*Footnotes on the BIGGEST theatre screen in the USA!:

1. The easiest way to be correct with this statement is simply to note that this IS the biggest continuously operated theatre screen in the USA.  I still hold it is indeed the biggest PERIOD, but see the other notes below.

 

2. There is a new claim out there coming from the WINTER Drive-In Theatre, in Wintersville (near Steubenville,) Ohio, claiming to be "the biggest screen you have ever seen," at 54 feet by 120.  I am very privileged to have all the records of the Winter Drive-in Theatre being built in 1969, as well as the expansion to 2 screens in 1978, the same man that designed and built both the Bengies and the Winter Drive-In Theatre, is architectural Engineer Jack K. Vogel. (Jack was my Dad!)  I have all the proof that the Winter drive-In Theatre was built to his specifications, and the screen tower built there has an overall measurement of 120 feet by 51 (Which included an "apron" which is additional screen material that is painted a different color to block whatever is behind the screen,)  with an overall height of 73 feet.

So, it is possible that someone in recent years actually painted the "APRON" (which was originally green) to white, (and it is also possible someone added additional screen material as well) and that would create a bigger picture, HOWEVER, that would also mean that the picture is now "CROPPED." The trouble with cropping is simple, most modern theatres do not show you all that the filmmaker intended, because instead of designing the auditoriums so that they can have a perfect picture, it is easier to simply make the picture fit the screen.  This is done by "CROPPING" the picture, or cutting off the top, bottom and sides by the use of an aperture plate in the projector.  (Digital cinema is similarly done, but they do not have to use an actual piece of metal, this can be done with a click of a mouse.)

So let's say that someone at the Winter did exactly that, then their claim to the Biggest theatre Screen in the USA can still be true, but it is NOT a perfect picture as it is at the Bengies.  How can I say that without physically checking?  That is easy and folks in this industry can do it with a lens calculator.  Start with the distance from the aperture plate to the screen, and the calculation will tell you what the screen size needs to be to be "PERFECT."  Dad's first goal in designing ANY theatre, indoor or out, was to get to that perfect picture!  The first permanent pin laid at any theatre where I was his surveyor's helper (Dad was a great surveyor as well, and often did all of his own layout work,) was for the point of projection, and the second was the center of the screen tower.  Why?..., because the rest of the theatre is laid out around this concept of a perfect picture! In short, if the Winter Drive-In Theatre actually projects an image that is 54 by 120 feet, then there is not any chance that they are NOT cropping, unless they moved the projection room to accommodate.

3. ALSO, please note, the Winter Drive-in Theatre spent several seasons not operating, so I can still have the biggest continuously  operated screen in the USA, and I most certainly do have the biggest theatre screen in the USA with a perfect aspect ratio!