Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Old GCC Theatres --- what's with the window?

This is topic Old GCC Theatres --- what's with the window? in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 06-27-2000, 02:35 AM:

Why does every old GCC Theatre have a window overlooking the lobby??

It absolutely irks me that theatre chains once went across the land, plopping down IDENTICAL theatres.

Where does that GCC Window lead?!?!?! Most GCC Manager's I've ever spoken to won't let me through the door without a ticket.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-27-2000, 07:19 AM:

That's so the manager can hide-out until the crowd dies down.

Seriously, the best one-way security window I've ever seen was in a little independent in KY. On the lobby side, it was one sprocket hole in a big mural of a film strip.

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Better Projection Pays!

Posted by Dave Cutler (Member # 515) on 06-27-2000, 09:15 AM:

Scott said...

"It absolutely irks me that theatre chains once went across the land, plopping down IDENTICAL theatres."

Once? Don't many still do this. At least every new AMC that I have been in is the same basic design. 4 large houses circling a main lobby with two giant wings each with 8 - 13 screens each.

Where's the originality people. I love older theatres that have character, I wish they made more that way these days.

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Dave Cutler

"Do or do not, there is no try."

Posted by Art Averett (Member # 367) on 06-27-2000, 09:38 AM:

It is the manager's office. They can hide out in case there's trouble/unruly crowds, and call the police.

"At midnight when the moon is full, I turn into a wolf. Yea, you and a thousand other guys!"

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 06-27-2000, 12:56 PM:

I thought about the AMC similarities, but at least they all have a little bit of a different theme.

I enjoy finding out which OLD theatres are identical to each other. I know of THREE in my area that are the same design, but different scales.

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Scott D. Neff
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www.cinema-west.com

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-27-2000, 10:07 PM:

Hi Art!

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Better Projection Pays!

Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 06-28-2000, 02:34 PM:

When Art wrote;
"They can hide out in case there's trouble/unruly crowds, and call the police."

That reminds me of a story... A friend of mine was the manager at a large 'classic' theater in New Jersey. They video-projected a heavyweight fight there sometime in the late 1970's. It was pretty much sold out.

Anyway, the TV projector broke in the middle of the fight, and the people rioted. The crowd chased him and two other staff members to the office, where he was able to barricade themselves in with a filing cabinet. Through a small peep-hole on the door, he watched them totally destroy the lobby, boxoffice and candystand. For some reason, they didn't go for the booth.

He called the cops, but they told him there were 60 to 100 rioting people outside, and there was no way anyone could get to him- he was probably safer where he was.

After about an hour, they were rescued.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 04-07-2002, 12:04 PM:

In memory of the dearly departed General Cinema, let's bring this thread up to the top.

Scott D: Are any of these old GCCs now AMC?

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 04-07-2002, 12:30 PM:

Many Regal designs also have a window overlooking the lobby from the manager office, but I know some designs that do not.

Regarding identical theaters, I know two Regal theaters that were Cobb designs that have nearly identical lobbys, but the hallways are slightly different. And I know two Regal designs that are identical except one is a 16-plex, the other is 18. Other than that, I don't know of any identical designs. Regal uses many of the same features in most of its theaters (depending on what vintage the design is), but the designs are usually pretty different from one another.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-07-2002, 03:42 PM:

It's just a litle ol' spy hole...

A lot of theatres have them. They often look out from the manager's officce. That way (s)he can sit in his office and see how buisiness is going.... or look out and see which employees are loafing... OR... in case of trouble, he can see what's going on from the safety of the office and call the cops. They are made of one-way glass, not just for "stealth" reasons but simply for privacy. How would you like to be sitting in your office in front of a window so that the whole world can see what you're doing? It'd be like working in a fish bowl.

Just about every Cinemark theatre I worked in had a spy hole in the lobby somewhere.

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 04-07-2002, 10:37 PM:

For some reason, the windows Regal uses aren't very "one-way" even though I think they're suppsed to be. You can easily look into the office, which is why we have blines. We never really used the window at my last theater.

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This one time, at Projection Camp, I stuck a xenon bulb....

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 04-07-2002, 10:43 PM:

All the GCC's around Northern California are gone... so they will never have good ole' Strip flying on their screens.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-07-2002, 10:44 PM:

How would you like to be sitting in your office in front of a window so that the whole world can see what you're doing? It'd be like working in a fish bowl."

Many older Loews theaters had a kiosk in the middle of the lobby and that was the manager's office. That would drive me insane trying to do my work and having customers come up asking constant questions that any staff member could easily answer.

This really needs to be in to Ground Level as this is a non-projection nor technical discussion.

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 04-07-2002, 10:47 PM:

I was wonderin what I was thinkin posting this in the Film-Handlers forum so long ago.... oh well.

Edwards Cinemas has a lot of theatres with a desk in the lobby for the managers to work at, and then a separate money room to work at. I too thank my stars every day I was never a manager who had to sit in the middle of the lobby and do paperwork.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 04-08-2002, 02:45 PM:

Brad,

All new Loews theatres have a kiosk in the lobby that serves as the managers office. (there is a seperate count room) It is thier philosophy. It does get evry annoying trying to get any work done. Also people dont think youre the manager they think youre just a customer service rep or something.

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--Sean McKinnon
Manager
Loews Cineplex Entertainment
Liberty Tree Mall 20
Danvers, Mass
www.enjoytheshow.com

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-08-2002, 03:31 PM:

Some of the newer GCC theatres have the lobby "fishbowl" type manager's office, though it's really just a customer service area and the "real" manager's office is usually in the upstairs/booth area. At least this is true in the Burlington and Framingham (MA) theatres (where you can now see AMC's "Splice"...err..."Clip" mascot...).

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 04-08-2002, 04:34 PM:

Some of the older Cobb theaters have a Customer Service desk with a small office/count room behind them. These CS areas are so huge that they usually do serve as an office area for the managers. At the last theater I worked at, we had the same setup, but the Customer Service desk was too small to really do any work at, so we had to use the office. I can see the advantages of each. Using it as an office, there is always a mager on the floor to take care of any customers. But, as some have mentioned, I see how it could get annoying to work at. At least you could go to the other office if you wanted to.