Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Mar 1956)

relatively straight, one should arrange for an entrance drive not less than 1000 feet long and at least 30 feet wide so as to provide for two safe lanes of cars. Thus one actually has 2000 feet for cars approaching the l)OX-oflice, which means that at a peak period about 80 cars can be cleared through the box-ofhee lanes and into the theatre area in about 5 minutes. This car-absorption capacity between the highway and box-office supplies “storage.” In some localities, or states, there are legal storage requirements, and these may demand entering lanes, or adjoining waiting area, capable of absorbing about a third of the capacity. Departing cars can move faster than those entering; however, the exit drive has to take care of a peak load more often — it is regular for 60% and more of the attendanee to leave at the same time. Congestion is irritating to patrons, some of whom ean’t keep their hands off the horn at the slightest delay; moreover, cars will start out, then if they have to stop, they’ll wait on the ramps until able to enter the exit drive, which creates confusion, or requires extra attendants. It is therefore wise to be at least as liberal with exit dimensions as with those of the entrance. The exit drive should be so placed and extended that there ean be no interference, even by a reckless driver, with entering traffic. Traffic should not turn back on itself — it ought to flow always in one general direction. In surfacing entrance and exit drives soil conditions may allow a very simple, inexpensive treatment (such as packing the earth with a roller and applying road oil). Usually, however, it is cheaper in the long run to use a hardtop treatment to a depth of inches. Local conditions of climate and materials will influence choice. RAMP-DRIVE RELATIONSHIP Ground conditions may favor a certain location for the ramps; however, one should look for adjustments that will realize the best conditions. If to get the best possible layout providing for both theatre and traffic flow means to move a little more earth than a poorer plan would require, it is better to spend the extra money on grading. It will pay off in the long run. Involved in the location of the ramp area is the screen tower, which introduces considerations of light from the highway, the drives, and from any surrounding buildings of the general area. This is not only a matter of light spilling on to the screen, but shining behind the screen so as to appear along an edge of the structure, or at some point immediately off a side. Such fringes or adjoining spots of light ean invade vision of the picture. It is also well to avoid having the picture visible from the highway, even at an angle, not because this might enable persons to see the show without paying, but because it might distract motorists and thus cause highway aecidents. The police of some localities forbid setting the tower so the picture ean be seen from the highway. AAA_IN HIGH WAY A drive-in plan representing good standards of design under fairly typical conditions (this is the scheme of the Rockland theatre, Spring Valley, N. Y., built in 1955 from plans by John & Drew Eberson, New York architects. Five ramps are interrupted by the service area containing a refreshment-restroom building (four cafeteria lines), projection booth behind that, terrace across front, and playground in rear. (Short ramps at top were occasioned by diagonal property line.) A DRIVE-IN RAMP SYSTEM In the ramp scheme of a drive-in theatre we have a kind of stadium which corresponds in ultimate function to the seating plan and floor slope of an indoor motion picture auditorium. The drive-in designer also is dealing with sightlines — that is, clear vision for each spectator of substantially all of the picture. At the same time he is dealing with vision from inside an automobile, which he must consider to be a permanently enclosed model requiring that the performance be viewed within the frame of a windshield. Most of the ramps are far enough from the screen to bring the entire picture well within comfortable sight of persons in the rear as well as the front seat of the car. It is only from the first three or four ramps that persons in the rear seat cannot be allowed a full view of the picture without introducing distances from the picture, or reducing capacity. With cars ranged in circular tiers in front of the screen, it is obvious that each tier must be at such elevation relative to the tier in front that occupants of any car in it can see over the car (or cars) in front. The size of the picture, and how high it is above grade (base level of the ground throughout the area of the theatreproper) are factors in determining what these elevations should be. Consider a sightline as a level, with the bottom of the picture at one end, the spectator’s eyes at the other, and the top of the car in front of the spectators as the fulcrum. In order to maintain clear vision, if you lower one end you must raise the other {see drawing). Applying this “lever system” to the problem of sight Better Theatres 1956 Market Guide 39