Exhibitors Herald World (Jan-Mar 1929)

January 19, 1929 EXHIBITORS HERALD-WORLD 37 What Goes Into a Modern Theatre And What Each Item Costs Not that your theatre needs to have all this theatre has. Just take out of these figures what you don't want. They still will give you a pretty accurate idea of what your investment will be THE town had about 30,000 inhabitants. The theatre was to be a deluxe house, costing in the neighborhood of $350,000. As a matter of fact, its total cost proved to be only $329,553, which is making costs pretty much of a certainty. And because the costs were figured out, in both amounts per item and percentages of the total cost, it is possible to present a complete financial survey of an average theatre project, from which may be reckoned fairly closely what any other theatre might cost. The architect of the house under discussion was John Eberson of Chicago and New York, and the figures to be presented are his. The theatre, designed in the usual Eberson manner, is highly decorative, carrying out his idea that theatres should be what the performance is, a medium of escape from the humdrum routine of real life. There is a stage of ample accommodations for metropolitan productions, lounges and similar deluxe house departments, besides space for shops. The theatre was to seat about 1,500. It came to seat -43 more than that. The area of the lot available was 18,360 square feet. In the end, the amount used was 17,398 square feet Such, then, were the conditions under which By GEORGE SCHUTZ the architect had to work. The figures to follow show the result. They represent a complete theatre, actually existing, and were compiled after the project was finished. They are thus an authentic accounting of the costs of a modern motion picture theatre, and by rejecting or accepting certain items, according to the needs of the proposed theatre, the prospective builder may determine pretty closely what his project is going to cost him. The following figures further contribute to the general picture of the house under discussion : Floor area, rentable (stores and apartments), 4,627 square feet. Volume of theatre, 858,852 cubic feet. Number of stores, 5; number of apartments (11 rooms), 7. Number of seats on main floor, 1,123; in balcony, 420. Cubic feet of theatre per seat, approximately 495. Figures in the financial review of the theatre are as follows: Cost of entire building, $254,449. Cost of equipment, $56,450. Architects' fee, $18,654. Adding these figures, one gets the grand total of $329,553, as the ultimate cost of the project. Of that amount, $221,138 represents the cost of the theatre, and $33,311 the cost of the commercial part. These figures immediately become applicable to other projects by reducing them to their respective relationships to the whole cost — that is, by showing the unit costs of each department of the project per cubic foot. These figures, in dollars, are as follows : Theatre and commercial section, .298. Commercial section alone, .350. Theatre section alone, 290. Theatre equipment, .074. Theatre section and equipment, .364. Theatre section, equipment and architect, .385. The following figures are for the cost per seat : Theatre section, $143,150. Theatre equipment, $36,500. Theatre section and equipment, $179,650. Theatre section, equipment and architect, $191,000. The figures given in the tables show the cost in dollars for each item of construction and equipment, and each item's percentage of the total cost. EQUIPMENT COST BY CLASSIFICATION Cost in Percent of Total Dollars Equip. Cost Opera Chairs $12,000.00 21.320 Booth Equip *7,500.00 13.000 Box Off. Equip 750.00 1.330 Port. Elec. Equip 750.00 1.330 Scenery (including asbestos curtain) 5,000.00 8.900 Rigging 3,500.00 6.210 Orch. Chairs and Stands 600.00 1.070 Carpets 5,000.00 8.900 Draperies 600.00 1.070 Decorative Furn 2,000.00 3.550 Statuary 500.00 .890 Artificial Birds 300.00 .540 Artificial Flowers 1,500.00 2.660 Stunts 500.00 .890 Elec. Light Fixtures 4,000.00 7.100 Sign 5,000.00 8.900 Lamps 2,000.00 3.550 Organ (1st Payment) 1,500.00 2.660 Organ Lift; Orch. Lift 1,200.00 2.130 (Continued on follotoing page)