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101-453: The General Cinema Corporation was founded as a drive-in theater in 1935 by Philip Smith , who had previously owned a small chain of silent film theaters. Smith had chosen to open the chain after noticing the increasing sales of local Massachusetts theatres, and the introduction of films that were able to accommodate a synchronized sound and voice track into their reels. Originally, Smith planned to open indoor theatres, but had decided to open

202-533: A Taylor, Michigan Drive in called Ecorse Drive-In. On July 16, 1980, a freak derecho storm with 150 mph straight-line winds swept the Drive-In away leaving only the "now-showing" sign with the letters "Now Playing Gone with the Wind". The screen was rebuilt, but the business never recovered; by 1989, it was sold and now is the site of a Kroger grocery store. Beginning in the late 1970s and extending through

303-412: A lattice . The Vierendeel truss is a structure where the members are not triangulated but form rectangular openings, and is a frame with fixed joints that are capable of transferring and resisting bending moments . As such, it does not fit the strict definition of a truss (since it contains non-two-force members): regular trusses comprise members that are commonly assumed to have pinned joints, with

404-468: A 40 by 50 ft (12 by 15 m) screen. He advertised his drive-in theater with the slogan, "The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are." The first film shown was the Adolphe Menjou film Wives Beware . Failing to make a profit, Hollingshead sold the theater after three years to a Union, New Jersey , theater owner who moved the infrastructure to that city, but

505-511: A fixed depth, the Pratt configuration is usually the most efficient under static, vertical loading. The Southern Pacific Railroad bridge in Tempe , Arizona is a 393 meter (1,291 foot) long truss bridge built in 1912. The structure is composed of nine Pratt truss spans of varying lengths. The bridge is still in use today. The Wright Flyer used a Pratt truss in its wing construction, as

606-462: A full-service restaurant with seating on the roof and a trolley system to take children and adults to a playground and a large indoor theater for bad weather or for those who wanted to watch in air-conditioned comfort. The largest in the world was Loew's Open Air in Lynn, Massachusetts which could hold 5,000 cars. Several factors contributed to the decline of the drive-in movie industry. Beginning in

707-403: A larger cross section than on a previous iteration requires giving other members a larger cross section as well, to hold the greater weight of the first member—one needs to go through another iteration to find exactly how much greater the other members need to be. Sometimes the designer goes through several iterations of the design process to converge on the "right" cross section for each member. On

808-402: A matrix method such as the direct stiffness method , the flexibility method , or the finite element method. Illustrated is a simple, statically determinate flat truss with 9 joints and (2 x 9) − 3 = 15 members. External loads are concentrated in the outer joints. Since this is a symmetrical truss with symmetrical vertical loads, the reactive forces at A and B are vertical, equal, and half

909-401: A screen to trees in his backyard, he set a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car and put a radio behind the screen, testing different sound levels with his car windows down and up. Blocks under vehicles in the driveway enabled him to determine the size and spacing of ramps so all automobiles could view the screen. Hollingshead applied for a patent of his invention on August 6, 1932, and he

1010-509: A simple truss to comprise only triangles. The traditional diamond-shape bicycle frame, which utilizes two conjoined triangles, is an example of a simple truss. A planar truss lies in a single plane . Planar trusses are typically used in parallel to form roofs and bridges. The depth of a truss, or the height between the upper and lower chords, is what makes it an efficient structural form. A solid girder or beam of equal strength would have substantial weight and material cost as compared to

1111-420: A small number of outdoor theatres instead, and later decided to open some indoor theatres as well. The company did not see much growth until 1939, when World War II started, due to heavy sales of news printed on film . After the war ended, the company had assumed new leadership under Richard A. Smith , who had decided on pushing the company towards indoor movie theaters for all future expansions and had opened

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1212-409: A small petting zoo or cage of monkeys, personal appearances by actors to open their movies, or musical groups to play before the show. Some drive-ins held Sunday religious services or charged a flat price per car on slow nights like Wednesdays or Sundays. On "buck" or "bargain" nights during the 1950s and 1960s, the admission price was one dollar per car; during the 1970s and '80s, bargain night admission

1313-513: A steel truss structure with a complex finish. Originally, the movie's sound was provided by speakers on the screen and later by individual speakers hung from the window of each car, which was attached to a small pole by a wire. These speaker systems were superseded by the more practical method of microbroadcasting the soundtrack to car radios. This also has the advantage of the film soundtrack to be heard in stereo on car stereo systems, which are typically of much higher quality and fidelity than

