more artifacts recovered from congress theater's plenum duct work and plaster-covered "iron tent"
This entry was posted on March 27 2017 by Eric
i was taken aback when i discovered a seemingly endless field of debris (several decades worth) covering the floor of a gargantuan plenum duct running under the congress theater's auditorium floor. i spent a good deal of time combing through piles of candy wrappers, matchbooks, ticket stubs, and popcorn boxes, but when the pain from crouching for nearly an hour left me fixated on my herniated discs, i grabbed what i could and worked my way back to the lobby.
i spent the next few hours in the theater's attic, traversing the plaster covered "iron tent," where i found more empty pack of cigarettes, colored mazda light bulbs, and a hand-drawn schematic detailing the placement of colored bulbs in the dome's cove molding (consisting of galvanized steel "rings" equipped with sockets). while i enjoy exploring the theaters hidden cavities and crawlspaces, especially when i find objects left behind by people from the past, i need to shift gears and revisit photodocumenting the theater lobby and auditorium plaster ornamentation.
the "turtle back" or "mushroom" floor-mounted register vent, was a key component in the air distribution or circulation cycle, designed to deliver clean, temperature-controlled air that would envelop the movie patrons, rise and exhaust through wall and/or ceiling grilles. the floor-mounted vents installed above congress theater's plenums were designed, patented, and fabricated by the ventilating products company, chicago, ills. the register is comprised of three components - the surround, adjustable leveler, and the cap.
while searching the plenums i stumbled across an early broom, which no doubt was used to sweep debris from the sleeves in the floor (often congested with clutter) and/or the floors and duct work in order to keep these cavernous chambers free from trash - at least in theory. judging from the age of the broom, the theater's maintenance team abandoned those efforts as early at the 1930's.
This entry was posted in , Miscellaneous, Salvages, Bldg. 51, New Products, Events & Announcements, New Acquisitions, Featured Posts & Bldg. 51 Feed on March 27 2017 by Eric
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