Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

PROJECTOR LENS

Date Range From

1970

Date Range To

1980

Materials

GLASS, BRASS, PLASTIC

No. Pieces

1

Length

26

Diameter

6.8

Description

PROJECTOR LENS; NARROW BRASS “MIN” LENS WITH INSCRIBED TEXT “KOLLMORGEN OPTICAL CORP. NORTHHAMPTON, MASS., MADE IN U.S.A., BX 241, F: 1.9, 3 ¼ IN., E.F. 65992”; SILVER CENTER RING WITH TWO BRASS-COLOURED ENGRAVED RINGS RUNNING AROUND WIDTH OF LENS AND TEXT “SUPER SNAPLITE”; WIDE “MAG” LENS IS BLACK WITH WHITE PRINTED TEXT “MAG, MAGNA – COM 65, 9122176, ISCO – GOTTINGEN, MADE IN GERMANY, MIN”. LENS BODY HAS SURFACE SCRATCHES AND CHIPPING, LENS GLASS HAS DUST AND DIRT SPOTS, AND BRASS FINISHING ON SILVER CENTER RING IS WORN AWAY. LENSES AND BODY IN OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

VISUAL COMMUNICATION T&E

Historical Association

BUSINESS

LEISURE

History

ON APRIL 11, 2018, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED LARRY AND ANDREA BECKER, OWNERS OF THE FORMER WATERTON THEATRE IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA WHERE THE PROJECTION EQUIPMENT WAS USED. DURING THE INTERVIEW, THE BECKERS ELABORATED ON HOW THEIR THEATRE CLOSED, HOW THE EQUIPMENT WAS USED IN THEIR THEATRE, AND HOW AL ANCTIL CAME INTO POSSESSION OF THE THEATRE PROJECTION EQUIPMENT. LARRY BECKER SPOKE TO HOW ANCTIL BECAME THE OWNER AND DONOR OF THE EQUIPMENT, STATING, “THIS EQUIPMENT IS BUILT AND DESIGNED TO EXHIBIT 35 MM MOTION PICTURE FILM. IN 2011, WHEN WE DISPOSED OF THE EQUIPMENT, FILM WAS BECOMING OBSOLETE. IT WAS NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO US AS AN EXHIBITION MEDIUM, SO WE WERE FACED WITH THE CHALLENGE OF CONVERTING TO A DIGITAL PROJECTION, IF WE WANTED TO CONTINUE SHOWING MOTION PICTURES. WE HAD TO GET RID OF THIS, AND AL [ANCTIL] THOUGHT HE HAD A USE FOR IT. AT THE TIME, HE WAS SELLING US COFFEE. WE WERE RUNNING A COFFEE SHOP IN THE THEATRE, SO WE HAD THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH AL; AND I’M NOT SURE WHY AL WANTED IT…I DON’T KNOW IF HE EVER INTENDED TO USE IT. I THINK, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, IT MIGHT BE USEFUL, IF SOMEBODY COULD ACCESS SOME 35 MM FILM TO RUN THROUGH IT. WHEN WE HEARD THAT AL WANTED IT, WE SAID “SURE, YOU CAN HAVE IT AL. WE NO LONGER HAVE ANY USE FOR IT.”” “IT WAS THE COST OF THE CONVERSION [THAT INFLUENCED OUR DECISION TO CLOSE]. INITIALLY, WHEN ALL OF THE THEATRES WERE FACED WITH THE CONVERSION, WITHIN A VERY SHORT WINDOW, THE DEMAND FOR THE EQUIPMENT WAS VERY HIGH; COSTS WERE VERY HIGH, AND IT JUST WASN’T FINANCIALLY VIABLE IN A SEASONAL OPERATION, SO WE DECIDED NOT TO PROCEED, AT THAT TIME, WITH THE DIGITAL UPGRADING/CONVERSION. WE WERE WORKING QUITE HARD, BECAUSE WE WERE RUNNING A COFFEE SHOP, AN ICE CREAM STORE, AND A MOVIE THEATRE. THE MOVIE THEATRE WAS THE FUN PART OF IT.” “WE WERE AT THE END OF OUR LAST SEASON IN 2011, AND WE HAD WORKED OUT AN ARRANGEMENT WITH THE TENANT, TO TAKE IT OVER, TO RUN IT AS A ‘STAGE AND GRILL’ KIND OF OPERATION. THEY WERE GOING TO PUT A KITCHEN IN, AND SERVE MEALS, AND PRESENT MUSIC ACTS ON STAGE.” LARRY BECKER DISCUSSED THE PURPOSE OF THE LENS IN USE WITH PROJECTOR EQUIPMENT, STATING, “FILM WAS STILL AVAILABLE IN BOTH FORMATS, AND WHEN IT CAME IN, WE HAD TO KNOW WHICH FORMAT IT WAS, BECAUSE THEN WE WOULD USE THE APPROPRIATE LENS. [THE LENS] WAS STILL IN USE. PRODUCTION COSTS WERE PROBABLY…A LITTLE HIGHER IF THEY WERE SHOOTING IN THE CINEMASCOPE. I THINK THE FLAT LENS, THE 185 ASPECT RATIO WAS A BETTER RATIO FOR TELEVISION. