CONSTRUCTION NOTES 



409 



PLATE No. 216. OUTDOOR THEATRE, DARLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 



The seating capacity of this theatre is two thousand. The stage, which has a grass surface, is slightly elevated 

 and is easily visible from every seat. The wide entrances on either side provide for large pageant groups, and 

 narrower ones lead to dressing rooms in the rear. In the front of the stage is a sunken orchestra pit, and in front 

 of this is a reflecting pool which adds to the beauty and acoustic qualities of the theatre. Between each two rows 

 of seats is a low brick wall capped with cement. Between the walls is a cushion of turf, obtained by sprigging in 

 Bermuda grass on a well fertilized soil. The entire stage background will be screened by plantings. This attractive 

 theatre, which was under construction when the photograph was taken, was designed by E. S. Draper, landscape 

 architect, Charlotte, North Carolina. 



PLATE No. 217 



RANKIN MEMORIAL GARDEN THEATRE, COLD SPRING PARK, WOONSOCKET, 



RHODE ISLAND 1 



The theatre is built on the side of a hill of about three hundred degrees slope, so that an unobstructed view of 

 the stage can be had from every seat. It has a seating capacity of about two thousand five hundred and the stage 

 is of such size that as many as one thousand can appear on it at one time. What is believed to be an entirely new 

 principle of construction was used in the erection of the theatre. Each seat is merely a terrace on the side of the 

 hill, held in place by a reinforced concrete retaining wall cast in the shape of a T. These retaining walls were cast 

 with movable forms. The ends of the seats are joined together with a reinforced concrete stringer surmounted 

 by a rail, over which vines will trail. The four corners of the theatre end in concrete piers, on which flower pots 

 filled with bedding plants will be mounted. The front of the stage has a field stone retaining wall. This will be 

 covered with ivy and other climbing vines. The stage is finished with a turf surface, and privet and hemlock 

 hedges outline the wings and act as screens for dressing rooms. The theatre is surrounded by a grove of fine old 

 oaks and pines, which contribute a great deal toward the excellent acoustics. The complete cost of the concreting 

 amounted to about $5,000; the grading about $2,000; the planting, landscaping, and finishing of the stage, approxi- 

 mately $3,000, making the total cost about $10,000. It had been hoped originally to finish the seating surfaces of 

 the terraced steps with a turf, which when closely cropped would give an artistic parklike effect to the whole 

 structure. The fact that the theatre was built on a gravel bank, however, made it impossible to raise a good stand 

 of grass, so that it was deemed wiser to apply a top-dressing of bright-colored torpedo sand, rolled and packed. 

 This will materially reduce maintenance costs. Spectators will sit on woven Japanese grass mats, which will be 

 rented for a nominal sum, and the revenue thus derived will assist in financing entertainments. 



*By Arthur Leland, designer of the theatre, The American City, June, 1926, pages 661, 662. 



