Friday, June 15, 2012

The Vineland

City of Industry, California

 This town is aptly named, one of the most commercial/industrial settings I've seen, and I grew up in New Jersey. The Vineland, named for the main thoroughfare where it's sited, has been around since 1955. It has changed over the years to now include four screens with capacity for 1,500 cars.

City of Industry, California

There's also a daily swap meet, which manager Juan Gonzales explained is an economic necessity. Theater revenue alone couldn't support this large piece of commercial real estate. Projectors and platter systems for all four screens are tightly packed into the top floor of a central building. Juan plans a small museum on the grounds for youngsters to learn how drive-ins used to be run, with window speakers and poles (now replaced by short-range FM broadcast) and traditional twenty-minute film reels (still used for distribution to the theaters, but soon to be replaced by portable hard drives) and other paraphernalia.

City of Industry, California

No comments: