The Moving picture world (November 1922-December 1922)

584 MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 9, 1922 Better Equipment Qonducied E.T. KEYS ER Many Attended the Christening of Frank Hall's Beautiful Twins THREE thousand representative residents of North Hudson, N. J., exhibitors together with a distinguished group of prominent film men and showmen from New York joined in cheering Frank G. Hall, characterized as "the human dynamo" at the opening of the million-dollar Capitol Theatre, the first of a twintheatre structure, at Union Hill, N. J., Monday evening, November 27. Governor Edward I. Edwards, Senatorelect of New Jersey ; Mayor William Rannenberg and other prominent officials came to congratulate the man who had erected one of the most beautiful and unique theatre structures in this country. Directors of the holding corporation — all citizens of North Hudson county — came to inspect their investment. New York showmen agreed that the Capitol constitutes one of the handsomest buildings within the metropolitan district. The opening exercises were conducted with much pomp and ceremony in addition to one of the choicest vaudeville bills ever gotten together. The initial bill was a remarkable example of expert booking and served to give the beautiful Capitol an auspicious sendof?, for the capacity audience was continually registering its satisfaction with hearty applause. The hero of the evening was Frank G. Hall. Of that there was no doubt. Everybody agreed that the erection of this enormous structure in ten months constituted a marvelous feat, for the !)uilding houses two distinctively dififerent theatres, one is the Capitol, which, with a seating capacity of 2,500 in the orchestra, balcony and boxes, will be devoted exclusively to first class B. F. Keith vaudeville, while the other is the luxurious State Theatre, with accomodations for 1,800 persons, to be devoted exclusively to first-run pictures. The latter house is expected to be ready for opening within three weeks. Elaborate Precaution Against Fire The entire structure is fireproof, every conceivable system of firefighting apparatus having been installed to make the protection of the public as nearly perfect as is humanlv possible. Fire hose lines have been placed in all tiers in glass cabinets in each theatre. These are fed from the high pressure main on Third street and further fed from the 10,000 gallon tank placed 20 feet above the roof over the stage of the Capitol. The stages of both theatres are protected by a complete sprinkler system having two sources of immediate supply, one being a 15,000 gallon steel tank carrying a water pressure of 70 pounds to the square inch and another tank of 10,000 gallons placed above the larger tank. These tanks are supplied by a quadruple pump having a capacity of 500 gallons per minute. Besides these fire line and si^rinkler systems, several dozen fire extinguishers are distributed throughout the auditorium. The heating and ventilating systems are also the latest. The structure was designed by a Hudson county man. Architect Piercie A. Vivattas, of Weehawken. The building was constructed by James Mitchell. Open for Inspection Prior to the initial performance the theatres was thrown open to the insjjcction of the guests, who overlooked not a single corner. The stage is modern in every detail with the best of "back-stage" equipment and every care taken in providing for the comforts of the artists. Charles Eggett is the orchestra director. His orchestra opened the first show with a rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner," followed with "Opera Medley a la Jazz." J. Raymond Tiffany acted as master of ceremonies and introduced the following, who spoke briefly, but were loud and emphatic in their praise of the modern Aladdin— Mr. Hall— and his lamp; Gov. Edwards. John B. Payton, president of the Boulevard Commission; Mayor Rannenberg, of Union ; John J. Fallon, Joseph E. Bernstein, treasurer of the Capitol Theatre Amusement Company, and several others. Mr. Hall was the final speaker. He thanked the citizens for their support and made the statement that the future success of the venture is now for them to fix by patronizing the house. There are 100 Unionians who are stockholders and these receive free admittance to the twin houses for life. An Outstanding Feature An outstanding feature of the evening's program, which did not close until long after midnight, was a tworeel picture depicting the progress of Mr. Hall's venture from the time he first conceived the idea, through its promotion jjeriod, to the purchase of an abandoned schoolhouse, to construction and completion of the twintheatre structure. Harry P. Diggs, popular and keen advertising manager of the company, conceived, directed and produced this film, which stood out as a distinct novelty. The executive staff of the Capitol is as follows : Frank G. Hall, managing director ; George J. Riester, circuit manager; Harry P. Diggs, advertising manager ; Fred W. Schroeder, resident manager ; Jacques E. Horne, booking manager ; Gertrude M. Schreiber, assistant advertising manager; John Victoria, house treasurer; Charles Eggett, conductor of orchestra; Arthur T. Quinn. chief cinematographer ; Harry Gerken, stage manager; George Doremus, chief electrician; Harry Tryon, property master; W. F. Masden, chief engineer; Toby Brown, chief of pro jection. Northwestern Notes E. W. Sandcll, who operates a circuit in Snoqualmic, Issaquah and North Bend, has recently moved his Power projectors from his Sunset Theatre to the Sandell and purchased two new Power machines for the Sunset. The Theatre Equipment Company supplied the machines. * * * The John Hays School and the Gatewood School in West Seattle have recently installed Power 6B improved projectors, both installed by the Theatre Equipment Company. * * * The State Training School at Chehalis, Wash., has installed a Simplex, Mazda equipped, from B. F. Shearer, Inc. New Screen for Weir Ed. Dolan, of the Weir Theatre, Aberdeen, Wash., has installed a new screen, 13^ feet by 18 feet. O. T. Taylor is house manager. A