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.
 

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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Bob Throop
 

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?
 

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.
 

The projection "room" was nothing more than a tent with the end flap open on one side. Sound was over a PA system,and an elaborate screen was setup in their ampatheater.

--Chris
 

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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Better Projection Pays!
 

It is a very marvelous place to watch your favorite Dracula movie at night.
 

Gotta admit though, those Italians know how to live....
 

King Khalid Air Base in Saudi Arabia had a 'theatre' that by the time I was there had become a game room and video check-out center, the booth loaded with a bunch of garbage, but all the portholes were intact...

Aaron

 

I have some more photos of the Palace from Lloyd Alberga, some show the renovation when silent-era bandstands were removed & a wider screen screen was being installed (but I haven't gotten around to putting them up).

Permanent outdoor theaters seem to have been popular in the US also during WWII at military bases in temperate locations; they were building mongo 5,000 seat "houses" & larger!

After the war, many of these military bases were broken up & sold for private use, & many regional movie exhibition companies got their start buying & opening for public use smaller outdoor & larger indoor theater in quonsett huts, etc.

In the silent days, temporary outdoor installations in the spring, summer & fall were very, very common. If you go to your local library & pull up a paper from about 1927, somewhere in there you're very likely to find "the city's summer outdoor movies in (whatever) park which have been such a success will continue with movies again this year..."

It wouldn't have been hard to haul it all outside in the silent days. There are references to this being done all over, but never note of music, & I haven't been able to find any hard records of the setups or folks involved. They could easily have been completely silent, or somebody could have hauled an old upright out; but it's fun to think of silent showings in shady parks or breezy beaches with small orchestras sawing away in the night.

He said there was a big move 15 years ago from 16mm to video tape. Although, the NMPS does run everything from a 'real' Dolby equipped theater, to a little portable and a stretched-out sheet.

He said an interesting thing: the Navy actually keeps tabs on what films the crew like to see. On one submarine, the crew always wanted to see films like; "Crimson Tide and "The Caine Mutiny," (both about mutiny onboard navy ships.) After talking to the sailors for several months, the crew sort of admitted that the captain wasn't treating them very well, but they didn't want to say anything. So, they eventually replaced the captian.