to ?ive the organist an advantage, in that he has nuch better control of the instrument. Much of the equipment in the operating . -oom was specially designed, the work being done under the direction of West Coast engineers. Three specially designed and constructed projection machines are used, with two 150-ampere flood lamps. These lamps are designed to throw actinic rays, which bring out the colors in the costumes worn by performers on the stage. In conjunction with these, four 100-ampere spot lamps are used. A specially constructed gas-tube light has been installed on the topmost point of the theatre building and is now in use as an aviation beacon. It contains 125 linear feet of orange red tubing in a beveled glass ball. Fox Movietone equipment has been installed, with special attention paid in the design to synchronization. The trouble experienced in some houses in the placing of loud speakers has been done away with here by first locating the point on the stage from which the best reception was had, and then seeing that the speakers were always in the proper position. The latter is done automatically by an elevator under the stage on which the speaker equipment is mounted, similar to the one which raises the organ console into view. When it is desired to use the Movietone equipment it is only necessary to place the elevator mechanism in operation and it is brought to the precise position previously decided upon. Theatres ILLINOIS EAST ST. LOUIS — V. P. Marlruly and John Manoll have opened the Washington Theatre. This is one of the newest suburban picture houses, and cost $25,000. FOREST PARK— The Forest Theatre has opened with pictures and presentation acts. • LEWI STON— The Princess Theatre which was damaged by fire, has been repaired and reopened as a picture house. RAMSEY— The Midway Theatre has opened with pictures under the ownership and management of Sheridan Stokes. •ST. FRANCISVILLE — J. L. Beauchamp has opened the Crescent Theatre with pictures. INDIANA BROOKVILLE— The American Theatre has opened with pictures and vaudeville, under the management of Morin and Stumpf. •FORT WAYNE— The Emboyd Theatre has opened with pictures in the Indiana Hotel building. HAMMOND — The Columbia Amusement Company has opened the Rialto Theatre. INDIANAPOLIS— The Granada Theatre has opened with pictures. INDIANAPOLIS — The Fountain Square Theatre has opened with pictures and vaudeville, under the management of L. B. Goulden. House has seating capacity of 1800. IOWA DYERSVILLE — Cozy Theatre has opened with firstclass picture program. FLORIS — The Palace Theatre, with seating capacity of 200, has been opened with pictures by Max Heady. KENTUCKY HOPKINSVILLE— The new Alhambra Theatre has been opened by the Hopkinsville Amusement Company. This title was substituted for the Jeff Davis, the name originally selected for this house. MARYLAND BALTIMORE — Vilma Amusement Company and Gaertner Brothers have opened the Vilma Theatre. House has seating capacity of 900, and cost $125,000. MASSACHUSETTS BROCKTON— E. M. Luddy has reopened the Empire Theatre. MINNESOTA HINCKLEY — -After having been closed for some time, the Liberty Theatre has reopened. MISSOURI FARMINGTON — The Ritz Theatre, costing approximately $40,000, with seating capacity of 950, has opened. This new picture house is owned by the Farmington Entertainment Company. MARSHALL — Edward Nugent has opened the new Marshall Theatre. NEW YORK BINGHAMTON— The Cameo Theatre has opened with pictures. House has seating capacity of 850. SYRACUSE — The Empire Theatre has reopened under the management of Albert Kaufman, with pictures and presentation acts. SYRACUSE— F. M. Kroop has reopened the Langan Theatre as a moving picture house. TANNERSVILLE— The Rudolph Theatre, recently purchased by Mrs. S. L. Thornton, of Saugerties, N. Y., has opened with pictures and vaudeville. A new number that is being found adaptable to the community sing because of its appeal to the average patron's tastes is Walter Donaldson's "Just Another Night," part of which is shoivn above. WEST UTICA — The Lincoln Theatre is a new 850seat picture theatre which opened recently. OHIO DOVER — The Webber Theatre has reopened with pictures, under the management of A. V. Abel. LORAIN — The Palace Theatre has opened with pictures. WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE— Harry V. Smoota and Roy O. Simons have opened the Fayette Theatre. OKLAHOMA OLUSTEE — Lee Upchurch has opened the Grand Theatre with pictures. OREGON ST. HELEN— The Columbia Theatre, costing $85,000, has opened with pictures. PENNSYLVANIA CLAYSVILLE — G. A. Mooney has opened the ClayTheatre. House has seating capacity of 400. •COUDERSPORT— The Coudersport Theatre has opened with pictures, und<r the management of M~ Clawson. DORMONT — The new Harris South Hills Theatre, owned by the Harris Amusement Company, has opened with pictures and vaudeville. House has seating capacity of 1700. PHILADELPHIA— The Garden Theatre, a new 1800seat picture house, located at Fourth and Spring Garden streets, has opened under the management of D. L. Schwartz. REYNOLDSVILLE — The Adelphi Theatre has reopened with pictures. TEXAS COLLINSVILLE— The Palace Theatre has opened under the management of June Hufford. VIRGINIA HAMPTON — The Virginian Enterprises Corporation has opened Scott's Theatre with pictures and vaudeville. PHOEBUS — The American Theatre has been opened by the Virginia Enterprises Corporation with pictures and vaudeville. House is under the management of W. W. Scott, Jr. WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE— The Riverside Theatre, located on West Water street, has opened with pictures and vaudeville. The house has seating capacity of 3000. •RACINE — The Capitol Theatre, recently completed, has opened under the management of D. J. Smith, formerly with the Tivoli Theatre at Milwaukee. •Additional information since previous report. Management Changes ARKANSAS FORT SMITH— M. K. Moore, formerly with the Palace Theatre at Oklahoma City, has become manager of the Joy and New Theatres. ILLINOIS •DECATUR — Lyman Massey, formerly manager of the Valley Theatre at Spring Valley, 111., has becom» manager of the Empress Theatre.