Disneyland General
Topic: Why is Main St Cinema marquee black?

#	Author	Message
1	Rsey103 Thu 5/8/2008 3:57p	Most movie theater marquees I've seen have been designed with a white, lighted background and red or black title letters in front. The marquee on Disneyland's Main Street Cinema is black with white title letters in front. Is this design true to the period, or is it there because Harper Goff or somebody just wanted it that way? How practical is a black background on a marquee at night?
2	FerretAfros Thu 5/8/2008 4:06p	For some reason, I feel like that's probably just the way things were done back then. They didn't have large flourescent lights yet, so they weren't thinking of ways to illuminate the signs from the inside. Because of that, most exterior lighting was done with small spot lights attached to the signs (think of the lights in the cages for the Tiki Room), shining on the painted signs. I would assume they wanted black and white because it was easy to read and could be seen from a distance. The black background could have come from just wanting it to look different than ink on paper. It's the same idea, but just different enough that it stands out. It also made it easier to keep it clean, since dirt doesn't show up on white as easily. It may have just been one of those totally random things that stuck, but I'm pretty sure that most old movie theaters did have black signs with white letters. Here's a link to a random picture of one that I found: http://www.flickr.com/photos/70251312@N00/2259452596/
3	DlandDug Thu 5/8/2008 4:18p	Grrrrrr. I hate that marquee! You see, that is NOT the marquee that graced the Main Street Cinema for 45+ years. A few years before the 50th, it was changed, for no apparent reason. Here's a look at the original marquee: http://www.matterhorn1959.com/...nema.jpg Great, calssic turn-of-the-century look. Pale green background, dark green letters. (the color scheme was changed over the years.) Here's the new abomination: http://themouseplace.com/DL_Cinema.jpg Stupid "old timey" lettering that looks like a font from a deluxe computer selection. "Main Street" in tiny script, and two little useless curlicue dingbats. I have no idea why they chose to change it. Just another reason why the Walt Disney Company is signalling the END OF THE WORLD!
4	Mickeyfan1 Thu 5/8/2008 4:21p	Now now DlandDug, just take a deep breath and relax. Change is hard sometimes I know. Now, close you eyes and go to your "happy place", that's it, good. There, all better now? I knew it!
5	DlandDug Thu 5/8/2008 4:22p	Oh. As to why the marquee where the titles went is black... Yes, there was a time when electrically lit marquees featured bright letters against a black background. Ever heard the phrase, "Your name up in lights?" That refered, specifically, to letters that were lined in small bulbs, and could be plugged into a framework. Another type had a large "lightbox", with white milk-glass letters set into black panels. There were blackout panes that filled in the empty spaces. As extruded plastic became more cost efficient, the vast white light boxes with dark letters came into vogue. So Disneyland's Main Street Cinema, in 1955, had a very quaint, old fashioned charm. Just one of the many details that made Disney theme parks' the salvation of the world, and by extension all mankind.
6	DlandDug Thu 5/8/2008 4:24p	>>...go to your "happy place"...<< I tried going to my happy place, but some young whipper snapper had remodeled it all out of recognition...
7	Kar2oonMan Thu 5/8/2008 7:18p	>>I hate that marquee!<< You should have seen my face when I walked into the "Main Street Cinema" at WDW. I did a double take, walked back outside to make sure I hadn't somehow walked through the wrong doorway. It's a STORE! Ack!!!
8	Elderp Fri 5/9/2008 4:02a	Usually I don't like old, but when it comes to Main Street old is better.
9	FerretAfros Fri 5/9/2008 10:29a	Speaking of bad fonts, has anybody else seen the sign for the turkey leg place across the way from TSMM? That font is straight out of Word, and makes the Cinema font look down right quaint. I know some graphic designer thought it would be hip and edgy to have a neat font, but why can't we just have something that looks authentic?
10	FerretAfros Fri 5/9/2008 10:32a	Here's a link to it, it's about 3/4 of the way down the page, near the end of the first post. http://micechat.com/forums/blo...hp?b=367

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