 | NEWS RELEASE
First in-the-World Theater Technology to Debut Jan. 21 in Waverly
WAVERLY (IOWA) — The Palace Theatre, the long-awaited restoration project in downtown Waverly, will open its doors to the public for the first time on Friday, Jan. 21 featuring state-of-the-art theater technology not yet available in any theater worldwide.
“We are the first theater in the world to make use of the Dolby Surround Sound EX system with JBL screen array,” said theater manager Bruce Stotser. While the Surround EX system arrived with the opening of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The JBL Screen Array was released to the industry in the Fall of 1999. The array consists of high frequency horns, four 10" mid-range and two 15" drivers in the bass bins. There are three of these 100" towers behind the screen in #1. In addition, #1 uses a twin 18" driver sub-woofer powered by its own 1000 watt QSC digital amplifier. In all, #1 is powered by 8000 watts of QSC power. All three auditoriums were built to THX specifications. They were not certified because of the high expense and the fact that George Lucas compromised the process by certifying home TV sustems. Never-the-less, to experience THX style workmanship, try a show at the Palace.
Background
The theater to be known as “The Palace Theatre” will include three screens. The main auditorium will include roughly 240 seats while screens two and tree will have approximately 100 seats each in them.
All of the latest and most current technology will be available to stimulate the movie experience. The sound system in the main auditorium will use a new speaker system design released this year by JBL. A JBL Company spokesman reports that the Waverly Palace will be the first theater in the world to install such a system.
In addition to the new speaker design, The Waverly Palace will by using the new Dolby Surround EX system. This new format first appeared with the release of “Star Wars— The Phantom Menace.”
A seat in any of the three cinemas will also by a real treat with each featuring state-of-the-art lumbar support.
“Completely new restrooms have been added on the main floor, Handicap accessibility to all three screens is provided and the entire theater structure now has a sprinkler system to meet current fire safety code. Brining the building up to proper code and renovating the mechanical systems for a top quality movie experience have been the biggest challenges so far,” says Stotser.
The entire ductwork system was replaced to rid the building of hot and cold spots and problems with loud air blowing on you as you sat in the theater. New water systems had to be brought to the building in order to handle the capacity needed for the sprinkler system. The building was built like a fortress and tearing out the old lobby and expanding it across the entire front of the building was a major project. Bringing emergency exits up to code had to be considered in the new design as well.
“We were committed to getting the restrooms out of the basement and up in the lobby where they belong,” states Stotser. “And that is difficult to do when space comes at such a premium in an old building such as this.”
“When the Downtown Task Force approached me almost a year ago with the idea of keeping a theater in downtown Waverly, it was my intention from the beginning to try and create a warm and friendly atmosphere,” said Stotser.
“I would really like to get the community involved in the success of the theater. I would like to make going to the theater in Waverly an experience and involve some of our local businesses, schools and the college in promotional types of projects,” said Stotser. “The theater truly is an asset of the downtown and of the greater Waverly area, we need to make sure that the experience of attending a movie in Waverly also contributes to the success of Waverly overall.”
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