The sound track book of the theatre (undated)

DRIVE-IN THEATRES 405 that a Drive-In will be permitted on the site selected. Factors When Building Here are some important facts to bear in mind if it is your intention to build a Drive-In theatre. First, obtain your capital requirements, as the majority of your investment will consist of financial "intangibles" such as grading, drainage, ramp construction, paving, wiring, fencing, water and sewer systems, and landscaping. Even the projection building, concession stand and screen tower are not good collateral for a loan, because of their highly specialized design. As sufficient capital must therefore be available in advance to cover the entire cost of the project, it is essential that an estimate of construction costs be obtained before proceeding with the project. The cost of a modern Drive-In theatre equipped with in-car speaker systems exhibits great variance, due to such items as the location of the site with respect to water, sewage, and power and other utility lines. The varying requirements of tKe drainage system, grading and paving could easily show a difference in cost of as much as s40,000 between one site and another. Building construction costs will differ widely because of such factors as local labor conditions, the availability of materials, the building construction laws and ordinances of state, county or city, and, most important, your individual preferances as to size, appearance and type of construction of the screen tower and other buildings. If the proposed site meets the major requirements listed previously, your next step is to secure an option to purchase for a sufficiently long period to obtain the necessary zoning permits. After these are secured, the purchase of the lot may be completed. You should next obtain a local surveyor or civil engineer to make a topographical survey of the entire area, showing roads and existing grades, types of soil, unusual obstructions, and any other information, particularly with respect to drainage problems, that will be useful in the design of the theatre. It is also desirable to have ground borings made to determine how deep foundations will have to be laid in order that the screen tower will withstand the maximum wind velocity recorded in the vicinity of the Drive-In theatre. This survey should be turned over to the civil engineer, architectural firm or company of your choice to make the layout of the desired size of theatre. The layout should give all necessary information as to drainage, grading and ramp construction, location of the screen tower, projection building, ticket booth, concession stand, parking area, roads, in-car speaker junction boxes, and wiring. Before construction is started, the layout should be checked carefully with state, county or city traffic authorities, who may insist on specifying the location and dimensions of entrance and exit drives and of parking areas, in order to accelerate incoming or to slow outgoing traffic. The projected drainage system usually requires the approval of city or county engineers, so that any change in the grade of the theatre area will not cause a serious drainage problem on adjoining property areas or highways. After the theatre layout has been approved, you should secure plans for the screen tower, projection building, and concession stand, indicating to the planner the type of construction and the approximate extent of investment you wish to make in such buildings. Information will be presented later in this article on the requirements for selection of complete sound and projection equipment. Orders should be placed without delay for all necessary materials which are not supplied by the respective contractors, such as sound and lighting cables, and posts for junction boxes. The first steps in the actual construction of the Drive-In theatre are the installation of the drainage system and the grading of entrance and exit drives and of the ramps