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Topic: Strange Booths

George Roher
Master Film Handler

Posts: 266
From: Washington DC
Registered: Jul 99

posted 08-31-1999 11:16 PM

What are some of the strangest booths or theatre layouts everyone has encountered?

I was checking out a 6-plex today. There were five booths scattered all around the building, with somewhat hidden entrances. For two of them, you have to walk through the auditorium to get to the booth.

Another strange place is Washington DC's Avalon 1 & 2. A big palace style auditorium downstairs, and a smaller house upstairs. What's strange is that you have to go through the booth for the upstairs house to get to the booth for the downstairs house, and it's a little higher up. That machine is pointing almost straight down and the customers look like ants.

What similar strangeness has everyone experienced?

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AndrewBurnell
Film Handler

Posts: 17
From: Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Registered: Aug 1999

posted 09-01-1999 08:39 AM

Whilst my manager would kill me if I said this:

I work in a 6 plex, theirs only two ways up and down, both through auditoriums! Or the other exit leads to the roof. Wouldn't wanna be up their in a fire!

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Jason Burroughs
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Allen, TX
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-01-1999 08:42 AM

The strangest booth arangement that I've ever worked in is the now closed AMC Prestonwood 5. Pics are available in the picture warehouse. The theatre originally used bounce mirrors to get the image above the audience, but after having many image problems they put the projectors up on "stilts" so the platters were on the floor and you had to climb a ladder to thread the projectors.

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-01-1999 09:17 AM

In toronto the strangest is the Cineplex Eatons Centre. It is built in a parking garage and the floor slopes are the ramps. It was Cineplex's first theatre and was all 16mm rear projection. It was converted to 35mm with Ernaman 9's PrevostP55's and Pro35's some with mirror front projection and many with the heads sitting on the floor running back projection.
Another is the Revue Cinema that last carbon house in toronto where the stairs to the booth are through the mens washroom. The old College theatre you had to go through an apartment to get to the booth

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-01-1999 09:23 AM

Probably not so strange, but at the place where I used to work, the booth entrance was through the mens' room. I suspect that this was because the place was built in the 1930s and many local fire codes during the nitrate era required toilet facilities in the booth so that the projectionist would not have to leave the booth while the film was running; perhaps this was a way of getting around this legal requirement. Actually, the arrangement of the mens' and ladies' rooms was kind of interesting, too...there were stairs on either side of the rear part of the auditorium, and you had to walk up a flight of stairs to get to the restrooms, which were located on either side of the booth. Fortunately, the sound insulation between the restrooms and the auditorium was very good...

Here in Boston, the Brattle Theatre uses a funky rear-projection system involving mirrors. Picture quality is, to put it charitably, less than optimal, particularly for those seated in the balcony or off-center in the auditorium. The only thing that makes up for this undesirable arrangement is the Brattle's first-rate programming--this is one of the top repertory/art houses in the US.

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Erika Hellgren
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 168
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-01-1999 02:28 PM

Through the men's restroom, eh? Yes - right! Cause only a MAN would have to be in the booth

Oh well, if I worked there, I'd walk through it anyway, all the time saying, "Cover it up, fellas, projectionist coming through!"

Although this isn't too strange (it's really cool), a few years ago they rebuilt a one screen into a six plex, and while I was taking a tour of the new booth, I was shown a secret passage from the booth to the back of the big auditorium. It was a little hole in the floor with a ladder leading down. It was also great access to the public restroom. Very handy if you didn't want to go all the way down to the other end of the booth to take the stairs.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-01-1999 05:28 PM

Erika - remember that this place was built in the 1930s. <grin> I sent Brad some of the pictures; look under "Williamsburg Theatre."

It appears that someone has beaten me to sending in photos of the Cape Cinema (another neat old place where I have filled in; it was the site of the world premiere of "Wizard of Oz" in 1939!). Check out that steep staircase! You have to walk up the staircase into the attic (being careful not to bang your head on some low-hanging pipes) before entering the booth. I have carried two four-reel shipping cases down that staircase at once...I do not recommend it.