1414-421: A time General Cinema was Pepsi-Cola's largest bottler and also distributed 7-Up, Dr Pepper and other soft drink brands. They formed a joint venture theater chain with Hoyts , known as Hoyts General Cinema, that had locations throughout South America. In 1976, the company teamed up with Lew Grade 's Associated Communications Corporation to form Associated General Films, which produced films including Voyage of

1515-499: A truss. For a given span , a deeper truss will require less material in the chords and greater material in the verticals and diagonals. An optimum depth of the truss will maximize the efficiency. A space frame truss is a three-dimensional framework of members pinned at their ends. A tetrahedron shape is the simplest space truss, consisting of six members that meet at four joints. Large planar structures may be composed from tetrahedrons with common edges, and they are also employed in

1616-419: Is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen , 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. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches. The screen can be as simple as a painted white wall, or it can be

1717-422: Is a single plane framework of individual structural member [sic] connected at their ends of forms a series of triangle [sic] to span a large distance". A truss consists of typically (but not necessarily) straight members connected at joints, traditionally termed panel points . Trusses are typically (but not necessarily ) composed of triangles because of the structural stability of that shape and design. A triangle

1818-413: Is an assembly of members such as beams , connected by nodes , that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assemblage as a whole behaves as a single object". A "two-force member" is a structural component where force is applied to only two points. Although this rigorous definition allows

1919-496: Is preferable to a braced-frame system, which would leave some areas obstructed by the diagonal braces. A truss that is assumed to comprise members that are connected by means of pin joints, and which is supported at both ends by means of hinged joints and rollers, is described as being statically determinate . Newton's Laws apply to the structure as a whole, as well as to each node or joint. In order for any node that may be subject to an external load or force to remain static in space,

2020-422: Is the force in the member, γ is a safety factor (typically 1.5 but depending on building codes ) and σ y is the yield tensile strength of the steel used. The members under compression also have to be designed to be safe against buckling. The weight of a truss member depends directly on its cross section—that weight partially determines how strong the other members of the truss need to be. Giving one member

2121-412: Is the last drive-in theater in the state of South Australia (since February 2022). Due to the opal miners often carrying explosives in their vehicles, the drive-in has a ban on bringing explosives onto the site. On 15 November 2023, winds reaching almost 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) destroyed the screen, resulting in the drive-in's closure, but local volunteers hope they will be able to rebuild

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2222-442: Is the simplest geometric figure that will not change shape when the lengths of the sides are fixed. In comparison, both the angles and the lengths of a four-sided figure must be fixed for it to retain its shape. The simplest form of a truss is one single triangle. This type of truss is seen in a framed roof consisting of rafters and a ceiling joist , and in other mechanical structures such as bicycles and aircraft. Because of

2323-504: Is two regular tetrahedrons along with an octahedron. They fill up three dimensional space in a variety of configurations. [REDACTED] The Pratt truss was patented in 1844 by two Boston railway engineers, Caleb Pratt and his son Thomas Willis Pratt . The design uses vertical members for compression and diagonal members to respond to tension . The Pratt truss design remained popular as bridge designers switched from wood to iron, and from iron to steel. This continued popularity of

2424-523: The COVID-19 pandemic , drive-in theaters reported an unexpected surge in attendance in several U.S. states, as unlike with indoor theaters unable to operate because of bans on mass gatherings , these were allowed to operate, with such events as graduations, because people are automatically separated from each other by their cars, and usually enough space remains to walk around and still practice proper physical distancing . The largest drive-in theater in

2525-529: The Lunar in Dandenong South , is set to close in the second half of 2023. The world's most remote drive-in may be at Coober Pedy , South Australia. It opened in 1965, but became less popular after 1980 with the arrival of television in the town, and ceased regular operation in 1984. It was reopened in 1996, and has been operated by volunteers since 2000. It is still in operation as of May 2023 , and

2626-576: The 15 drive-in movie theaters open in the United States were operated by Philip Smith , who promoted a family-friendly environment by allowing children to enter free and built playgrounds. After 1945, rising car ownership and suburban and rural population led to a boom in drive-in theaters, with hundreds being opened each year. More couples were reunited and having children, resulting in the Baby Boom , and more cars were being purchased following

2727-680: The 1950s and 1960s. The Hoyts Skyline in Melbourne was the country's first drive-in cinema, opening in 1954 with the film On the Riviera . The drive-in was successful, and four more opened within the year, including Mainline Drive-In in Gepps Cross, South Australia . The number of drive-ins increased across the country in the ensuing years. As these drive-ins were based on the American trend, many served American-style food at snack bars. At

