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Topic: A 1997 picture visit to Radio City Music Hall

Thomas Hauerslev
Master Film Handler

Posts: 451
From: Copenhagen, Denmark
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 03-05-2001 02:53 AM

In 1997 I visited Radio City Music Hall in New York. Robert Endres, the chief projectionist at that time, gave Dennis Furbush and I the full two hour tour. A stunning afternoon. I took some pictures, again on KODAK’s 35mm 200 ASA film and later convinced Bob to write a brief history of the Hall’s 70mm presentations for ..in 70mm – The 70mm Newsletter.

I have uploaded the article at http://hjem.get2net.dk/in70mm/magazine/backissues/1999/58/rcmh/radio_city.htm

-, as well as 100+ other back-issue articles. Please find more details here: http://hjem.get2net.dk/in70mm/magazine/diverse/backissues.htm

Not all of them contain pictures yet, but it will come.

All the best
..in 70mm – The 70mm Newsletter
Thomas

Scott Norwood
Film God

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

posted 03-05-2001 11:03 AM

Nice pictures! It's too bad that RCMH doesn't show much film anymore...I'm sure it would be a great venue.

In case anyone cares, the Williamsburg Theatre (pics in the film-tech gallery) where I used to work opened a couple of weeks later (Jan. 12, 1933) than RCMH and was conceived by John Rockefeller as sort of a small-town version of RCMH. It was supposed to be his "vacation home" theatre, when he was away from NYC to supervise the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. I believe that both were originally RKO theatres.

Interesting side note: Rockefeller also built a a theatre at the Eastern State asylum in Williamsburg, apparently because he didn't want the mental patients to be going to _his_ theatre... (The Eastern State theatre was apparently a couple of portable 35mm machines in the library there...it was supposedly dismantled about 10 years ago.)

Ari Nordström
Master Film Handler

Posts: 283
From: Göteborg, Sweden
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 03-07-2001 02:42 PM

Very nice pics. I've got to see it myself, sooner or later.

Does anyone have the physical dimensions of the auditorium, screen, and so on? I can see that the place is HUGE, but just how much is that, in this case?

John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 03-07-2001 10:58 PM

On the main (orchestra) floor in the seating area, it's about 135 feet long (from the front of the stage to the rear of the auditourium.) The orchestra floor area is sort of "lima-bean" shaped, but at it's widest, it's 175 feet wide. The distance from the orchestra floor to the ceiling is 70 feet.

One bad thing about seeing a film there is; there's an echo. They did a great job during the restoration (and correcting any audio problems) but it's just so damn big.

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