How Air Conditioning in Movie Theaters Created the Summer Blockbuster
Photographs from the Library of Congress reveal how air conditioning revolutionized summer cinema in the 1930s and 1940s, paving the way for the summer blockbuster. Although the first mechanically cooled theater debuted in Chicago by Balaban and Katz in 1917, it was in 1925 that Willis Carrier implemented an advanced system at the Rivoli Theatre in Times Square. The Rivoli, which opened on Memorial Day weekend, initially lacked operational air conditioning. Recognizing its potential, Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures transformed summer into a lucrative season. Among the significant images are the Fox Theater in Montrose, Colorado (1940), and a Chicago theater (1940). The film 'Bombardier' from 1943 marked one of the earliest summer blockbusters.
Key facts
- The Library of Congress curated a series of photos showing theaters in the 1930s and '40s advertising their air conditioning.
- Balaban and Katz opened the world's first mechanically cooled movie theatre in Chicago in 1917.
- Willis Carrier installed a more sophisticated air conditioning system in the Rivoli Theatre in Times Square in 1925.
- Carrier persuaded Paramount Pictures to install the air conditioning while the Rivoli was still under construction.
- The Rivoli Theatre opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1925; initially the air conditioning didn't work.
- Adolph Zukor, head of Paramount Pictures, realized the business potential of air conditioning for movie theaters.
- One of the first summer blockbusters was the 1943 war drama 'Bombardier,' advertised as the 'blockbuster of all action-thrill service shows.'
- In the 1970s, 'Jaws' and 'Star Wars' became quintessential summer blockbusters.
Entities
Artists
- Willis Carrier
- Adolph Zukor
Institutions
- Library of Congress
- Balaban and Katz
- Paramount Pictures
- Rivoli Theatre
- Chicago Theatre
- Fox Theater
- Rotten Tomatoes
- The Blend
Locations
- Chicago
- United States
- Times Square
- New York City
- Montrose
- Colorado
- Lancaster
- Ohio