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Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-01-1999 06:36 PM

Another wierd one in Toronto was the NewYorker (later the showcase) The Projection room was a hut on the roof that hung down into the auditorium half way down the theatre and you climbed a staircase at the back of the building and walked over the roof to the booth
Lots of fun during a snowstorm or rainstorm whent ehbooth would flood

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 09-01-1999 06:55 PM

There was a Plitt Promenade several years ago here in Dallas that had catwalks to get from one booth to another. I know Jason Burroughs used to work there. Where is your description, Jason?

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Jason Burroughs
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Allen, TX
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-01-1999 07:44 PM

The Plitt Promenade 6 was originally built as a single screen by Interstate theatres somewhere in the late 40s or early 50s. Interstate merged with ABC, during this time a second screen was added and it became known as the Westwood Twin. Joining the 2 booths of the 2 screens was a metal catwalk that went over the public restrooms. The passage way also went through a room where all the A/C merged into, you had to be careful here, if you didn't have a key you were locked INTO the room. No Way out. When ABC Intestate sold to Plitt, Plitt divided on of the auditioriums in half and the other 4 ways to access the 3rd booth you had to go down to the lobby and out an old exit door. The auditorium that was split 4 ways was never finished leaving the exposed cinderblock walls. The theatre closed in 93 and was torn down in 94 and is now the site of a Kroger. I remember they used Century projectors and Cinemacanica mono sound systems, 5 platter trees but I can't remember the mfr. But it looked kinda like the pics of the Norelco. but it may have been a CFS Super Platter. cant remember either way.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 09-01-1999 08:05 PM

I think the 5 deckers were Strongs or Potts. It's been too long, though.

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Stephen Jones
Master Film Handler

Posts: 314
From: Geelong Victoria Australia
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-01-1999 09:49 PM

Worst multiplex projection rooms that I have come across is in Geelong Victoria Australia,
the complex has 11 screens and 4 projection rooms all over the place and no video monitors to see whats going on in the other rooms. If somthing does go wrong you dont know until someone says something and then it can take up to 5min to get to the offending projection room to fix the problem. If a print had to be moved it had to be taken through the foyers and if its busy it is a task to carry the film through the crowd as some of them just wont move out of the way and just stand there.The current theatre I work at has 2 projection rooms, the entrance for one is at the back of the theatre and the entrance for the 2nd is at the front next to the screen in the same theatre. It used to be a 1930s single screen converted into 3 cinemas. Will have some pics for the projection ware house soon as I have them processed.

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George Roher
Master Film Handler

Posts: 266
From: Washington DC
Registered: Jul 99

posted 09-01-1999 11:01 PM

I wish we had video monitors here. I've never seen a theatre with video monitors for the booth. I used to be affiliated with a certain "Generous Cinnamon" theatre that was really two separate theatres on opposite ends of a shopping mall. Moving prints involved going down the stairs, marching through the lobby, wheeling the prints down the mall on a hand-truck (if one was available), going through another lobby, and tackling more stairs! And prints were moved down the mall in between shows all the time. Shows would get off screen and then have to start again at the other end of the mall five minutes later. One operator there used to put two movies in clips up on his shoulder at once and run through the lobby! The theatre used to have two operators on duty at all times, but that slowly changed. There's nothing like being in the middle of a crowded mall, holding a 100 pound epic film, when management is screaming on your radio about some problem somewhere. Forgive me if this post turned into a rant

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Stephen Jones
Master Film Handler

Posts: 314
From: Geelong Victoria Australia
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-02-1999 12:20 AM

Geelong is the only multi where I have worked that didnt have monitors all the others have got them even the 3 screen site has them in each projection room. Managments answer to a request for monitors for Geelongs bio is we cant afford them but are soon jumping up and down when something goes wrong and the response time is long.

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Stephen Jones 1
Film Handler

Posts: 62
From: Tulsa, OK, USA
Registered: Aug 1999

posted 09-02-1999 05:13 AM

Cinemark's 'The Palace' in downtown Kansas City is a 14 plex that is divided into two buildings on either side of the street with a skywalk between the two. It was an older theatre that was renovated into an all stadium seating theatre. With 14 to 17 prints, I hear Thursday nights and moving of prints is alot of fun. Going down stairs, through the lobby across the skywalk... and so on.

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