Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

Drive-In Signs Planned for Fast Readin One glance at this sign and the passing motorist will know and not easily forget the name of the Ranch Drive-In, (see photo above) recently completed on Highway 30 near Ames, la. Animation and huge letters advertise the Trail Theatre (upper left) near Sarasota, Fla. Attraction boards measure 4x20 feet. Wagner changeable letters are 17" red and 10" black plastic. Exceptionally broad and thin letters stress name of Gage Drive-In, Bell Gardens, Calif. 30x61/^foot attraction panels use 17", 10" and 4" Wagner letters in various colors. Need for Greater Visual Range Increases Demand FOR Towering Displays AND Changeable Letters He who rides must read (and hasn't much time to do it) when the drive-in theatre advertises to passing motorists. Here pictured are three late 1949 examples of drive-in exploitation designed to catch the eye, and complete delivery of the message, all in a very few seconds. It will be noted that the name signs are not only large, but also designed to be grasped at a glance and remembered afterward. Changeable letters advertising the current program are, in the first place, large. Two of the three attraction boards here pictured present letters up to 17 inches in height, the largest made today. Additionally, color is used lavishly in these letters to break up the message in such way as to convey every part of it separately and without confusion while the eye passes once across the attraction board. Red, blue, black and green plastic and opaque letters are used in these signs. Make the Billing Big So far as the driver of the passing car is concerned, the only time he has to receive the theatre's message is when he takes his eyes ofif the road, and how long he is willing to do that will depend on traffic; so far as other occupants of the car are concerned it is all a matter of where they are seated with reference to the car's windows and the location of the theatre signs. In every case both name sign and program advertising must be planned for extremely rapid reading and the easiest possible remembrance. Drive-In Shopping Center Combination Planned Walter Reade Circuit, whose latest drivein, the Lawrence, is illustrated on the opposite page, and whose earlier ventures in outdoor theatres during 1949 are recounted in STR for May 28th (Page E-16) and July 23rd (Page E-12) has announced plans for a combination drive-in shopping center, entertainment center, and (eventually) indoor theatre — all on the same grounds. The new enterprise will occupy a 15acre site on the traffic circle at Eatontown, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Popularity of its shopping center will be enhanced, Reade interests believe, by the recent installation of parking meters in nearby towns such as Asbury Park. Leon Einhorn, of Einhorn and O'Toole, member of STR's Advisory Council, has been retained to draw up the detailed design. Opening is scheduled for next spring. Capacity of the drive-in is to be 1,020 cars. It will be completely paved, will have exceptionally wide aisles, and its centrally located concession and rest-room building will be accessible from all ramps by way of paved paths. Children's playground area will be fitted with slides. swings, sand boxes and park benches. Decorative drives, summer houses, shade trees and flower beds are to be included in the landscaping, according to present plans. Baldwin Theatre {Continued from Page E-9) high wainscot) and its ceiling are all the same arching structure. Areas of .i unction between arches carry the lighting coves and break the curving wall-ceiling into four sections each painted in a different shade of green. This is deepest at the front section, palest at the rear. Carpeting is a Wilton weave of greens, and chair upholstery rust-colored. Lighting throughout the entire theatre is extremely simple — flesh-white and canary-yellow neon, with auxiliary downlights and spots. The shape of the auditorium, and the blown-on asbestos-base insulating and sound-absorbing material with which its entire interior is coated, are one factor making for the very superior sound quality claimed for the Baldwin. Another, however, would certainly by the use of sound equipment of 150 watts output power (Research Council specifications for a theatre of 1,800 seats call for only 40 watts — thus the Baldwin's amplifiers never even approach the point of being overdriven into harshness). The shape of the auditorium, moreover, is also credited with providing very unusual ventilating comfort. Fresh air enters the theatre through a series of grilles running completely around the screen opening, and thence proceeds at large volume, low velocity and without draft throughout the length of the auditorium to exhaust via the foyer. Heating is provided, but not refrigeration.