Stan, I started as a doorman/usher at the age of 16 in 1992, and I was trained as a projectionist maybe a year or so later. I eventually became an assistant manager, but I didn’t particularly care for those duties. The booth was where I belonged, and I performed projectionist duties throughout my years there. The man who probably set up that booth in the beginning, Andy Nobles, was a longtime projectionist in Macon. At one time he ran one of the local drive-ins. I understand he was responsible for a lot of the “rigged” solutions that made the RC4 booth so unique. He had retired shortly before I was hired, but I did see him visit from time-to-time. I really don’t think he was the tidy type though. I’ve got some stories to support that, but I will save those for another post or e-mail. :)
Probably one of the reasons the booth looks orderly in my pictures is because I can’t stand being unable to find something when I need it. So, I worked at keeping things in their place. I also hated seeing pieces of cut film on the floor or trash lying around. It’s just a personality thing. Most of the people we had working up there did a good job of helping keep it that way too. Thanks for the compliment!
Although I was too young to remember RC4 in the days before it had four screens, I had heard that the fourth auditorium was an addition rather than a split. The evidence seemed to point to that as well. Here is a photo along with my thoughts:
In the above photo, the wall with the “Cinema” sign was the right wall of the #4 auditorium. Now look at the columns on the outside of the building that end approximately halfway up its length. If you were to look behind the curtains along the right side in #4, you would have seen the remaining columns, which extended to the front of the auditorium (end of the building). This indicates that at one time those columns had been visible on the outside. When #4 was added, an external wall was built around the columns, which were simply hidden behind curtains on the interior. This made for some fun after hours hide-and-seek games.
I suppose it is possible that some of #3 was chopped off to make room for #4, but the layout seemed to me more in line with it having been the original size all along. For one, the port window was centered in the back wall, and I didn’t notice any signs of a changed configuration in there. You can see this in the third link of my previous post.
I can say most certainly that the two auditoriums of the original twin were not identical. The one that was split was much deeper and would have been absolutely huge. Perhaps that is why they called #2 (the smaller one) “The Intimate Theatre.” Thanks for that bit of information. I had never heard of those two names for the auditoriums.
No, it was not a promotion. The balloon was from the local Cherry Blossom Festival. I believe it had gotten off course and was attempting to land in our parking lot out of necessity. I was not working the day it happened, but I did see the pictures. The manager decided to submit the incident to BoxOffice, and they printed it. I did a quick search at the BoxOffice web site, but I was unable to find it.
Nice find Mike. I don’t remember the year/month, but we once had a small write-up about Riverside Cinemas appear in BoxOffice Magazine. It was about a hot air balloon that got caught on one of the light poles in the parking lot.
Wow Stan. Great comments. I have some answers for you, but where do I start?
If you entered RC4 and faced the concession stand straight ahead, the two auditoriums on the left (1 and 2) were the ones created by the split down the center. From the booth you could see where the dividing wall met the glass port window, which was a wide single pane originally accommodating two projectors in a changeover arrangement. Take a look at these two photos and notice where the wall meets the glass.
On the opposite side of the lobby was auditorium #3, and its wide port window was still as it originally appeared. In the booth you could see where the 2nd projector (for changeover) was originally mounted. In this picture taken from the screen end of the auditorium, you can see the wide port window.
So basically, from the booth, the projectors for auditoriums 1 and 2 were located in nearly the same position they would have been in the changeover arrangement before the wall was built to separate them. Auditorium 3 wasn’t divided, but the 2nd projector was removed and I assume is the one used for auditorium 4.
Auditorium #4 was the tiny add on next to #3, and it had an odd shape. It was wider at the screen end and very narrow at the back. If I remember correctly, there was one row at the right rear with only 2 seats. There was also a ladder behind the curtain in the back of that auditorium that led up to the booth through a secret hatch. Anyway, this was obviously a “make do” kind of arrangement.
Concerning the platter systems, I had certainly experienced both brain wraps and slinging prints (the latter usually occurred toward the end of the movie when the remaining film was lighter). We learned to avoid those problems most of the time though. We actually had some suction cup guides we could use to brace the print if needed.
