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166
RECORD AND GUIDE
July 26, 1913
^ PICTURE THEATRES MUST BE MADE SAFE
New Construction Rules in Effect August 8th—Two
Means of Exit and Possibly Three—Inspectors to be
Appointed—Gallery Stairs Must Not Lead to Main Floor.
Mmmswaif^tmMmi*-'
THE MORGAN BUILDING.
ANEW ordinance in relation to
motion picture theatres will go into
effect on .\ugust 8. The Board of Alder¬
men and the Mayor were a long time
in coming to an agreement as to the
nature of the regulations that should
be framed to control what has become
a considerable department of construc¬
tion, but the bill as |inally approved was
substantially as when first introduced.
Doubting the wisdom of permitting
galleries in very small buildings, the
Aldermen were for a long time divided
on the question of the minimum width
of building in which a gallery should
be permitted. The ordinance as enacted
provides that, while a gallery may be
built in a theatre erected on a lot not
less than twenty feet wide, the capacity
of the gallery shall be limited to not
more than twenty-five per cent, of the
total seating capacity of the theatre.
Stairs and Galleries.
Entrance to an exit from the gallery
shall in no case lead to the main floor
of the theatre, and there can be no cir¬
cular or winding staircase. That is to
say, the stairs to the gallery must be
placed in a lobby, or in a hall, or in an
exterior court. The ordinance does not
say where they can be fixed, only they
must not lead down to the main floor of
the theatre.
The total width of the stairs shall not
be less than eight feet in the clear where
the gallery accommodates 150 people.
For every 50 people less than ISO the
width of the stairs may be reduced by
one foot. The stairs must be con¬
structed of fireproof material, and both
the material and the bearing capacity
must be such as to receive the approval
of the Superintendent of Buildings. A
gallery must have at least one line of
fire-escape leading to an open court or
to a fireproof passage or directly to the
street.
Definition.
A motion picture theatre is deemed to
be any public hall or room in which
motion pictures are exhibited, where
the seating capacity does not exceed six
hundred and where there is no stage or
scenery. Anything more than this makes
it a regular playhouse, and subject to
the theatre ordinance.
The Mayor is authorized under the
law to appoint a body of men to be
known as Motion Picture Theatre In¬
spectors, who are to be paid such com¬
pensation as is to be fixed by the Board
of Aldermen on the recommendation of
the Board of Estimate.
What the Plans Must Show.
.\pplicants for motion picture theatre
licenses must file plans and specifications
with the Superintendent of Buildings
and a copy thereof when approved by
the Superintendent of Buildings with
the Bureau of Licenses with an Supplica¬
tion for a license. It will be the duty
of the bureau inspectors to pass upon
the suitability of the location selected
and the character of the applicant. The
License Bureau will also request the
Fire Department, the Bureau of Build¬
ings, the Department of Water Supply,
Gas and Electricity and the Department
of Health to inspect the theatre and
make reports. Six series of inspections
are thus provided for, and no license can
be issued until the provisions of the ordi¬
nance is complied with.
The plans must show clearly and fully
the location and width of all exits, pas¬
sageways, stairways, fire-escapes and
aisles, the arrangement of seats, the size
of floor beams, wall supports, etc., the
location and construction of the en¬
closure for the motion picture light and
machinery, a diagram of the lot or plot
showing outlets from all exits, and such
other information as may be required.
Prohibition.
Motion picture theatres will not be
permitted in frame buildings nor in
hotels, tenement houses or in factories
and workshops except where the theatre
is separated from the rest of the build¬
ing by unpierced fireproof walls; and
in no case may they be operated above
or below the ground floor.
Exits.
There must be two separate exits, and
where the main floor accommodates
more than three hundred people there
must be three exits. No exit may be
less than five feet in width and the main
exit not less than ten feet in total width.
In all such buildings hereafter erected
or altered, if unobstructed exit to a
street cannot be provided, either an open
court, fireproof passage or corridor must
be provided instead, to extend from the
rear exit to the street front.
Walls.
If the walls of the auditorium contain
wood studs, they must be covered with
expanded metal lath or wire mesh, and
then receive three coats of plaster; the
ceilings must be treated in the same
way, and if there is a basement, the
ceiling under the auditorium floor must
be lathed and plastered also as described.
