303 Wonders

The first prefabricated theater in the U.S., designed to do practically every thing for the patron except pay for his ticket, was opened at Long Beach, Calif, last week. Built by National Theatres Corp.'s president Charles Skouras, it is constructed of steel, gypsum and Fiberglas sections and seats 1,164 people. Said a brochure handed out to first-nighters: "The instinct of self-preservation is one of the strongest in mankind. No audience can fully relax unless it is assured nothing in the way of accident, fire or earthquake can mar its entertainment." To give this assurance the theater featured "303 wonders," including a 38-ft., air-conditiofred davenport in the lounge, germicidal lamps to kill airborne bacteria, a vacuum shoe cleaner, an electric device which flashes a signal to ushers as a patron approaches the seating sections, music in the rest rooms.

Cost of construction is Charlie Skouras' secret (Hollywood guessed about $500,000). But Skouras estimated that the cost was less than a standard-built movie house of the same seating capacity and that his prefabricated theater on a production basis would cost only about $200,000. When materials become available, Skouras plans to build and ship prefabricated theaters to buyers any place in the world.

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