All the projectors were apparently reel-to-reel early on. On occasion I even used the bottom spindle to take up the print on those 6,000 foot reels instead of using the platters. This was only done in special circumstances though.
As for the Macon Mall Quad, none of the theatre’s auditoriums were divided. That theatre was torn completely down, and a new theatre, the Macon Mall 8, was built in its place with all new equipment. I never worked at the Quad, so I am not familiar with the manager you mentioned.
Thanks for checking out the web site. It was fun documenting the place I worked for my first job on up into my early 20’s. Many who worked there had an affection for the place.
Mike, I looked at the Drive-ins you added. Some I have heard of, others I have not. Unfortunately I came along too late in life to enjoy any of them, and the only thing I know about them is what I have heard second hand. Thanks for taking the time to document these theatres. Hopefully someday someone with personal memories of these places will come across their pages and post about them.
I worked at Riverside Cinemas from 1992 until it closed in 1997. For those interested in seeing it, I have a web page dedicated to RC4 here: http://www.tpldesign.com/rc4/
I once found a large set of blueprints under a counter in the projection booth at RC4. These blueprints were for one of the old Macon Drive-Ins, and I believe it was labeled as a Weis Cinemas property.
Back in 1998 I was working at a theatre in Macon, GA (also run by Regal Cinemas) as a projectionist. The district manager had my manager send me to the Delk Road 10 for several days because their projectionists had all either quit or were let go. I never heard the story behind that, but my job was to help run the projection room until others could get up to speed.
I haven’t been back since, but I did see online where the Delk theatre closed. The building is now used as an entertainment complex (as mentioned in previous comments) called “Jimmy’s Mad Mad Whirled.” Here is a link to the web site for the center: http://www.funzoneatlanta.com/
Note the photo of the building’s facade at the top of the home page.
Regal Cinemas actually operated RC4 at the time of its closing in October 1997.
Stan, I started as a doorman/usher at the age of 16 in 1992, and I was trained as a projectionist maybe a year or so later. I eventually became an assistant manager, but I didn’t particularly care for those duties. The booth was where I belonged, and I performed projectionist duties throughout my years there. The man who probably set up that booth in the beginning, Andy Nobles, was a longtime projectionist in Macon. At one time he ran one of the local drive-ins. I understand he was responsible for a lot of the “rigged” solutions that made the RC4 booth so unique. He had retired shortly before I was hired, but I did see him visit from time-to-time. I really don’t think he was the tidy type though. I’ve got some stories to support that, but I will save those for another post or e-mail. :)
Probably one of the reasons the booth looks orderly in my pictures is because I can’t stand being unable to find something when I need it. So, I worked at keeping things in their place. I also hated seeing pieces of cut film on the floor or trash lying around. It’s just a personality thing. Most of the people we had working up there did a good job of helping keep it that way too. Thanks for the compliment!
Although I was too young to remember RC4 in the days before it had four screens, I had heard that the fourth auditorium was an addition rather than a split. The evidence seemed to point to that as well. Here is a photo along with my thoughts:
http://www.tpldesign.com/rc4/photos/rc4-01.jpg
In the above photo, the wall with the “Cinema” sign was the right wall of the #4 auditorium. Now look at the columns on the outside of the building that end approximately halfway up its length. If you were to look behind the curtains along the right side in #4, you would have seen the remaining columns, which extended to the front of the auditorium (end of the building). This indicates that at one time those columns had been visible on the outside. When #4 was added, an external wall was built around the columns, which were simply hidden behind curtains on the interior. This made for some fun after hours hide-and-seek games.
I suppose it is possible that some of #3 was chopped off to make room for #4, but the layout seemed to me more in line with it having been the original size all along. For one, the port window was centered in the back wall, and I didn’t notice any signs of a changed configuration in there. You can see this in the third link of my previous post.
I can say most certainly that the two auditoriums of the original twin were not identical. The one that was split was much deeper and would have been absolutely huge. Perhaps that is why they called #2 (the smaller one) “The Intimate Theatre.” Thanks for that bit of information. I had never heard of those two names for the auditoriums.
