TPL Design

I worked at Riverside Cinemas 4 in Macon, GA, from 1992 until its closure in October 1997. RC4 began life on Christmas day in 1970 as a twin with just two large auditoriums, one on either side of the lobby. At some point the larger of the two auditoriums was split in two to bring the screen count to three. Finally, sometime in the 1980s, a smaller fourth auditorium was added. When I first started, the theater was operated by United Artists, but it ended under the ownership of Regal Cinemas.

The lobby had a live tree growing up through the floor, and the upper wall facing the entrance featured humps of different sizes jutting out at varying depths. The seats in three of the auditoriums were rockers and were very comfortable. The men’s restroom, along with the pay phone, was located upstairs—not the best location for accessibility.

The projection booth upstairs had a tighter layout in contrast with the long, wide hallways of newer and larger multiplex theaters.

Some of the supporting equipment had been engineered by an original projectionist using makeshift items. In two places, for example, a micro switch—with an attached drinking straw to extend its reach—was wired to a light bulb and positioned above the film path. If the film became too tight, it would bump the straw, activating the switch and lighting the bulb. This would alert the projectionist to check for issues with the platter system (located down an adjacent hallway) feeding projectors 3 and 4.

Due to the confined spaces, a dedicated 3-tier platter system could not be used for each projector. Instead, projectors 1 and 2 shared a 5-tier setup, and projectors 3 and 4 shared another. Film paths sometimes spanned long distances—even down a hallway for projector 3—and across some foot traffic areas. The projectionist had to be careful where he/she stepped to avoid tripping over moving film.

The projectors were Italian-made Cinemeccanica Victoria 8 models (from the 1960s, I believe). I heard at least one of them was taken to a museum somewhere once the theater closed.

Most of these photos were taken on black and white film in 1997, just a month or so before RC4 closed. I then worked for about a year at Regal Cinemas Macon Mall 8 (also now closed), which opened shortly thereafter. MM8 was a replacement for the old Macon Mall Quad theater that had been closed and demolished at around that time.

I shot this video of the RC4 projection booth in 1995. It gives a momentary glimpse into the projectionist's shift at Riverside Cinemas.