Boxoffice-April.07.1958

APRIL 7, 1958
o n t n t
MOMRN
TEBATRB
DRIVE-IN
PLAYGROUNDS:
Emphasis Is on Playground 6
Midget Cars a Draw for Older Children, Too 10
New Twin-Screen for San Diego 15
Keeping the Rolling Stock in Top-Notch Condition 17
Drive-in Play Equipment Can Be Installed for a Small Investment... 19
Tips on Playground Management 20
Appeal of Kiddyland Rides Vories With Child's Age 21
GENERAL ARTICLES:
Want to Hit Sales Jackpot? 23
Sputnik Buttons Orbit Sales of Drinks to New Heights 30
"Hold That Price Line," Say Concessionaires 32
An Inefficient Popcorn Machine Costs You Up to $25
Per 100 lbs. of Raw Corn Ed Cbrisman 36
"Two-for-the-Price-of-One" Offer Gets Patrons on Run
for Concessions Stand 39
Efficient Equipment Lineup Makes Possible Fast Service
by Only Three Attendants 40
Projectors Are Designed for All New Arc Lamps 51
Five Most Common Troublemakers In
Sound Due to
Simple Causes and Easily Corrected Wesley Trout 42
DEPARTMENTS:
Refreshment Service 23 About People and Product 54
Projection and Sound 42 Literature 54
., r ,.
Readers Service Bureau at 39
New Equipment
and Developments 52 Advertisers' Index at 39
ON THE COVER
One of the intricate play devices installed in the circus playground
of Loew's new Sharpstown Open-Air Theatre. Houston, is
the hobby horse swing set. made by Miracle Equipment Co. All
standards are candy-striped in red and white and the entire area
is enclosed with chain link fencing. Benches are provided for
parents.
IHE PLAYGROUND has become
basic in good drive-in theatre operation,
its virtues in building boxolfice
and increasing concessions sales being
well-established. Even a small drivein
can provide simple play equipment
lor a few hundred dollars, but it is
interesting to note that, with the growth
oi
the larger situations of 2,000 cars or
more, playgrounds are also increasing
in size and treated to imaginative
touches that transform them into a
child's fairyland of delight.
A case in point is the ten and onehalf
acre park and amusement area, in
36-acre Loew's Sharpstown Open-
the
Air Theatre in Houston, which is
featured on the following pages. One
of the most appealing rides is the big,
four-car and engine miniature train
ride over 1,650 feet of track encircling
the amusement area. Trains are considered
by most exhibitors to be far
the most popular attractions in any
playground setup, but this is a super
train ride through a long tunnel, the
center of which is illuminated by a
tripping device to show three animated
elves working in the Elves' Secret
Diamond Mine, for an added kiddie
thrill.
And that is not all. The train passes
by eleven fairy tale houses erected
along its route, recreating the joys of
old tales such as Humpty-Dumpty, Jack
and the Beanstalk and the Three Little
Pigs.
There is more—a carousel, a circus
playground for small children and a
zoo, with a big, black bear as its star
occupant.
The extra, fanciful touches employed
at the Sharpstown suggest improvements
other exhibitors can make to
their present playgrounds to create a
more colorful, exciting atmosphere.
1. L. THATCHER, Monoging Editor
The MODERN THEATRE Section of BOXOFFICE is included in the first issue of each month.
Editorial or general business correspondence snould be addressed to Associated Publications,
825 Van Brunt Blvd., Konsas City 24, Mo. Eastern Reoresentative: Carl Mos, 45 Rockefeller
Plaza, New York 20, N. Y.; Central Representative: Ewmg Hutchison Orgonization,
35 Eost Wocker Drive, Chicogo 1, III.; Western Representative: Bob Wettstein & Associates,
672 South Lofoyette Park Place, Los Angeles 5, Colif.