2828-438: The 1970s, several venues switched from showing family-friendly fare to R-rated and X-rated films as a way to offset declining patronage and revenue, while other venues that still catered to families, began to show R-rated or pornographic movies in late-night time slots to bring in extra income. This allowed censored materials to be viewed by a wider audience, including those for whom viewing was still illegal in some states, and it

2929-473: The Damned and Capricorn One ; the partnership ended the following year and ATV's ITC Entertainment subsidiary started financing films on its own. In 1986, General Cinema collaborated with Industrial Light & Magic to create the first of several policy trailers . In April 1992, the company collaborated with Lucasfilm to create mascots for the company. Within less than a year, the then-iconic Candy Band

3030-641: The Ottawa residents. This new drive-in image is not just in Ottawa. According to CTV, there are also drive-ins in Ontario and other provinces that are expanding their entertainment hosting activities including live concerts while keeping the main core, i.e., to keep family movie experience. In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, some of the drive-ins host community activities that also include religious events. The drive-in theater also became popular in Australia during

3131-418: The Pratt truss is probably due to the fact that the configuration of the members means that longer diagonal members are only in tension for gravity load effects. This allows these members to be used more efficiently, as slenderness effects related to buckling under compression loads (which are compounded by the length of the member) will typically not control the design. Therefore, for given planar truss with

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3232-639: The South and the West Coast (at the industry's height, about 25% of the nation's movie screens were at drive-ins). A figure of 348 operating drive-ins was published for the United States in March 2014. In the fall of 2014, retro-themed burger chain Johnny Rockets announced that it would team up with USA Drive-Ins to open 200 drive-ins by 2018, serving Johnny Rocket's food at the concession stands, but

3333-529: The TV at home, the new drive-in theater does not have to depend on darkness. One of such newly designed drive-in theaters is LoCo Drive-In by Whitener Company and London Entertainment LLC. The drive-in will also be used for other social activities including car shows and other events. Another example of modern-day drive-in theater is the Drive-In Experience Ottawa that opened in 2020. Currently,

3434-420: The advent of cable television and video cassette recorder (VCR), then with the arrival of DVD and streaming systems, families were able to enjoy movies in the comfort of their homes. The new entertainment technology increased the options and the movie watching experience. While exploitation films had been a drive-in staple since the 1950s, helped by relatively limited oversight compared to downtown theaters, by

3535-463: The areas inside the webs are called panels , or from graphic statics (see Cremona diagram ) 'polygons'. Truss derives from the Old French word trousse , from around 1200 AD, which means "collection of things bound together". The term truss has often been used to describe any assembly of members such as a cruck frame or a couple of rafters. One engineering definition is: "A truss

3636-480: The base structures of large free-standing power line pylons. There are two basic types of truss: A combination of the two is a truncated truss, used in hip roof construction. A metal plate-connected wood truss is a roof or floor truss whose wood members are connected with metal connector plates . Truss members form a series of equilateral triangles, alternating up and down. Truss members are made up of all equivalent equilateral triangles. The minimum composition

3737-466: The basic small mono speakers used in the old systems. A partial drive-in theater—Theatre de Guadalupe—was opened in Las Cruces, New Mexico on April 23, 1915: Seven hundred people may be comfortably seated in the auditorium. Automobile entrances and places for 40 or more cars within the theater grounds and in-line position to see the pictures and witness all performances on the stage is a feature of

3838-854: The best-known "guerrilla" drive-ins include the Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In in Santa Cruz, California , North Bay Mobile Drive-In in Novato, California , MobMov in San Francisco, California and Hollywood , and more recently the Guerilla Drive-In Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia . A similar, more recent concept is the "boutique" drive-in, which caters to a smaller audience, generally 30 to 50 vehicles (with some also offering seats in front of

3939-604: The booth must be retrofitted with special glass, more vents, and stronger air conditioning, as well as heat in northern climates. With installation of Jumbotrons or similar digital display equipment in drive-in theatres, restrictions of the projector booth can be avoided; that is, no projector is needed. The move to digital conversion took its toll on the industry; by October 2019, figures for operating drive-in theaters rose to 305 because of increased numbers of smaller 'boutique' operations that had never used traditional projectors, while several older drive-ins have closed. During

4040-461: The company has two locations in the Ottawa area. Apart from movie-nights, the drive-in also hosts live entertainment such as “comedy nights” and concerts as well events including graduations and weddings through site rental. It provides screen, wireless in-car FM transmission and stage facilities for the events. According to the company, such a community approach will keep the drive-in experience into