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT, IF THEY THOUGHT THAT THE MOVIE WAS GOING TO HAVE A SHORT RUN IN THEATRES, AND THEN A BROADER AUDIENCE ON TELEVISION, THEN THAT FORMAT [185 ASPECT RATIO] WAS MORE SUITABLE. WE REPLACED [THE ORIGINAL LENSES]. THE LENSES ARE…A COMPOSITE OF GLASS, AND THE ADHESIVES IN THEM DO BREAK DOWN AFTER A WHILE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE HEAT, SO LENSES HAVE TO BE REPLACED PERIODICALLY. [THE LENS WAS] FROM THE EARLY ‘90S. THE BECKERS SPOKE ABOUT THEIR ARRIVAL IN WATERTON AND THEIR HISTORY WORKING IN THEATRES, WITH LARRY BEGINNING HIS CAREER WORKING IN THE PALACE THEATRE IN CALGARY, ALBERTA. IN 1975, THE BECKERS BECAME INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THE THEATRE IN WATERTON, AND BY 1976 THEY WERE RUNNING THE WATERTON THEATRE. LARRY NOTED HOW THE BECKERS BECAME INVOLVED WITH THE WATERTON THEATRE “I WAS TRAVELING TO WATERTON. I HAD NEVER BEEN TO WATERTON. I HAD AN OCCASION TO GO TO GREAT FALLS. IT WAS ON…A BUSINESS TRIP, AND IT WAS OVER A WEEKEND. I LOOKED AT THE MAP, AND I THOUGHT, “IF WE LEAVE AROUND DINNERTIME ON FRIDAY, WE CAN SPEND A NIGHT IN WATERTON…AND THEN WE CAN CONTINUE TO GREAT FALLS THE NEXT DAY.” GOT INTO WATERTON, AND, BY THIS TIME, THE SUN HAD SET, AND I STILL DIDN’T REALIZE I WAS IN THE MOUNTAINS. I SORT OF LOOKED AROUND. I DIDN’T HAVE A ROOM BOOKED, AND GOT A ROOM IN ALLEN’S LAKESHORE BUNGALOWS, WHICH WERE ON THE SHORE OF WATERTON LAKE, AT THAT TIME, AND WHEN I GOT UP IN THE MORNING, AND LOOKED AROUND, I COULDN’T BELIEVE WHERE I WAS. I MEAN, IT WAS JUST THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING…IT WAS STUNNINGLY, GORGEOUS! THEN I THOUGHT, “I’LL TAKE A STROLL AROUND TOWN”, AND THERE WAS A MOVIE THEATRE. OF COURSE, BEING IN THE BUSINESS, I’VE GOT TO STOP AND YOU…FIND OUT WHAT’S GOING ON THERE. I CHATTED WITH A YOUNG FAMILY THAT WERE LOOKING AFTER THE PLACE FOR LOTTIE BREWERTON. LOTTIE, AND HER HUSBAND, GORDON, HAD BUILT IT BACK IN ’35. LOTTIE WAS GORDON’S WIDOW. SHE WASN’T INVOLVED IN THE OPERATION, BUT SHE HAD SOME YOUNG FAMILY THAT WERE HELPING HER OUT, SO, IN THE CONVERSATION, THEY SAID, “YOU KNOW, I THINK LOTTIE WANTS TO SELL.” I WENT BACK TO CALGARY, AND NEVER REALLY THOUGHT TOO MUCH ABOUT IT UNTIL SEVERAL MONTHS LATER, AND IT WAS SORT OF ON MY MIND, AND I THOUGHT, “WELL, I’M GOING TO GET AHOLD OF LOTTIE AND SEE WHAT THE DEAL IS HERE?” “IT NEEDED WORK. IT’S NOT A BIG MONEY-MAKING OPERATION IN WATERTON, SO IT WAS…HARD TO DO THE THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE. OVER THE YEARS, WE KIND OF KEPT IT GOING…BUT IT WAS ALWAYS…AN EXPERIENTIAL THING. IT WAS KIND OF AN ANTIQUE IN ITSELF. IT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE LIKE THE CITY THEATRES – IT’S A MUCH MORE CASUAL ENVIRONMENT.” “I LIKE THE STYLE OF THE BUILDING. IT’S A GORGEOUS OLD BUILDING – TUDOR-REVIVAL. IT’S GOT AN INTERESTING HISTORY. BACK IN THE MID-‘30S, PARKS CANADA WAS ENCOURAGING DEVELOPMENT IN WATERTON, AND WAS GIVING OUT THE COMMERCIAL LEASES, BUT THEY ALSO WANTED SORT OF AN ARCHITECTURAL