Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1923)

August ii, 1923 693 NEW THEATRE construction & equipment pr°jection Department P. M. ABBOTT CAMERA TECHNICAL EDITOR Successful Operation During Summer Months Kansas City House An Example of Method for Combatting Seasonal Depression THE problem confronting exhibitors • operating their house successfully throughout the summer months should receive every consideration from all possible angles. The general consensus of opinion that good pictures, properly exploited, serve to overcome summer depression, is in all probabilities fundamentally sound. Yet hot weather has a tendency to make people restive and more difficult to satisfy. It seems natural to assume therefore that another very important factor for the successful operation of a theatre in summer is the physical comforts of the audience. A theatre that presents an attractive appearance both on the interior as well as the exterior has a decided advantage in hot weather. Quite probably it would be possible to trace the cause of many houses operating successfully in winter but not in summer to their physical characteristics. At any rate a theatre in Kansas City tends to affirm this according to the following article which has recently been received by the editor : With the summer season at hand is the complete remodeling of a large suburban house a safe investment ? That question in Kansas City has been answered in a decisive manner by capitol enterprises in literally tearing down the Linwood theatre and constructing one of the most corn All Opportunity Overlooked WHILE the main article on this page deals with the renovation of the theatre in general as a likely remedy for summer business depression, the all-imiportant presentation of the picture should also receive due consideration. In using " presentation " in this particular sense we are referring to the actual screening of the picture. The picture, from a projection angle, should be beyond criticism. This is a fundamental around which the successful operation of a theatre must be built. However, the undisputable condition exists in many theatres where the screen presentation is the very last phase of showmanship to receive consideration. Gradually the number of exhibitors who fail to realize the importance of good projection is lessening. In time every exhibitor will give the necessary supervision to the projection department to assure perfection in presentation. Yet the time when this condition will prevail is far in the future; which simply means that many exhibitors will continue to miss an excellent opportunity to increase the patronage of their house. pletely equipped suburban theatres in the Middle West, the cost amounting to $75,000. The history of the Linwood theatre alone bears out the theory that suburban houses can combat summer amusement park competition. Prior to being acquired by Capitol Enterprises, of which Samuel Harding of Kansas City is president, the Linwood, with a seating capacity of about 1,300, drew well enough in the winter, but with summer came a slump in attendance that each year was almost disastrous from a financial standpoint. Located at a busy suburban transfer corner, Thirty-first street and Prospect avenue, the Linwood had every available means of prospering, and it did — in the winter only. To the amusement parks and airdomes would go the neighborhood patronage in the hot months. Then there came a change. After being acquired by Capitol Enterprises, the Linwood virtually was razed, only the side walls remaining. A new, attractive front, a men's and women's rest room, a small balcony, an attractive foyer, a manager's office, new chairs, handsome interior decorations, new stage wiring and a cooling system greeted the public not so many weeks ago. Today the Linwood fears no competition in Kansas City. It is drawing large crowds, playing the best of pictures and, above all, making money. " To remodel a theatre in such a manner is expensive, to be sure," said Mr. Harding, " but in my career as an exhibitor I never have found that the public to fail to patronize a (Continued on next page) Linwood theatre, Kansas City, which has been completely remodelled. This house, previous to renovation, paid well during the winter season but failed to make expenses in summer. It now shows good returns during the entire year