4141-1119: The concept caught on nationwide. The April 15, 1934, opening of Shankweiler's Auto Park in Orefield, Pennsylvania , was followed by Galveston 's Drive-In Short Reel Theater (July 5, 1934), the Pico Drive-In Theater at Pico and Westwood boulevards in Los Angeles (September 9, 1934) and the Weymouth Drive-In Theatre in Weymouth, Massachusetts (May 6, 1936). In 1937, three more opened in Ohio, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with another 12 during 1938 and 1939 in California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Texas and Virginia. Early drive-in theaters had to deal with sound issues. The original Hollingshead drive-in had speakers installed on

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4242-407: The connections may also be required to transfer bending moment. Wood posts enable the fabrication of strong, direct, yet inexpensive connections between large trusses and walls. Exact details for post-to-truss connections vary from designer to designer, and may be influenced by post type. Solid-sawn timber and glulam posts are generally notched to form a truss bearing surface. The truss is rested on

4343-900: The country's first drive-in theater near SM City Pampanga on July 31, 2020. It also opened a temporary drive-in cinema at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds on September 9, 2020. Currently there are two locations for SM Supermalls drive-in theaters. Movies by the Bay Drive-In Cinema is located at the SM Mall of Asia, Seaside Blvd, Pasay City in the National Capital Region, Metro Manila . The first drive-in theatre in Spain opened in Madrid opposite Barajas Airport in 1958 called Motercine. Truss A truss

4444-794: The country's first shopping-center theatre, in 1951 at Shoppers World, Framingham, Massachusetts. Starting in the 1960s General Cinema diversified into other businesses. At times they owned the department store Neiman Marcus , the publisher Harcourt Brace , radio stations in several major markets (notably WEFM in Chicago , KRBE in Houston, WZGC in Atlanta , WGCL in Cleveland , and WIFI in Philadelphia ), and TV station WCIX in Miami . For

4545-452: The design decisions beyond mere matters of economics. Modern materials such as prestressed concrete and fabrication methods, such as automated welding , have significantly influenced the design of modern bridges . Once the force on each member is known, the next step is to determine the cross section of the individual truss members. For members under tension the cross-sectional area A can be found using A = F × γ / σ y , where F

4646-692: The drive-ins were located. In Michigan, former drive-in properties have become industrial parks, shopping centers, indoor theaters, and even churches (as with the Former Woodland Drive-In in Grand Rapids, MI). In Philadelphia, the South City Drive-In became the location of the original Spectrum in the late 1960s, with a small portion of its old property line extending into what would become the (now-demolished) Veterans Stadium complex. (Today, that small portion, combined with

4747-456: The early 2000s. In the second half of the 2000s, drive-ins had another decline because of the oil crisis and a worsening economy. Reduced use of automobiles and more people moving out of suburban and rural areas during the 2010s have also put the drive-in's future at risk, with numbers again on the decline. By 2013, drive-ins comprised only 1.5% of total movie screens in the United States, with 389 theaters in operation nationwide, mostly located in

4848-414: The end of wartime fuel rationing. By 1951, the number of drive-in movie theaters in the United States had increased from its 1947 total of 155 to 4,151. The drive-in's peak popularity came in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly in rural areas, with over 4,000 drive-ins spread across the United States in 1958. They were a cheaper alternative to in-door cinema theaters because not only did they save

4949-403: The equilibrium condition described. Because the forces in each of its two main girders are essentially planar, a truss is usually modeled as a two-dimensional plane frame. However if there are significant out-of-plane forces, the structure must be modeled as a three-dimensional space. The analysis of trusses often assumes that loads are applied to joints only and not at intermediate points along

5050-414: The exact arrangement of forces is depending on the type of truss and again on the direction of bending. In the truss shown above right, the vertical members are in tension, and the diagonals are in compression. In addition to carrying the static forces, the members serve additional functions of stabilizing each other, preventing buckling . In the adjacent picture, the top chord is prevented from buckling by

5151-423: The expense of operating a drive-in theater business. As many of the drive-in theaters were set up in the outskirts, the expansion of towns was making the maintenance of large property more difficult and costly. Many former drive-in movie sites remain, with several re-purposed as storage or flea market sites, often after residential housing or other higher-value uses came to rural or sparsely populated areas where

