Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1936)

number of toilet fixtures are required and regulated. Sprinkler heads are required above the proscenium opening on the auditorium side of the fire curtain wherever combustible draperies are used. In the old code the main floor level is limited to a maximum height of 3 feet above the sidewalk. In the new ordinance the elevation of the highest point of the main floor is determined by the limit of rise for the sloping floor from the entrance at the sidewalk level. The new ordinance also permits and regulates the plan of seating now installed in the Goodman Theatre in the Chicago Art Institute and in Thorne Hall on the Northwestern University Campus. This plan of seating, sometimes called the German or Continental Plan, is one in which rows of seats extend the full width of the auditorium and from which exit is directly to openings in the side walls or to aisles located against the side walls. In this plan the space between rows is increased to facilitate movement toward the side exits. The ordinance will not affect theatres already built except in cases where intensive remodeling work is done. New Seating Leads Cooling Despite Heat THEATRE EQUIPMENT sales at the Des Moines Theatre Supply Company has run more largely to reseating of houses than to the installation of cooling systems, despite the extremely high temperatures, with a total of over $12,000 in the last month for new seating equipment, and $8,164 in new cooling systems, according to Arthur Thiele, manager. He finds the installation of cooling systems this year somewhat under the about $10,000 worth of business in that department at this time last year, due to the fact that while Iowa has had some hot waves, they have been alternated with cool waves that have made some theatres put off contemplated cooling system installations. Abe Frankel installed $4,200 worth of seats at the Casino Theatre, Des Moines; L. P. Gilligan of the Tall Corn at Kanawaha, la., 300 seats; The Riviera at Rock Island, 111., 400 chairs; the Lincoln Theatre, Des Moines, 500 chairs. Cooling system installations reported by Mr. Thiele, are: L. Kaplan, for his Mason City house, and for two Waterloo houses; Ralph Pratt, for the State Theatre at Washington; Jake Bauma, at Pocohontas; Strand at Victor, la. ; J. E. Cass for four theatres; and L. Cato, Waukon, la. New Condensing Unit For Air-Conditioning AN A I R-CONDITIONING condensing unit has been brought out by the General Electric Company, designed for belt-drive and utilizing a V-8 arrangement of cylinders, all mounted on a castiron base together with a 40-horsepower electric motor and a cleanable shell and tube condenser-liquid receiver. A liquid refrigerant strainer, suction strainer, suction pressure control, high pressure safety lockout, and water regulating valve are also included as integral parts of the unit. With a cooling water temperature of 75°, a suction temperature of 40°, and a water temperature rise of 20°, this condensing unit is rated at 514,000 b.t.u. per hour cooling, with a power consumption of 40.6 kilowatts, and a water consumption of 3,880 gallons per hour. Rewinder Designed For 2000-Foot Reels a rewinder especially designed to meet the requirements of the projection roorn with the introduction of the 2,000-foot reels September 1, has been added to the line of the Neumade Products Corporation of New York. There • • • FEATURES OF THIS ISSUE July 25, 1936 Vol. 124, No. 4 Page What Style Theatre for America ? 8 Savar Theater, Camden, N. J. 10 Determining Seating Plans 13 By Ben Schlanger Interview: Joe Soetz 15 About People of the Theatre 16 Roofs, Light Shock, Air Comfort 19 By J. T. Knight, Jr. Maintenance Tabs 20 Sound With 2-Way Horn Systems 25 F. H. Richardson's Comment 27 Catalog Bureau 42 Better Theatres is published by the Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., Rockefeller Center, New York, every fourth week as Section Two of Motion Picture Herald. Contents copyrighted 1936. Martin Quigley, publisher and editor-in-chief. George Schutz, editor. Colvin Brown, general manager. Ray Gallo, advertising manager. C. B. O'Neill, Western advertising manager. 624 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Hollywood Bureau: Postal Union Life Building; Boone Mancall, manager. London Bureau: No. 4, Golden Square, W.I, England; Bruce Allan, manager. Other Quigley publications: Motion Picture Daily. International Motion Picture Almanac, The Box Office Check-Up, Teatro al Dfa. CONTRIBUTING CONSULTANTS J. T. KNIGHT BEN SCHLANGER Physical Operation Architectural Form are several types — with a 2^-to-l or 4to-1 ratio, and with a two or three-point base. It is equipped with ball racers and steel-cut gears. The models available include three types of action — the standard geared end, extension arm brake, or handle brake. The spindle or reel shaft is equipped with a large reel bumper collar. Lubrication is not required, all bearings being of sealed type, packed with grease. Ail-Metal Blower Fan for Theatres A blower fan entirely of metal construction with varying capacities of from 2,800 to 5,500 cubic feet per minute, has been placed on the theatre equipment market by the Progressive Reeltone Corporation of Grand Rapids, Mich. The blower wheel has 64 blades, die-cut, secured to one-piece steel retaining rings, and the shaft is 1-inch steel mounted on adjustable bearings equipped with oil cups. The housing is of pressed steel and is assembled into one unit. Overall dimensions are — height, 32 inches; depth, 26 inches; width, 25 inches. The discharge opening measures 18 inches square. The motor supplied with the fan is a General Electric capacitor type for 110220 volt, 60-cycle single-phase alternating current supply. Transformer to Adapt Low-Impedance Mikes A new input transformer of the cable type, designed to operate low impedance public address system microphones directly into amplifiers having high-impedance input, has been placed on the market by the Amperite Corporation of New York. It permits the cable of the low impedance microphone to be any length up to 2,000 feet, and as many as four velocity microphones may be fed into one transformer. Hum pickup is eliminated by hum-neutralization design characteristics of the transformer. Only a few seconds are required to connect the input of the transformer to the microphone, and a single conductor shielded cable is supplied for the output. Either a 50 or 200-ohm microphone can be fed into the standard input impedance of 200 ohms, while other impedances are obtainable. F & M Activity Leads St. Louis Area Building THE REMODELING and construction program recently launched by Fanchon & Marco, consequent to their acquisitions in St. Louis, has had the effect of a small building boom in that area. Between twelve and fifteen houses are involved. The plans as perfected provide that the Ambassador, Fox, Missouri and St. Louis will operate as first run houses. The 6 Better Theatres