The ordinance contains full instruc¬
tions for the safe construction of booths.
Chairs must be firmly secured to the
floor and placed not less than thirty-two
inches from back to back. Separate
toilets and auxiliary fire apparatus must
be provided. The lighting, heating and
ventilation of the buildings are provided
for in several sections. There must be
one thousand cubic feet of air space for
each person or artificial ventilation will
be necessary. The air must be kept in
motion by means of fans. The ordinance
also provides for the regular cleaning of
the theatre.
Existing Places Affected.
.•\11 the provisions of the ordinance
will apply to existing places of amuse¬
ment where motion pictures are ex¬
hibited in case the seating capacity be
increased. Otherwise existing places
will have to observe only the regula¬
tions for the construction of booths,
width of aisles, position of chairs, floor
loads, lighting, heating and ventilation
and regular cleansing. Places giving
other forms of entertainment besides
motion pictures must comply with the
regular theatre section of the Building
Code, no matter what their seating
capacity may be, large or small. Tne
ordinance does not applj- to picture ex¬
hibitions under the direct management
of educational institutions or in private
residences.
Progress on the Foundations—Main
Ccdssons Now Being Constructed.
The past month has witnessed the re¬
moval of the last vestige of a well known
landmark of New York City's financial
district—the Drexel Building. This
l>uilding, for so many years the home of
thc lianking firm of J. P. Morgan & Co.,
has given way to what will be the finest
banking structure in the city. Situated
nil the principal corner of downtown
New York—Broad and Wall streets—
opposite the United States Sub-Treas¬
ury and diagonally opposite the new
Bankers' Trust Company Building, the
new structure will make an important
addition to the already imposing group
of buildings in the neighborhood.
In keeping with the precedent estab¬
lished by many other banking institu¬
tions, the building will be about four
stories in height, although the founda¬
tions will be founded on rock and capa¬
ble of supporting a greater load than
will be put upon them. Work on these
foundations has already been begun by
The Foundation Company, 115 Broad¬
way, contractors; in fact, the Mills
Building, which adjoins the site on two
sides, was underpinned during the
wrecking of the old building.
Underpinning the Mills Building.
The underpinning of the Mills Build¬
ing, which is eleven stories high, and
exceedingly heavy, was accomplished by ,
the use of nineteen pneumatic cylinders.
These shoring cylinders were made of
cast-iron in sections about four feet
long each. Niches having been previous¬
ly cut in the walls which were to be un¬
derpinned, these sections were inserted
therein and jacked down one on top of
another. During the jacking-down pro¬
cess the material was excavated from
within the cylinders, compressed air ex-
eluding the water. Considerable diffi¬
culty was encountered in the form of old
piling, which had to be cut away.
.\n unusual feature made use of by
The Foundation Company to increase
the carrying capacity of each cylinder,
consists in spreading out the base by the
use of an I-beam grillage. The cast-iron
shell of the cylinder was wedged tight
against these beams so that not only the
crushing strength of the concrete filling
was utilized but the iron shell as well.
When the weight of the Mills Building
is known to be forty tons per lineal feet,
the wisdom in spreading the bases of
tlie underpinning cylinders is apparent.
.\ll the cylinders rest in rock about
sixty-five feet below Wall street water
level at this point being 17 feet below
curb.
The main caissons for the support of
the building are now being constructed
and average in plan about 7x28 feet.
These caissons will be placed end-to-end
entirely surrounding the lot. They will
be carried to bedrock about sixty-five
feet below Wall street, and the adjoining
ends keyed together. The center of the
lot will then be excavated about fifty-five
feet below the street, forming a water¬
tight cellar. These caissons will be far
enough along to permit "putting air on"
by the time this article is in print.
Court House Site Report.
The final report of .\bram I. Elkus,
James J. Coogan and Henry Schneider,
the Commissioners of Estimate and Ap¬
praisal in the proceedings of the city to
acquire lands on Leonard, Worth, La¬
fayette, Centre and other streets, for a
new court house site, will be presented
for confirmation on July 28 at 10.30 a.
m., in Special Term, Part I., Supreme
Court.