Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

r Centrally Placed Refreshment House Forms Focus of Drive-In Design They crowd in long before dark to wait for the show, to get a snack at the centrally-located "patio" or to let their kiddies play with the slides, teeter-totters and swings. The stockade fence in the picture entirely surrounds the theatre site. Capacity business on opening night. Theatre is illuminated and screen blank because opening festivities, including fireworks, are still under way. Refreshment-and-rest-room building, called the "patio," can be seen brilliantly lit up to right of the screen. Up to 10 attendants are needed at this island snack bar, which serves from all four sides. Bar is closed after hours by letting down windows here seen hinged up to ceiling. Car-to-car refreshment service is also available for those patrons who prefer it. Durwood Theatres' 1949 drive-ins are centered around the refreshment building, called the "patio." In order to locate this building in the exact middle of the parking area, and still keep the most desirable projection arrangements, a separate projection building is provided several ramps nearer the screen. This arrangement proved so successful in the company's new Skylark at St. Joseph, Missouri, here pictured, that it is being copied in Durwood's two other new open air theatres, at Leavenworth, Kansas, and Jefferson City, Missouri. Further to facilitate access to the refreshment building a central "aisle," six feet wide, extends down the whole center of the theatre, with the patio placed midway along its length. The St. Joseph Skylark occupies 15 acres and accommodates 500 cars. Its twin box offices are set far back from the high way to provide an adequate hold-out area. Entrance and exit are completely separate. A stockade-type fence surrounds the entire site. The front sign structure, refreshment patio, projection building, twin box offices and storage building are all of steel and concrete construction. The screen presents a picture 60 feet wide. A large play area in front of the screen is equipped with slides, swings and teeter-totters. Chairs and loudspeakers are provided at the rear of this area so parents can watch their children and the show at the same time. The heart of the thf-atre, the patio, is permanently open on the side facing the screen. Here the flat roof extends out several feet to provide protection against weather. Patrons coming for refreshments can continue to watch the picture through the wide opening and hear the sound through conveniently placed speakers. The counter is a four-sided island that serves from all four sides, and is staffed by as many as ten attendants, to eliminate any waiting in line for refreshments. Baby bottles are warmed. Windows stretching from countertop to ceiling are hinged outward to the ceiling when the counter is in use; and hinged down and locked to the outer edge of the counter when the theatre is closed. The patio cannot be closed in any other way. Rest rooms are located in the patio, not in the projection building, and a telephone booth has been put there for patron convenience. Additionally, car-side refreshment sales service is provided. There are four changes of program each week and two shows a night — three on Saturday night. Admission is fifty cents each for adults. Children under 12 accompanied by adults are admitted free, regardless of whether they come in cars or afoot. Ed Durwood is President and Stanley Durwood Vice President of the company, which operates 16 indoor theatres in Kansas and Missouri. Kenneth Malchose, former manager of the Durwood Orpheum Theatre in St. Joseph, has been transferred to manage the St. Joseph Skylark. Compartmented Storage Bins A new line of compartmented metal bins suited to storing marquee changeable letters,, or refreshments, or projection room and janitor room supplies, and for general storage purposes, has been brought out by Lyon Metal Products, Inc. Bins measure 6K'" high by 3' wide by 1' deep. They are provided with 8 shelves, all of. which except the bottom one can be adjusted up or down at 1^" intervals provided shelf dividers are not used. Dividers, if used can be adiusted horizontally along the width of each shelf at 1" intervals. Other available accessories include shelf boxes and sloping bins and dividers. Finish consists of baked-on green enamel. Washable Plastic Wallpaper stain-resistant wallpaper of washable plastic, available in a wide range of designs, is a product of United Wallpaper Inc. Twenty-four new varieties have just been added to the line, including 15 patterns and 9 plain tints. The material is said to resist almost every known stain, and to have been tested with thousands of soap and water washings without showing any trace of deterioration. Black Light Lamps Ultra violet lamps for illuminating fluorescent murals and signs, and for other black light applications, have been announced by George W. Gates and Co. They are essentially low pressure mercury arcs, delivering long-wave ultra-violet through filters that eliminate almost all visible radiation. Aluminum Ladders Lightweight aluminum ladders in several models, including extension ladders reaching to 40 feet, have been put on the market, at $2.42 per foot for straight types and $2.52 per foot for extension types, by Zero-Lite Products. Ladders are made of aluminum throughout, have heavy rubber feet and ribbed rungs.