50 Years Ago: A cinema under the stars

First published in BUILDING WITH STEEL, May 1961

All welded steel structure for supporting the cinema screen of a new ‘drive-in’ cinema in Trinidad. Set at an angle of 7 degrees to the vertical, the structure consists of 12 ribs, each 74 ft. high with horizontal channel members stretching across the full width to support the flat asbestos screen, 110 ft. wide by 54 ft. deep.

The whole structure weighs approximately 30 tons and is designed to withstand a wind of 85 m.p.h. It was exported from Britain. Consulting Engineers: Clarke, Nicholls and Marcel, Trinidad.