Boxoffice-January.07.1950

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PROTECTING THE
FROM HIMSELF
by GEORGE J. BEVANS
Architectural Engineer
PATRON
OMAN EMERGENCY
ELECTRIC PLANT
You are protected against power interruption or
restrictions on your use of electricity with an
Onan Standby Plant. In case of power failure the
Onan Plant takes over the entire power load
within seconds automatically, and the show goes
on. When power use is curtailed, just switch to
your Onan Plant for all the current you need.
Low in cost, simple to install. Ruggedly built
and dependable. 1,000 to 35,000 watts A.C.
D. W. ONAN & SONS INC.
AT ROTECTION OF THEATRE patrOnS
against fire and panic is requii-ed by law,
but protecting them from themselves is a
daily hazard of theatre operation that only
the owners themselves can minimize.
This hazard of falls and other types of
bodily injui-y keeps public liability insurance
rates at high levels and adds to the
cost of theatre overhead.
No figures exist, but it is doubtful if
there are very many theatre owners in the
countiT who at some time or other have
not had claims presented for torn clothing,
pinched fingers, sprained ankles or
more serious mishaps.
Although it is not generally recognized,
about one person in 11 is what medical experts
call "accident-prone," meaning that
this one pei-son is more likely to suffer injury
than the other ten.
"If there isn't an accident around, these
accident-susceptible people will go out
looking for one," it was recently stated by
Dr. A. L. Chapman, medical director of
the division of chronic disease of the
United States public health service.
"Ten normal people will walk up a flight
of steps," he said. "The eleventh, an accident-prone
individual, will trip and perhaps
break his arm. Why? We dont
know. We ought to find out."
This of course does not mean that one
out of evei-y 11 persons entering a theatre
is going to suffer an accident, but many
do every year, and it emphasizes that a
theatre should be made as safe as possible.
Next to motor vehicles, falls account for
more accidental deaths in America each
year than any other cause.
Taking cognizance of this fact, the National
Bureau of Standards has conducted
exhaustive tests with various types of
floors. "In making these tests they were
forced to balance the fact that the slipperiness
of any surface is important to the
physical well-being of those who walk on
it, that rough surfaces are difficult to maintain
and are thus not desirable from the
standpoint of theatre owners."
Following the tests, the Bureau came
up with the finding that asphalt tile is
generally the safest material underfoot of
the more commonly-used smooth-surfaced
flooring materials, provided it is not given
a high-gloss coating of wax.
A loibber heel is the safest on any type
of floor, the Bureau said, but with either
rubber or leather heels a person is less
prone to slip on asphalt tile than on any
other smooth flooring. These conditions
exist in most cases whether the floor is
wet or dry, clean or dirty.
The safety factor is one of the reasons
that architects today are specifying asphalt
tile for new theatres and for houses undergoing
modernization. Other factors cited
by architects are the low installation and
maintenance costs of asphalt tile, its imlimited
range in color and design, and such
wear-resistance that asphalt tile has withstood
the foot traffic of more than 20,000,-
000 persons without showing any discernible
loss in thickness.
STAIRWAY
PROTECTION
Flooring that is safe underfoot is only
part of the protection that should be pro-
itzer Brothers, leaders in technical
and engineering research in the
black light and luminous display fields,
offer a complete line of fluorescent
paints, lighting units and other products
to enhance the beauty of your theater.
34
Write today for a GLO-CRAFT port-
^tt^' folio of suggestions on dramatic black
light
effects
theater decoration.
;i3ffiyiii!M{i5.iii.
Wl St Clair Aviniii • Clevelanil 3, Ohio
T/ie First ^ame in Fluorescence"
Be Sure to See Before You Buy Ar^y Screen
WILLIAMS SCREEN CO.
1679 Summit Lake Blvd. Akron 7, Ohio
postage-paid card oi page 39 to respond to this ad, key number 34-C.
The MODERN THEATRE SECTION