Page 36 - CinemaRecord #79

Cinemas 1 and 2 were located on the upper
level via what was optimistically described
as a “grand staircase”. Originally there was a
separate box office area, candy bar, toilets and
Manager’s office on the ground floor, with an
additional candy bar and toilets on the upper
level.
Typical of the time, there were three distinct
cashier stations, one for each screen, with
film, session and price details on the rear wall
behind each station. This area was located
close to the front doors with foyers spacious
enough to hold reasonable numbers of patrons
in queues before the inevitable snaking out
onto the street at peak times.

The three auditoriums were finished
individually, though there were some features
common to all. Cinemas 1 and 2 both had
“stepped” seating allowing for unobstructed
views of the screen. Cinema 3 had a “raked”
floor, theoretically allowing for unobstructed
Original box-office and modern light feature at opening.
views, but in reality much inferior to the results
in the other houses.
Cinemas 1 and 2 had red and mustard brown
wall drapes respectively, which continued to
the screen drapes. Cinema 3 had the unusual
effect of exposed patterned brickwork and
red screen curtains. Black vinyl seating with
timber armrests was typical of the period and
for its time was satisfactory, if uninspiring. All
auditoriums were carpeted throughout in the
same carpet pattern as the foyers.

The complex was constructed, as was common
then, with a separate projection room for each
of the screens, though the rooms for Cinemas
1 and 2 were connected. Each of the three
screens was equipped with two Cinemeccanica
Victoria-8 35mm projectors, using 6,000 foot
spools.

On opening, three Projectionists were rostered
on each shift. In fairly quick time this was
reduced to one operator on each level, then
Cinema One with rich red coloured curtaining.
to one for the complex, by which time platter
systems had been installed.
One of the original projectors, taken out of
service, can now be seen displayed in the
ground floor foyer.
Product at the Towers was mainly from
Greater Union’s then traditional sources of
CIC (Paramount/Universal) Roadshow and
BEF films. Newcastle at the time had a similar
tied-house system that operated in the capital
cities whereby the films of each distributor
were tied to a particular cinema or group of
cinemas.

Cinema One in 1999. Cinemecannica Projection.

36 2013 CINEM AREC ORD