This cache is an addition to the Michigan Cinema History series of caches.
It highlights one part of the Town Drive-In that once was located on this property.
Most Drive-In Movie Theaters consist of a large outdoor screen (either a wall painted-white, or a complex steel-truss structure with a complex finish), a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars.
The original Patent Drawings.
The idea originated in the early 1930's in Camden, NJ. and was Patented by Richard M. Hollingshead. His idea began as an experiment in his driveway with a Kodak Projector, mounted on the hood of his car, aimed at a screen that was attached to some trees. He tried different techniques and finally worked-out the parking-arrangement and spacing to allow everyone that attended, an unobstructed view of the screen. Once he had this idea in-place, he was granted a Patent in 1933 and He opened his first Drive-In Theater soon thereafter. This facility only lasted a few years, but the idea caught-on elsewhere to become part of the American Pop-Culture and Landscape to-this-day.
The projection equipment at the 5-mile Drive-In Theatre in Dowagiac, MI
A projection booth is a room or enclosure for the machinery required for the display of movies on a reflective screen, located high on the back wall of the presentation space. It is common in a movie theater. Its purpose is to isolate the noise produced by opto-mechanical projectors from the audience and to provide proper ventilation, temperature conditioning, and air cleaning for the exposed film and the projection mechanism.
View of the screen at San Antonio Drive-In Movie Theaters in Texas
To maintain sound and air isolation the projection will be through sound-resistant windows into the theater space.
Historically, movie projectors prior to modern automation would include a bell, activated by centrifugal force when the supply reel reached an appropriate speed. Two projectors would be used, requiring that the projectionist switch between the "operating" and "ready" projectors when a cue mark was visible on the screen in the upper right corner.
Big Rapids Drive-In Theatre projection building - Big Rapids MI
The bell alerted the projectionist (who had likely viewed the movie too many times to ensure alertness) that attention was required. While the projector mechanism noise might be suppressed by the audience, the bell could not. Since the noise of the alert bell was clearly distracting to the audience the projection booth became required in movie theater design.
Enjoy the Hunt...and beware of your surroundings, as always. :)