By CHRISTINE ROBINSON
At the request of the Library of Congress, the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) recently renovated the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the James Madison Building in order to provide accessibility for wheelchairs and to improve the use of the facility by the visually and hearing impaired. The project was funded in the fiscal 2004 appropriations bill for the Architect of the Capitol.
"The project began in January 2004 and was substantially completed in early July," said Kevin Hildebrand, the AOC architect who was in charge of the renovations.
Before the renovations, both the right and left entrances to the theater required patrons to walk up a short flight of steps and then down another set of steps to reach the aisles; and then to reach the seats, patrons had to use stepped aisles. Now the entrance on the left side of the theater has been "flat-leveled," with a sloping ramp providing access to the seating. The rounded stage at the front of the small, 64-seat theater and a few of the front-row seats were removed to provide additional space for wheelchairs.
Lighting in the theater has been improved to provide more options. Three automated spotlights now provide flexible lighting, which can be programmed to direct light on the speaker, the stage or on sign-language interpreters. On both sides of the movie screen, renovators reduced the "visual noise" of the striped acoustic walls by adding oak strips between the existing oak slats. For ease of entry and exit, new dimmable footlights have been added to the stairs and ramps.
An additional facet of the renovation was the installation of a new system to provide enhanced listening for individuals who are hard of hearing. An audio loop system, installed under the carpeting, can be accessed with a portable assistive listening device or with the "T switch" provided on many hearing aids.
Finally, new brass railings, carpets and seats—with a change in the color scheme from blue to purple—completed the improvements in the theater, which can still accommodate approximately 60 people.
The Pickford Theater was dedicated on May 10, 1983, following a gift of $500,000 from the Mary Pickford Foundation to support film screenings and related programs in the theater. Charles "Buddy" Rogers, the late Mary Pickford's husband (she died in 1979), trustees of the Pickford Foundation and representatives of the film industry attended the dedication ceremony.
The foundation's gift was one of several that had been made to the Library by Mary Pickford or by the foundation that bears her name. Her first major gift to the Library—2,000 reels comprising 286 titles of films starring her and others—was made on Aug. 4, 1945. In 1970 she made an additional donation of 50 films produced between 1909 and 1913, her years with the American Biograph studios. In 1956 she donated $10,000 for a joint Library of Congress and George Eastman House effort to preserve her films on safety film. The remainder of her film collection was left to the Library by the terms of her will.
Since the Mary Pickford Theater was dedicated in 1983, regular, free film screenings have been offered several nights during the week. Programs have concentrated on rare and unusual films that have been generally unavailable to the general public through commercial sources. The focus of the screenings has been on forgotten sidelights from the early years of film history, with prints drawn from the Library's collections of 460,000 film and television titles. Many of the films have been shown in conjunction with Library of Congress exhibitions or were selected as possible nominees for the National Film Registry.
For information about the current program of films in the Pickford Theater, go to the theater's Web site at www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/pickford/. Reservations may be made by phone, beginning one week before any given show, by calling (202) 707-5677 during business hours. Reserved seats must be claimed at least 10 minutes before showtime, after which standbys will be admitted to unclaimed seats. All programs begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted and are free, but seating is limited to 60 seats.
Christine Robinson was a summer intern in the Library's Public Affairs Office. Eric Eldritch and Helen Dalrymple contributed to this story.