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5252-503: The finances (beginning at $ 70,000 per screen) needed to convert to digital projection. The low volume of ticket sales from the lack of multiple showings also makes justifying the cost of installing digital projection hard for many drive-ins. Conversion of the projection booth to digital is more complex for drive-in theaters. The projector needs a more powerful bulb due to increased screen size and light pollution. In addition, digital projection equipment may require an Internet connection, and

5353-417: The following conditions must hold: the sums of all (horizontal and vertical) forces, as well as all moments acting about the node equal zero. Analysis of these conditions at each node yields the magnitude of the compression or tension forces. Trusses that are supported at more than two positions are said to be statically indeterminate , and the application of Newton's Laws alone is not sufficient to determine

5454-504: The future. Ottawa Business Journal also wrote that local business communities and organizations can host their own private movie nights or shows. The drive-in can also be utilized for yoga activities and fitness training. The director of the company claims that the Drive-In Experience Ottawa’s goal is to provide opportunities for communities to reconnect while striving to host large weekly events and entertainment programs for

5555-433: The gas of driving out to the city and then back home, but the cost of building and maintaining a drive-in theater was cheaper than that of an indoor theater, resulting in the lower overall cost of attendance. Among its advantages was the fact that older adults with children could take care of their infant while watching a movie. At the same time, youth found drive-ins ideal for a first date. Unlike indoor cinema theaters, there

5656-609: The height of their popularity in the mid-1960s, around 330 drive-in theaters were operating in Australia before quickly dropping off. As of May 2023 , there were only 12 drive-ins in regular operation, with three more which sometimes opened for film screenings. Gepps Cross Drive-In closed at the end of February 2022, with the lengthy COVID-19 pandemic finally putting an end to its viability. As of May 2023 , only 12 drive-in cinemas operate regularly, while an additional three sometimes open to screen films. Melbourne 's largest drive-in,

5757-509: The implication that no moments exist at the jointed ends. This style of structure was named after the Belgian engineer Arthur Vierendeel , who developed the design in 1896. Its use for bridges is rare due to higher costs compared to a triangulated truss. The utility of this type of structure in buildings is that a large amount of the exterior envelope remains unobstructed and can be used for windows and door openings. In some applications this

5858-477: The joints in a truss are treated as revolutes , as is necessary for the links to be two-force members. A planar truss is one where all members and nodes lie within a two-dimensional plane, while a space frame has members and nodes that extend into three dimensions . The top beams in a truss are called 'top chords' and are typically in compression , the bottom beams are called 'bottom chords', and are typically in tension . The interior beams are called webs , and

5959-495: The land with windows facing the screens so that viewers could watch the films from their beds. During the 1950s, the greater privacy afforded to patrons gave drive-ins a reputation as immoral, and they were labeled "passion pits" in the media. The 1978 movie Grease portrays the local drive-in as a preferred spot for trysts. This indicates that the drive-in theater experience was a part of North American pop culture during this time, coupled with people's love for cars and movies. It

6060-475: The late 1960s, drive-in attendance began to decline as the result of improvements and changes to home entertainment, from color television and cable TV to VCRs and video rental in the early 1980s. Additionally, the 1970s energy crisis led to the widespread adoption of daylight saving time (which caused drive-in movies to start an hour later) and lower use of automobiles, making it increasingly difficult for drive-ins to remain profitable. Mainly following

6161-501: The member forces. In order for a truss with pin-connected members to be stable, it does not need to be entirely composed of triangles. In mathematical terms, the following necessary condition for stability of a simple truss exists: where m is the total number of truss members, j is the total number of joints and r is the number of reactions (equal to 3 generally) in a 2-dimensional structure. When m = 2 j − 3 {\displaystyle m=2j-3} ,

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6262-407: The members connecting the nodes of the upper arc with those of the lower, straight sequence of members, from nearly isosceles triangles to a variant of the Pratt truss. One of the simplest truss styles to implement, the king post consists of two angled supports leaning into a common vertical support. The queen post truss, sometimes queenpost or queenspost , is similar to a king post truss in that

6363-510: The members to have any shape connected in any stable configuration, trusses typically comprise five or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes . In this typical context, external forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in forces in the members that are either tensile or compressive . For straight members, moments ( torques ) are explicitly excluded because, and only because, all

6464-446: The members. Component connections are critical to the structural integrity of a framing system. In buildings with large, clearspan wood trusses, the most critical connections are those between the truss and its supports. In addition to gravity-induced forces (a.k.a. bearing loads), these connections must resist shear forces acting perpendicular to the plane of the truss and uplift forces due to wind. Depending upon overall building design,

