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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: Projection Booths in Schools, Libraries, etc.
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Randy Loy
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 156
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted 06-11-2000 09:44 AM
During the current discussion on "Booth Access By Ladder Only," John Walsh mentioned the small theatre in the library at Greenwich, Connecticut. John's reference reminded me of something that fascinates me, projection booths in buildings that were constructed for purposes other than commercial film exhibition. Places like libraries, museums, schools...Of the many projection booths I've visited over the years, I've never had the opportunity to visit a booth in anything other than an indoor cinema or a drive-in theatre. However, the Eiki EX-6000 16mm machine I operated for a film series last year was supposedly originally installed in an auditorium at a state hospital, and when my wife (Debrean) and I were in college, the student union used to run 16mm films in the ballroom. They had an electric roll-up screen at one end of the room and a projection PLATFORM over the main entrance to the room. It wasn't an enclosed booth, just a platform with two portable machines. Also, some friends of ours own an auction house (adjacent to their drive-in theatre) that used to have projection equipment to show cartoons to the kiddies while mom and dad went to the auction room next door to spend some cash. The kids shows were done in a small multi-purpose auditorium with a small stage. The projection room is still there and you can see the ports from the auditorium, but the equipment was removed probably about 30 years ago. Our friends told us they used to have two 16mm machines with arc lamps in the booth. What other non-cinema buildings have you seen either 35mm or 16mm projection booths and movie screening auditoriums in? Are those booths still operational and used today? I know that some museums and art galleries in the District of Columbia do film screenings and I've been meaning to go check out how they do their presentations. Hopefully not video!!! Since my full-time employment is as a federal cop in D.C., I usually am tired and anxious to escape back to suburbia after my tour of duty ends. Therefore I've never been too excited to spend anymore time in the District than I have too. My curiosity is getting the best of me now, however, so I'll have to start checking some of those places out.
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Ken Layton
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1452
From: Olympia, Wash. USA
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 06-11-2000 12:04 PM
Here in Washinton state, alot of Grange halls, Elks Lodges, community centers, prisons, juvenile detention facilities, and schools (built before 1960) had projection booths in them.
Many of the rural grange halls were built in the 30's and were the only public meeting places for miles, so they were equipped for showing movies.
Here in Olympia these schools were equipped with projection booths:
Old Washington Junior High (35mm, built in 1922)
Garfield Elementary (35mm, built in 1922)
Lincoln Elementary (35mm, built in 1922)
Michael T. Simmons Elementary (35mm, built in 1938)
Roosevelt Elementary (16mm, built in 1948).
I also have a set of blueprints detailing the 35mm booth construction of Nathan Hale Junior High School 3594 East Blvd, Cleveland, Ohio. Also included with it was a letter (dated 1949) from Motiograph detailing the lubrication of the school's brand new (then) Motiograph AA 35mm projectors!I had a friend who about ten years ago got a Simplex Super from a local prison auction. It seems the prison had upgraded to an XL. Then about a year after that the prisoners rioted and destroyed the booth. So now they stay in their cells and watch video monitors.
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Stefan Scholz
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 223
From: Schoenberg, Germany
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 06-11-2000 01:21 PM
In a small town next to where I live now, called Molln (W-Germany) a state operated lung hospital used to have a projection facility above the main dining room. There was a small stage, which had a roller screen. Obviously the setupn was installed when the building was new in 1938, and used some very little known Bauer semi-portable Mazda lamp projectors, appearantly a type built for the Navy.
This remained in operation until the dining hall was "modernized", and brand new Kinotone FP 23 portables were bought in 1992.
They again bought 2000 ft projectors, as the equipment seller didn't tell them that there are larger reels allowed. So the government saved money, as they could re-use their existing 2000 ft house reels and 1938 flat lenses as well as the 1955 scopes.
The soundsystem also became modern, a railway station amplifier by Phillips and same type speakers, the federal railway system uses on their stations. Call it a rippoff... but the setup was never put into operation, as the architect simply forget to built a new projector room. After encountering that, the projectors were delivered, put in storage at the furnace room, until I got them about 5 years ago.
The now use videotape projection to entertain folks.
The first theatre I "owned" was situated on an army camp. You couldn't really say it was advertising for movies. They had 600 all wooden seats in 60 rows @ 10 seats per row, the screen was about 180 ft from the projection box. Picture size was a gigantic 9 ft wide, 6 ft high. Projection equipment was state of the art, at least when everything was built in 1935. Two Bauer Standard 5 with HI carbon arc, Dominar J pre war tube amplifier, Klangfilm field coil type speaker system with missing hf section.
