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Topic: Remnants of a building's theater days.

Peter Lewis
Film Handler

Posts: 3
From: Bozeman, Montana, USA
Registered: Oct 2012

posted 12-06-2012 08:06 PM

Hi all, I'm new here. I'm volunteering at a theater here in town. It was owned and operated by Carmike up until 2005 when they closed it. Sadly, they did a horrific job of removing the equipment. Even worse is that the next owners pretty much destroyed the place. There are, however, some interesting relics. We're trying to turn it into a live music venue with the option of playing movies, but there's no way this stuff will ever be used again.

I have a couple of photos that you may find interesting, such as the old Xenon generator, one of the original panelboards, the Simplex XL sound cabinet, an Ashcroft lamp house, and some other odds and ends. I don't think they're worth submitting as a photo tour, but I don't want to break the rules by posting photos without needing tech help. Thoughts?

I'm a total noob here, but I find it fascinating. I don't think this theater will run film again, but I hope at some point to be able to learn the trade.

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Dominic Espinosa
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1172
From: California, U.S.A.
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 12-17-2012 03:16 PM

Shoot 'em along anyway...If they're worthy the film-gods will put them forth for all the world to see.
We love nostalgia here.

Welcome to the forums!

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 12-18-2012 03:20 PM

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be...

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Mitchell Dvoskin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1869
From: West Milford, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 12-18-2012 03:50 PM

If you are referring to the Ellen Theatre, CinemaTreasures has some exterior photos.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 01-05-2013 11:48 PM

Bozeman, MT .. home base for Theatre Operators INC (TOI) in the early 1980's. The ELLEN was one of the flagship theatres of this now defunct company.

TOI got soaked up by Silverman and Spiegel's "Excellence Theatres - the old ESSANESS circuit - in 1988, in which CARMIKE took over receivership of Excellence in 1991 and total operation.

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Peter Lewis
Film Handler

Posts: 3
From: Bozeman, Montana, USA
Registered: Oct 2012

posted 04-15-2013 03:52 PM

Hello again, sorry for the delay. I've been very busy with school. I'm actually referring to the Rialto, which is across the street from the Ellen. I thought I had pictures of the lamphouse and the sound equipment, but I guess I'll just have to take some when I'm there later this week.

Anyway, here are some photos of the original switchboard (which was live up until late last year [Eek!]

) and the original motor rectifier. I'd love to fire that sucker up again- there aren't any videos of them on youtube and I'd love to hear how it sounds. It's a 5 hp Transverter.

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Rex Oliver
Film Handler

Posts: 65
From: Greenville, NC. USA
Registered: Apr 2013

posted 04-16-2013 01:52 AM

Motor-gen power supply:
There were some just like that in a gov't building in Wash Dc where I used to work.The motorgen sets and 2Brenkart 35MM projects along with 2 RCA 16MM ones were in a storage room in the basement of the building.And there were two racks holding RCA power amps with 4 6L6 tubes in their output stages.At this point don't know what happened to these things.They used to be in the Cohen Building auditorium.Older employees in the building say those itmes were used to show training films for WW2.I would also like to see those MG power supplies work.The motor was 220/440V in,and the gen was something like 24VDC out.
I would love to have those RCA amps-they were in really nice condition.The tubes used as I vageuly remember-been several years since I encountered those.-6J7,2 6SN7,and 4 6L6,2 5U4G.The auditorium had 2 sets of Altec lansing VOTT speaker systems-you could access the back of them via doors in a narrow hallway behind the auditorium.The were driven by Altec solid state amps-can't remember the mod#'s I connected the projection rooms Altec console into the broadcast facilities master control--You could go on air from the projection room!

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 04-16-2013 02:15 AM

That old knifeboard backstage looks like it controlled the stage lighting, outlets and accessories.

The bottom, three knife switch-three blades per each phase coming into the building from the main panel and loaded with 250A fuses, controlled the entire board. The Board itself was made from pure slate making it extremely heavy and highly insulated material

The "Genny" was controlled up in the booth with it's own 3phase contactor switch and ballast panel where the DC cables from the ballast panel headed to the lamphouses.

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