1940's Projection Room at The Rex is Time Capsule
The Neighborly had a chance to tour the Projection Room at The Rex Theater in Galax. Virtually the same as it was in 1940, this little corner of Galax contained some gems of movie theater history. The Rex's new director, Ryan Hasler, has a background in film technology and he was able to describe in detail how the old technology worked and...
We created two short videos at the bottom of this article where you can watch Hasler describe the processes involved to show movies in the olden days.
And check out our article published here last week about the renovations happening at The Rex:
Staff
Have you ever wondered what the old projection booth looked like when you were at the movies? Maybe you're too young to recall the days when, watching a movie in the theater the film strip would appear to melt on the screen. Or do you remember having an intermission in the old theaters? Half way through the movie, the lights would go up so you could stretch your legs or buy treats from the concession booth. It gave the projectionist time to load the second reel for the movie.
The Rex Theater's projection room is almost the same as it was when it was built in 1940. Two large, carbon-arc projectors aim through the projection room's windows toward the movie screen on stage far below. The projectionist's chair is anchored right beside the projectors and he has a small window where he can get a good view of the movie and make adjustments to the film's lighting and speed as the film strip scrolls through the projectors.
Underneath the projection booth's only window is a film table where the projectionist splices together reels of film to produce a seamless movie. When movie studios shipped movies to theaters like The Rex a single movie would arrive on four small reels. The projection booth manager would then "paste" the filmstrip together, end-to-end, so the movie would be a full-length feature instead of something watched in four short parts.
The carbon arc projectors required a lot of care while a movie was playing. And the projectors were dangerous. Both film projectors at The Rex had chimneys so the heat from the burning carbon had a place to vent outdoors.
The Neighborly took two videos of the projection room at The Rex so that you could get a behind-the-scenes look at how we were able to see movies in theaters in the old days. To watch the videos below, scroll until you see a small white triangle in the left-hand corner of video each image. Tap the white triangle and the video will play on your screen.
Watch here to learn how the film table worked in a projection booth:
Watch here to learn how the carbon-arc projectors worked in The Rex theater when it opened in 1940.
Did you used to work in The Rex Theater long ago? Do you have old memories to share about your experience at The Rex? The Neighborly would love to hear your stories from those days. Reach out to us at hello@swvacountry.com
And one more funny piece of trivia. What if the projection booth manager had to use the bathroom during the middle of a movie? He couldn't leave the projection booth because it was a fire hazard. So... you guessed it. The facilities were built right into the room for those times when nature calls LOL