6565-431: The members. The weight of the members is often insignificant compared to the applied loads and so is often omitted; alternatively, half of the weight of each member may be applied to its two end joints. Provided that the members are long and slender, the moments transmitted through the joints are negligible, and the junctions can be treated as " hinges " or "pin-joints". Under these simplifying assumptions, every member of

6666-434: The mid-1990s, those drive-ins still operating acquired a quasi-novelty status, catering to the wave of "boomer nostalgia " and loyal patrons. This "retro" appeal eventually led to a revival of sorts by the end of the 1990s. This resurgence of the drive-in industry led to the inception of the "do-it-yourself" drive-in beginning in 2001, which used contemporary tools such as LCD projectors and micro radio transmitters. The first

6767-405: The minimization of compression member lengths allowed for lower aerodynamic drag . Named for their shape, bowstring trusses were first used for arched truss bridges , often confused with tied-arch bridges . Thousands of bowstring trusses were used during World War II for holding up the curved roofs of aircraft hangars and other military buildings. Many variations exist in the arrangements of

6868-427: The minimum cross section of the members, the last step in the design of a truss would be detailing of the bolted joints , e.g., involving shear stress of the bolt connections used in the joints. Based on the needs of the project, truss internal connections (joints) can be designed as rigid, semi rigid, or hinged. Rigid connections can allow transfer of bending moments leading to development of secondary bending moments in

6969-572: The new experience in drive-in cinemas is gaining popularity not just in North America but in other countries as well. After decades of inactivity drive-in theaters are slowly becoming part of the outdoor movie experience. One of the countries where drive-in theaters is returning is the United Kingdom . There are also new drive-in theaters that have opened recently in North America that intend on staying in business and expanding. Some of

7070-581: The option to eat classic movie refreshments such as popcorn, or even native Greek snacks such as grilled calamari and souvlaki . In 2020, Iran showed its first drive-in film, Exodus , during the COVID-19 pandemic . However the country previously operated one before 1979. The first drive-in theatre in Europe opened in Rome in 1954. The Philippines' shopping mall chain SM Supermalls opened

7171-494: The original Spectrum location, is part of Xfinity Live! Philadelphia ). Another example of a drive in-turned-flea market is Spotlight 88 in North Sewickley Township, Pennsylvania , which ended business as a drive-in after an F3 tornado destroyed much of the property on May 31, 1985 . As a joke, after the tornado hit, the owners put up the "now-showing" sign Gone with the Wind . It was most likely copied from

7272-438: The other hand, reducing the size of one member from the previous iteration merely makes the other members have a larger (and more expensive) safety factor than is technically necessary, but doesn't require another iteration to find a buildable truss. The effect of the weight of the individual truss members in a large truss, such as a bridge, is usually insignificant compared to the force of the external loads. After determining

7373-482: The outer supports are angled towards the centre of the structure. The primary difference is the horizontal extension at the centre which relies on beam action to provide mechanical stability. This truss style is only suitable for relatively short spans. Lenticular trusses, patented in 1878 by William Douglas (although the Gaunless Bridge of 1823 was the first of the type), have the top and bottom chords of

7474-458: The owners believe that the drive-in theatre will renew the outdoor experience in the long run. Some are also projected to open in the coming years with newer designs using electronic screen system to stream the film, improving the set up, as well as concession and public facilities. In the past drive-in theaters were operating in the evening to provide clear picture. But with the new design, moviegoers can go to drive-in theaters at anytime. Just like

7575-577: The place that will please car owners. The first movie shown by the Theatre de Guadalupe was Bags of Gold , produced by Siegmund Lubin . Theatre de Guadalupe was soon renamed De Lux Theater before closing in July 1916. In 1921, a drive-in was opened by Claude V. Caver in Comanche, Texas. Caver obtained a permit from the city to project films downtown. With cars parked bumper-to-bumper, patrons witnessed

7676-402: The plan never came to fruition, as did a proposed "Project Drive-In" scheme by Honda, which would have donated digital projectors. By 2018, less than 300 drive-in theaters were reported to operate worldwide, with only a handful outside North America. The ongoing conversion of film distribution from celluloid to digital also puts additional pressure on drive-in theaters. Most small drive-ins lack

7777-425: The presence of bracing and by the stiffness of the web members. The inclusion of the elements shown is largely an engineering decision based upon economics, being a balance between the costs of raw materials, off-site fabrication, component transportation, on-site erection, the availability of machinery and the cost of labor. In other cases the appearance of the structure may take on greater importance and so influence

