The first time I saw truss used in a theatre was for the bus and truck tour of Starlight Express at the Chicago Theater in, probably, 1988. PRT, with two rows of six-lamp bars, only emerged around 1984. It was early 1970s when Chip Monck first took Rohn tower antenna truss and laid it on its side (today recognized as improper) to form horizontal lighting trusses for Rock&Roll. James Moody in his book Concert Lighting tells how Rock shows were not deemed "artsy" enough to play legitimate theaters, and so was relegated to sports venue that had no permanent lighting installed. Thus the repurposing of the CM Lodestar chain motor and lighting trusses as we now know them. Hope this helps.
Yep, I've heard the Rohn 25 story before too. That would also be not available in 1909. Thirties maybe, fifties for sure, but not a century ago.
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