The place was heated during summer, as the government people wanted to get rid of their stored fuel oil, and kept cold with a frost-watch in winters, as the winter might be colder than expected, and fuel oil use might then exeed scheduled use... There have been many 35 mm setups in hospitals, universitiews, military facilities, office buildings,prisons, as well as rich people used to have 35 mm (mainly Bauer - Klangfilm) setups in their private homes during the 60's. They mainly were no collectors, the perojectionist came every second week or so, bringing in a new film. This was pre video age, what other way than screening 35 mm did you have to see recent film?
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John Walsh
Film God
Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999
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posted 06-11-2000 11:00 PM
When I got to my junior high school in 1969, I wa in the AV club (Audio-Visual.) They were using a regular old B&H in our auditorium with those big tungsten bulbs (with the filiment that went up and down several times to light the aperture.) They would just place it in the back of the auditorium and turn the volume way up. I noticed there were port windows way up on the wall in the back.After watching people run one reel out, stopping to thread the next, I made a little switch box to do a c/o. It just switched 110VAC from one plug to another which I did when the reel ran out- I didn't even know about c/o marks! The first time I used it, I forgot that the tubes for the amplifier had to warm up, so there was no sound. But, about 2 months after that, we got the newer versions with transistor amps, so it worked OK. About a year later, I met a guy named Bill who had gone to my junior high school. He was about 10 years older than I. I told him about the B&H projectors and my switch. He said that was cool, but, "What happened to the two 16mm arc projectors?" I didn't even know what an arc projector was. He told me how they were brighter, etc. I got the AV teacher to let me in to that room in the back of the auditorium. It was a real booth, with fire shutters, projector and spotlight ports, a relay box for c/o's and a wire to the stage for a speaker. The room was jammed with books. In the corner, there they were; two RCA projectors. They had been smashed to shit. I asked if we could project the films from there, and was told no (on the spot) because the library dept. was storing books there, and did not want to give up the space. I thought that was a little strange, because this teacher didn't have anything to do with the library dept- how did she know? I then asked if I could fix the projectors, and the teacher said no because "... they are really dangerous." I said I had met a guy who used to use them; he can show me. The teacher then said there's no money to fix them. You know how the older you get, the more *aware* you are of things around you? Right then I knew that no matter what I said, she did not want to be bothered. It is a strange realization when you're a kid, and suddenly understanding "grown-up" concepts- like getting the brush-off. If I said I would pay for the parts, I bet she still would have said no. I quit the AV club about a week later.
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Randy Loy
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 156
Registered: Aug 1999
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posted 06-12-2000 06:55 AM
Christos brings up a good point about the open air cinemas of some of the warm climate countries, especially his country, Greece. It's been years since I saw the movie "Summer Lovers" but I seem to recall a scene where the guy and two girls are watching a film at an outdoor amphitheatre at night. A Three Stooges flick dubbed in Greek I think! I've been fascinated by the concept of outdoor walk-in theatres ever since.I seem to recall that Baltimore's "Little Italy" film festival was started last year after a local resident went to visit her family in Italy and saw folks watching films in the town square. Obviously people in the U.S. like watching films outdoor, the drive-in theatre was concieved here and at one time there were well over 4,000 in operation. Also, "airdomes," walk-in outdoor theatres were common in the heyday day of the movie palace, either in conjunction with a particular indoor theatre for shows during warm weather in the pre-air conditioning days or as a stand-alone business. I've often wondered why we don't see more permanent outdoor amphitheatres for cinema in this country. Not necessarily for first run product but possibly for classics or art films. Maybe they're out there but just not common in the part of the country I'm most familiar with. I guess it could be because of land values, the same issue challenging existing drive-ins in many areas of the country, but I've seen some public parks that would be ideal for regular outdoor film presentations. Come to think of it, I don't think there has been a park, campground or vacant piece of land that I HAVEN'T mentally sized-up for an outdoor screen and projection booth during the last ten years!
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, but Irem rectifier, brand new. Plain stereo sound system and..thats all. I did the complete installation with existing equipment (well I had to put the rectifier because the old one just can not give the amps required to illuminate the screen at 45 meters (sorry no feet here)). Maybe some pictures would be nice for the picture gallery of Film-Tech. 
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