7878-503: The property, and operate the theater as a nonprofit venture specializing in family-friendly films. Hull's continues to be the nation's only nonprofit drive-in. By 2006, around 500 drive-in theaters were open in the United States, counting regularly operating venues (about 400) and those that held showings sporadically, usually during summertime, the highest number since the mid-1970s. The industry also rebounded in Canada and Australia during

7979-406: The relation (a) is necessary, it is not sufficient for stability, which also depends on the truss geometry, support conditions and the load carrying capacity of the members. Some structures are built with more than this minimum number of truss members. Those structures may survive even when some of the members fail. Their member forces depend on the relative stiffness of the members, in addition to

8080-400: The same function as the flanges of an I-beam . Which chord carries tension and which carries compression depends on the overall direction of bending . In the truss pictured above right, the bottom chord is in tension, and the top chord in compression. The diagonal and vertical members form the truss web , and carry the shear stress . Individually, they are also in tension and compression,

8181-763: The screen and re-open the drive-in. There have been a few drive-in theaters in Finland, one of the first at the Keimola Motor Stadium in the late 1960s, while the latest in Kaarina in 2017, and in Turku and Vantaa in 2020. Germany's first drive-in theater, the Gravenbruch, opened in April 1960 in a suburb of Frankfurt with a screening of The King and I . The only other drive-ins in Europe at

8282-504: The screen). At the same time, food trucks are often used as concession stands. However, unlike the "guerrilla" format, this type of drive-in also generally presents mainstream fare, current releases, and popular classics. A key feature of this format is the focus on the "vintage" aesthetics of the drive-in. Faced with the closure of Hull's Drive-In in Lexington, Virginia in 1999, the nonprofit group Hull's Angels formed to raise funds, buy

8383-701: The screening of silent films from their vehicles. In the 1920s " outdoor movies " became a popular summer entertainment, but relatively few "drive-in" experiments were made due to logistical difficulties. The drive-in theater was patented in Camden, New Jersey , by chemical company magnate Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr. , whose family owned and operated the R.M. Hollingshead Corporation chemical plant in Camden. In 1932, Hollingshead conducted outdoor theater tests in his driveway at 212 Thomas Avenue in Riverton. After nailing

8484-434: The shows. A combination of these factors was creating difficulties for the drive-ins to compete with the growing indoor cinemas. The runaway inflation and real estate interest rate hikes in the late 1970s and early 1980s made the large tracts of land used by drive-ins increasingly expensive and thus far too valuable for continued use as drive-ins. Many drive-ins operated solely on weekends, while some were open only during

8585-604: The spring and summer months; drive-ins were also frequently subject to poor attendance or cancellations due to adverse weather. By the late 1980s, the total number of drive-ins still operating in the United States and Canada fell to less than two hundred. In addition to the large amount of land drive-in theaters occupy, older drive-ins were now showing their age and many required improvements or replacement of their infrastructure ; many owners were not willing to make further investment in repairs and improvements and growing land prices were also making it difficult to invest in and maintain

8686-426: The stability of this shape and the methods of analysis used to calculate the forces within it, a truss composed entirely of triangles is known as a simple truss. However, a simple truss is often defined more restrictively by demanding that it can be constructed through successive addition of pairs of members, each connected to two existing joints and to each other to form a new joint, and this definition does not require

8787-534: The time were in Rome, Italy and Madrid , Spain. In 1919, Athens, Greece opened their first outdoor theater that eventually led to the popularity of drive-in theaters in the 1970s. Three years before then, two men displayed a short silent film on a wall of the city. Greece's first drive-in theater began construction in 1960 near Varibobi , a suburb of Athens , and was planned to open in August 1961. Viewers today have

8888-421: The total load. The internal forces in the members of the truss can be calculated in a variety of ways, including graphical methods: A truss can be thought of as a beam where the web consists of a series of separate members instead of a continuous plate. In the truss, the lower horizontal member (the bottom chord ) and the upper horizontal member (the top chord ) carry tension and compression , fulfilling

8989-491: The tower itself, which caused a sound delay affecting patrons at the rear of the drive-in's field. In 1935, the Pico Drive-in Theater attempted to solve this problem by having a row of speakers in front of the cars. In 1941, RCA introduced in-car speakers with individual volume controls which solved the noise pollution issue and provided satisfactory sound to drive-in patrons. Just before World War II , 9 of