I do not know Stan, but I have corresponded with him some here on CT. He seems to have visited a wide range of theatres in Georgia over the years.
No, it was not a promotion. The balloon was from the local Cherry Blossom Festival. I believe it had gotten off course and was attempting to land in our parking lot out of necessity. I was not working the day it happened, but I did see the pictures. The manager decided to submit the incident to BoxOffice, and they printed it. I did a quick search at the BoxOffice web site, but I was unable to find it.
Nice find Mike. I don’t remember the year/month, but we once had a small write-up about Riverside Cinemas appear in BoxOffice Magazine. It was about a hot air balloon that got caught on one of the light poles in the parking lot.
Wow Stan. Great comments. I have some answers for you, but where do I start?
If you entered RC4 and faced the concession stand straight ahead, the two auditoriums on the left (1 and 2) were the ones created by the split down the center. From the booth you could see where the dividing wall met the glass port window, which was a wide single pane originally accommodating two projectors in a changeover arrangement. Take a look at these two photos and notice where the wall meets the glass.
http://www.tpldesign.com/rc4/photos/rc4-11.jpg
View link
On the opposite side of the lobby was auditorium #3, and its wide port window was still as it originally appeared. In the booth you could see where the 2nd projector (for changeover) was originally mounted. In this picture taken from the screen end of the auditorium, you can see the wide port window.
http://www.tpldesign.com/rc4/photos/rc4-05.jpg
So basically, from the booth, the projectors for auditoriums 1 and 2 were located in nearly the same position they would have been in the changeover arrangement before the wall was built to separate them. Auditorium 3 wasn’t divided, but the 2nd projector was removed and I assume is the one used for auditorium 4.
Auditorium #4 was the tiny add on next to #3, and it had an odd shape. It was wider at the screen end and very narrow at the back. If I remember correctly, there was one row at the right rear with only 2 seats. There was also a ladder behind the curtain in the back of that auditorium that led up to the booth through a secret hatch. Anyway, this was obviously a “make do” kind of arrangement.
Concerning the platter systems, I had certainly experienced both brain wraps and slinging prints (the latter usually occurred toward the end of the movie when the remaining film was lighter). We learned to avoid those problems most of the time though. We actually had some suction cup guides we could use to brace the print if needed.
All the projectors were apparently reel-to-reel early on. On occasion I even used the bottom spindle to take up the print on those 6,000 foot reels instead of using the platters. This was only done in special circumstances though.
As for the Macon Mall Quad, none of the theatre’s auditoriums were divided. That theatre was torn completely down, and a new theatre, the Macon Mall 8, was built in its place with all new equipment. I never worked at the Quad, so I am not familiar with the manager you mentioned.
Thanks for checking out the web site. It was fun documenting the place I worked for my first job on up into my early 20’s. Many who worked there had an affection for the place.
Mike, I looked at the Drive-ins you added. Some I have heard of, others I have not. Unfortunately I came along too late in life to enjoy any of them, and the only thing I know about them is what I have heard second hand. Thanks for taking the time to document these theatres. Hopefully someday someone with personal memories of these places will come across their pages and post about them.
I worked at Riverside Cinemas from 1992 until it closed in 1997. For those interested in seeing it, I have a web page dedicated to RC4 here: http://www.tpldesign.com/rc4/
I once found a large set of blueprints under a counter in the projection booth at RC4. These blueprints were for one of the old Macon Drive-Ins, and I believe it was labeled as a Weis Cinemas property.
Back in 1998 I was working at a theatre in Macon, GA (also run by Regal Cinemas) as a projectionist. The district manager had my manager send me to the Delk Road 10 for several days because their projectionists had all either quit or were let go. I never heard the story behind that, but my job was to help run the projection room until others could get up to speed.
I haven’t been back since, but I did see online where the Delk theatre closed. The building is now used as an entertainment complex (as mentioned in previous comments) called “Jimmy’s Mad Mad Whirled.” Here is a link to the web site for the center: http://www.funzoneatlanta.com/
Note the photo of the building’s facade at the top of the home page.