Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1946)

E-8 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, December 7, 1946 Quonset Hut Becomes a Movie Showhouse "Construction cost was not a great deal less than with conventional construction, owing to the fact that we were unable to get desired materials, and had to take substitutes in many cases." Thus modestly speaks Melvin C. Glatz, Supervisor of Construction for Fox InterMountain Amusement Corp. and member of STR's Theatre Advisory Council, concerning his revolutionary achievement in turning a Quonset hut into a 668-seat theatre. "I feel," he adds, "that this type of building is just as substantial, and that our future upkeep and maintenance costs will probably be less than with regular construction." The striking new "theatre of tomorrow," the Fox, opened October 30th at Aurora, Colorado. It has all modern facilities, including excellent acoustics and air conditioning, and germicidal lamps — everything that could have been put into a conventional-type building. The cost was approximately $100,000. Basis of the new theatre is a "Quonset 40" — a large-size Quonset furnished by Stran Steel division of Great Lakes Steel Corp. of Detroit. At one end of the Quonset, a small steel, concrete and brick building was erected to house the lobby, lounge, manager's office, rest rooms and so forth. Above this building, forming part of its roof and merging with the adjoining end of the auditorium, is a structure consisting of Quonset ribs laid on their sides and covered with corrugated sheet aluminum, which houses a portion of the auditorium stadium, and the projection room. It is roofed with steel high-ribbed lath and concrete, with a regular built-up roof on top of the concrete. The remainder of the theatre consists of the Quonset 40, forty feet wide and forty feet high, one hundred twenty feet long. At the far end of the Quonset, behind the screen, is the boiler and fan room. There is no excavation. Structural Details The Quonset 40 is insulated with Kimsul, a total of three inches of it between the exterior sheet metal and the interior finish. Interior and ceiling finish are provided by channel iron and metal lath, with limpit asbestos sprayed directly on the lath. The high wainscot and the ceiling panel, however, are not asbestostreated. The result, says Melvin Glatz, is "as perfect an acoustical condition as we have in any of our theatres." The interior finish does not follow the curve of the building all the way to the foundation line. An air space has been created at either side for the exhaust air return for the main portion of the theatre. Exhaust for the stadium portion is located at the rear, on either side of the projection room. Conditioned air is supplied through five ceiling outlets, at the rate of 33,000 cu. ft. per minute. Every seating space tested has been found to be well ventilated without draft. The conventional proscenium is dispensed with in favor of a scroll treatment of the stage opening, ornamented with pastel lighting and filtered flood lights playing on a cream-and-gold curtain. The floor slope of the main portion of the auditorium is considerably greater than usual, giving every seat in the theatre excellent vision. Toward the front of the theatre the slope is gently reversed. The floor is provided with drains and can be washed down for greater sanitation. Design Features Outstanding among the other unusual features of the Fox are the traffic provisions. Exit and entrance traffic do not conflict in the lobby; two exits are provided at either end of the cross aisle between the auditorium proper and the stadium. Patrons leaving by these exits have the full protection of the marquee, which extends around the sides and rear of the brick-trimmed front building. The lobby, consequently, is small, and opens directly into a lounge area, richly carpeted, and with curving walls and passages reminiscent of the arched shape of the Quonset hut. BELOW: Section showing the unusually steep floor slope. NEXT PAGE: Floor plans of the rear of the theatre showing (left) the lounge area, cross-over aisle and rear of auditorium; and (right) the stadium area and projection room.