9090-403: The truss arched, forming a lens shape. A lenticular pony truss bridge is a bridge design that involves a lenticular truss extending above and below the roadbed. American architect Ithiel Town designed Town's Lattice Truss as an alternative to heavy-timber bridges. His design, patented in 1820 and 1835, uses easy-to-handle planks arranged diagonally with short spaces in between them, to form

9191-415: The truss is said to be statically determinate , because the ( m +3) internal member forces and support reactions can then be completely determined by 2 j equilibrium equations, once we know the external loads and the geometry of the truss. Given a certain number of joints, this is the minimum number of members, in the sense that if any member is taken out (or fails), then the truss as a whole fails. While

9292-519: The truss is then subjected to pure compression or pure tension forces – shear, bending moment, and other more-complex stresses are all practically zero. Trusses are physically stronger than other ways of arranging structural elements, because nearly every material can resist a much larger load in tension or compression than in shear, bending, torsion, or other kinds of force. These simplifications make trusses easier to analyze. Structural analysis of trusses of any type can readily be carried out using

9393-489: The world, the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop (opened 1963), doubles as the world's largest daily flea market. There is a renewed interest in drive-in theaters among North American moviegoers. This trend was more apparent in 2020 through 2022. In 2020 Drive-in theaters in North America accounted for 85 to 95 percent of the box office revenue according to a 2021 article from CNN . The article also claims that

9494-452: Was also popular among young people to meet up and have sex, smoke marijuana and drink alcohol. It was appealing to young people as it allowed them to express freedom and liberty they would otherwise lack at home. At their height, some drive-ins used attention-grabbing gimmicks to boost attendance. They ranged from drawings for prizes and free admission, small airplane runways, helicopter or hot air balloon rides, unusual attractions such as

9595-452: Was also reliant upon varying local ordinances controlling such material. It also required a relatively remote location away from the heavier populated areas of towns and cities. By the late 1970s, many drive-in theaters were showing mainly B movies , older second-run films and low-rated films from the movie industry. While movie rental fees were increasing, the film industry was also expecting drive-in theaters to maintain prolonged time to run

9696-578: Was an air of informality that was appealing to people of all ages, but specifically to families. The drive-in's success was rooted in its reputation of being a family-friendly place. Parents were able to bring their children to the theater, often in pajamas, without worrying about bothering other movie-goers and were also able to spend time together without paying the expenses of babysitters. Drive-ins catered to their known audience, offering luxuries such as bottle warmers and diaper vending machines, and later miniature golf courses, swimming pools, and even motels on

9797-619: Was completed on March 29, 2002. With the acquisition, the Credits loyalty program merged into the MovieWatcher network. The General Cinema Corp. trademark was placed up for auction on December 8, 2010. In December 2011, this trademark was published for opposition by JTE Multimedia . On March 11, 2014, the USPTO declared the trademark "General Cinema" abandoned. Drive-in theater A drive-in theater/theatre or drive-in cinema

9898-602: Was created. Soon after, two more mascots were developed and named Popcorn Bob, and Pepsi Sue. All three developments were used in preshow reels from 1993 to 2002. In 1993, General Cinema's holding company, by then named Harcourt General, spun off General Cinema as a separate company. The company suffered greatly when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2000 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2001. On December 7, 2001, AMC Theatres agreed to buy GC Companies, Inc. as part of GC's Chapter 11 reorganization plan. The acquisition

9999-567: Was generally five dollars. As revenue was more limited than regular theaters since showings could only begin at twilight, there were abortive attempts to create suitable conditions for daylight viewing, such as large tent structures, but nothing viable was developed. One of the largest drive-in theaters was the Johnny All-Weather Drive-In in Copiague, New York . Covering over 29 acres, it could park 2,500 vehicles. It had

10100-565: Was given U.S. patent 1,909,537 on May 16, 1933. Hollingshead's drive-in opened in New Jersey on June 6, 1933, at 2901 Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Pennsauken Township , a short distance from Cooper River Park where the first commercial airport to serve Philadelphia was located – Central Airport. Rosemont Avenue now runs through where the theater was and is currently the site of Zinman Furs. It offered 400 slots and

10201-766: Was the Liberation Drive-In in Oakland, California , which sought to reclaim under-used urban spaces such as vacant parking lots in the downtown area. The following years have had a rise of the "guerrilla drive-in" movement, in which groups of dedicated individuals orchestrate similar outdoor film and video screenings. Showings are often organized online, and participants meet at specified locations to watch films projected on bridge pillars or warehouses. The content featured at these screenings has frequently been independent or experimental films, cult movies, or otherwise alternative programming. Aside from Oakland's Liberation,

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