THEME TO THE TOWNSITE. THEY HAD AN ARCHITECTURAL DIVISION, AND THEY HAD ARCHITECTS ON STAFF, AND IT WAS THAT BRANCH OF PARKS CANADA, THAT DESIGNED THAT BUILDING, AND MANY OF THE OTHER BUILDINGS IN WATERTON. IT’S GOT SOME CHARM. IT’S NICE THAT WAY.” ANDREA BECKER ADDED, “IT’S…A PRIVILEGE TO BE A WATERTON BUSINESS OWNER. IT’S A VERY SMALL COMMUNITY, AND IT’S A LIFESTYLE KIND OF ENVIRONMENT, AS WELL, FOR THE BUSINESS PEOPLE THERE. WE…FEEL THAT IT IS A SPECIAL THING TO DO…” LARRY BECKER SPOKE TO HIS TRAINING WORKING IN THEATRES AND HIS EARLY START IN THE WATERTON THEATRE, “WHEN I STARTED DOING PROJECTION WORK, IT WAS A LICENSED TRADE IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA, AND, IN THE EARLY DAYS OF MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITION, THE FILM STOCK WAS A SILVER NITRATE FILM STOCK WHICH WAS, LITERALLY, EXPLOSIVE. PROJECTION ROOMS, INCLUDING THE ONE IN WATERTON, WERE BUILT LIKE A BUNKER. THEY WERE CEMENT ROOMS, WITH FIRE SHUTTERS, THAT WOULD SLAM SHUT IF SOMETHING WENT WRONG IN THE PROJECTION ROOM. THE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM TO BECOME A PROJECTIONIST WAS A 3 YEAR PROGRAM, AND THERE WAS DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF LICENSING. WHEN I STARTED IN [1977] I OWNED THE THEATRE IN FORT MACLEOD AND I HAD TO DO AN APPRENTICESHIP, IN MY OWN THEATRE, BEFORE I WAS ALLOWED TO OPERATE THE EQUIPMENT. I BECAME A CERTIFIED PROJECTIONIST. I MENTION THE EARLY DAYS WITH THE SILVER NITRATE FILM, WHICH WAS HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, AND DANGEROUS. THAT HAD BEEN REPLACED BY ACETATE FILM, LONG BEFORE I BECAME INVOLVED, AND SO THE FILM STOCK WAS NO LONGER…COMBUSTIBLE, AND SO IT WAS A MUCH SAFER ENVIRONMENT. NONETHELESS, SOME OF THE OLD REGULATIONS SORT OF CARRIED FORWARD, AND SLOWLY CHANGED.” “ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS INTERESTING ABOUT THE THEATRE WHEN I TOOK IT OVER IS THAT, FOR LIGHT SOURCES IN THE PROJECTION ROOM, THE LAMPS THAT ILLUMINATED THE SCREEN WERE BURNING CARBON ARCS. CARBON ARCS CAME IN A BOX; YOU INSTALLED THEM IN THE LAMP HOUSE. WHEN YOU STARTED THE MOVIE, YOU’D STRIKE THEM TOGETHER, AND THEY WOULD CREATE AN ARC AND FLAME BETWEEN THESE CARBON RODS. THAT WAS WHAT PRODUCED THE LIGHT. IT WAS MAGNIFIED BY A MIRROR DOWN THROUGH THE LENS, AND WITH THE SCREEN. WITH THAT KIND OF A LIGHT SOURCE, YOU HAD TO BE IN THE PROJECTION ROOM…ALL THE TIME. YOU COULDN’T LEAVE THE PROJECTION ROOM WHILE THE MOVIE WAS RUNNING. AS A MATTER OF FACT, PROJECTION ROOMS HAD TOILETS IN THEM DURING THAT PERIOD. CHANGING THAT OUT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT I DID, BECAUSE IT MADE IT A LOT EASIER TO GET OUT OF THE PROJECTION ROOM. THE OTHER THING – THE FILM WAS RUN OFF OF 18 20-MINUTE REELS AT THAT TIME, SO THERE WERE 2 PROJECTORS. WE WERE CONSTANTLY CHANGING BACK AND FORTH, FROM ONE PROJECTOR TO THE OTHER. GETTING RID OF THE CARBON ARC LAMP HOUSES, AND INSTALLING A PLATTER SYSTEM, WHICH ALLOWED…THE PROGRAM TO BE SPLICED TOGETHER ON THE SINGLE REELS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT AND HISTORIES OF THE WATERTON THEATRE, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20120038001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20120038006

Acquisition Date

2012-10

Collection

Museum

Less detail