Vintage Lighting Old Kliegl lighting system at Jones Beach

[Scenemaster60]

Forgive me if I'm posting this in the wrong forum, but this seemed like the most logical place. I was surfing the site Kliegl Bros. Universal Electric Stage Lighting Company earlier today and happened across a brochure entitle "Klieglight at Famous Outdoor Theaters". One of the main venues featured in that brochure was the Jones Beach Amphitheater which was part of the vision of the renowned (for good and ill) urban planner Robert Moses.

As someone who is in their early 40s, the technology featured is somewhat foreign to me. Certainly I understand the footlights, the tormentor fresnels and radial ellipsoidals, but I was astonished by the fact that they featured 120 3,000 watt "Dynabeam" spotlights from the lighting bridge. Each of these lights had a cooling blower, iris, dowser, and a "condensing lens" which made the beam into an oval. The throw from this bridge to the stage and across a patch of water is 315'!

Does anyone here remember this original installation at Jones Beach? How was it switched? I can't imagine that it could possibly have been dimmed (or maybe it was???) I would imagine that it was all very spectacular for its day and would have been more similar to what one would have seen in a Broadway house in 1952 as compared to what became the standard by to by the end of the 20th century!

I'm just curious about this. I'm a history junkie and collector of various vintage things and the ways of the past always fascinate me.

I'm sure that there have been at least a half dozen renovations to the lighting system out there over the years, or is there no longer a "house" system and acts are expected to bring in their own instruments and rigging?

 

[MPowers]

The lights could have been dimmed, though it would have been a a massive dimmer bank. At the time of the installation 6K, 7K up to 12K dimmers were not uncommon. The common practice of the time was fewer dimmers but large capacity.

The Dynabeam was built on a follow spot base, with the fan, iris and dowser. A condensing lens is simply a plano convex lens, though it was stepped in a fresnel fashion in this unit. I am wondering where you got the info that the lens made the beam oval???

 

[Scenemaster60]

This is from the 1957 Kliegl Catalog.

 

[Les]

The condensing lens MPowers describes is different from the spreader lens. The spreader lens is a lenticular lens most likely found in the dowser area thus can be brought in or out to shape the beam from spot to "flood" as needed. Some Lycian Midgets have this feature as well. The condenser "conza" lens is a permanent part of the optics. It is responsible for organizing the light output of the largely non-point source of the original incandescent lamp which sits in front of a spherical reflector.

 

[SteveB]

I'm sure that there have been at least a half dozen renovations to the lighting system out there over the years, or is there no longer a "house" system and acts are expected to bring in their own instruments and rigging?

Probably many fewer renovations then that. The theater operated for years doing musicals prior to being turned into a concert venue. The famous band leader Guy Lombardo ran the facility for a good while. Here's the Wiki article which describes the usage over the years.

Nikon at Jones Beach Theater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The attached photo's show the current facility. They added the upper balcony in the early 90's, underneath that extension is where the FOH lighting would have been located, as well as on the side towers. The roof on the stage is new as well, didn't exist when they did musicals. As well they filled in the moat with extra orchestra seating. Load in is currently from the east side of the orchestra, down thru the theater and fork lifted onto the stage.

The stage as well as all the understage facilities. plus the lower bathrooms and box office facilities were under many feet pf water from Hurricane Sandy. HUGE amount of damage to the electrical systems.

EDIT: And, yes they bring in whatever package is touring with the act, so no house system other then house lights. The roof is the support structure for lighting and audio as well as some weather protection.