Theatre Catalog (1949-50)

A careful study of the pages that follow will disclose that this 8th ANNUAL EDITION of the Theatre Industry’s incomparable authority on the physical theatre building has bent considerable attention to the accumulation of creditable facts about it, facts that were formerly only the merest “moonshine” of conjecture and estimate! With no lessening of its usual painstaking attention to design, construction, maintenance, management, and equipment—and with its usual pictorial recording of the best construction of the previous year—this completely new 1949-50 edition marks the start of a continuing annual National Census (P. 482 to P. 489). From this first installment can be learned: (1) the industry’s current use of 31,427,622 yards of carpeting; (2) the types of air cooling and air-conditioning now in use in 10,897 of the nation’s 18,600 roofed theatres; (3) the 7,308,987 upholstered theatre chairs requiring 10,963,480 yards of fabric covering and 14,617,974 units of spring or rubber cushions, and many other positive facts about roofed theatres, their facilities, their confection vending, and their Elsewhere in this volume will be found detailed listings of the 1,753 drive-ins that will serve the 1950 season (P. 253 to P. 274) representing a growth of nearly 1,500 during the past two years, or a total investment of nearly $200,000,000 in this one facet of the theatre field alone. There will also be found conclusive proof that drive-ins open up motion picture entertainment to several millions of new patrons (P, 196 to P. 200) who, for reasons of children, physical handicaps, ete., could not previously attend roofed theatres. There is also a listing of the 238 architects and designers (P. 153 to P. 164) who owe a major part of their livelihood to the theatre building. And there is proof of the $225,154,800 share ofthe confection industry’s annual gross (P. 486 to P. 489) transacted over theatre lobby stands, Page after page, the thoughtful reader will ponder fact upon fact, and only one major conclusion is possible. What affects the theatre industry in the U.S, A. will affect the whole national economy! Adverse legislation, unfair taxation, bluenosed reforms, and onerous lawsuits strike at the pocketbooks and pay envelopes not only of industryites, but in varying important degrees at those hundreds of thousands of non-industryites in a myriad of fringe businesses from nurserymen and asphalt plants to the manufacturers of drapery fabrics and photoelectric cells. By its very nature, and’its place in American lives, the physical theatre building patronizes a greater number of suppliers and buys from a greater diversity of manufacturers than any other. It’s a BIG industry! And the overnight success of 1,753 new drive-ins catering to a completely new patronage proves it has not yet accomplished its complete BIGNESS. And a word about a continuing feature. This 8th ANNUAL EDITION has singled out for special attention the work of one of the most prominent West Coast theatre architects, S. Charles Lee. In several cases, due to their colorful nature, Lee-designed theatres have been reproduced in full color so that the reader could grasp their full effectiveness. We are proud of this new first in motion picture trade journalism, and proud to present the type of work that Mr. Lee has contributed to the industry. But to revert to our words in preceding volumes: the bows are accorded to Mr. Lee, but we know he will agree that the total credit should be shared by all of the hundreds of thousands of companies and individuals who have perfected the materials and products that have made possible the more than 20,000 fine theatre structures of EDITORIAL FOREWORD * * * Ewe 1949-50