354 



Popular Science Monthly 



Washington Monu- 

 ment as a Motion- 

 Picture Screen 



WHAT is prob- 

 ably the largest 

 motion-picture screen 

 in captivity^is claimed 

 by the city of Wash- 

 ington, D. C. It is 

 nothing more or less 

 than the Washington 

 monument and it has 

 been pressed into ser- 

 vice by the resource- 

 ful Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Economics, 

 which has decided 

 that as long as the 

 out-of-door public 

 must have its cinema 

 entertainment, it 

 can get along with- 

 out Mary Pickford 

 and Charles Chap- 

 lin for the time 

 being and subject 

 itself to an educa- 

 tional and uplift 

 movement. 



It is the avowed 

 purpose of the 

 Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Economics 

 every once in a 

 while to conduct 

 mot ion - picture 

 shows which are to 



be strictly educaiional, and ilie putures 

 will be projected on the fair whiit' sides 

 of the Washington monument in the 

 Capitol city. 



The Bureau inaugurated its season by 

 a special "invitation jierformance" on 

 the evening of Decorati(jn Day, when 

 scenes from the Grand Canyon, the 

 Yellowstone, the Yosemite, Crater Lake, 

 Mount Rainier, Sequoia, and other 

 nationally famous places were flashed 

 against the towering shaft. A cold, wet 

 night kept a great many away, so that 

 comparatively few saw the monument's 

 debut as a motion-picture screen. 



On account of the monument's rough 

 surface it was found necessary to project 

 the pictures on a special silken screen, 

 which a local florist pro\ided, together 

 with a gigantic wreath having a diameter 

 of thirty-six feet. 



The projecting apparatus was con- 

 tained in a specialh'-designcd motor- 

 truck fitted with remo\-ai)lc sides. An 

 electric generatmg cqui[iment for the 

 projection arc lamp is also carried. The 

 motor-truck was built to nui h-oni city to 

 city throughout the cast antl give tree 

 demonstrations wherever possible. 



The United States government loaned 

 the films, which were made in \arious 

 departments. They include, aside from 

 scenic pictures, films showing the \ari()us 

 activities of the government, the growth 

 of plants from seed to blossom and seed 

 again, the work of the forest service, and 

 pictures of military training. 



The Washington Monument as a Motion Picture Screen. The Projecting Apparatus Is 

 Contained in a Specially-Designed Motor-Truck Which Is to Run from City to City 



