A Great Fireproof Theatre.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 187, 15 January 1887, Page 5

A Great Fireproof Theatre.

The Vienna correspondent of the " Times" givo3 some interesting particulars of tne new Hofburg Theatre, now being constructed on the Ring. Though the whole exterior of the building i8 finished > the inside will not be completed till next October, but it is already possible to form an idea what the house will be. In its mechanical appliances for econevy, warming, and lighting, and in its arrangements for the comfort of actors and spectators the new theatre will be without its equal in the world. It will hold 2,000 persons, and every perso ? will have a clear view of the stage, as ther not a aiDgle pillar to obstruct the view Every private box will have its vestibUio ope aing on to a passage 20ft. wide, and this open* in its turn through countless doors into * foyer 30ft. wide, which goes all round the building. This arrangement, repeated on every floor, will give spectators in the gallery a foyer as large as those on the lower tiers. Twenty -four doors from each of the foyers open on to wide staircases, which. lead out of the theatre, so that in case of a, fire alarm there cannot be any crowding or difficulty about exit. Wood has been usedfc as little as possible in the construction, alt tho staircases being of stone, the girdere* and frameworks of iron, and the ornament in the foyers of marble, polished stone, oc enamelled tiling. All the wood used is mv* pregnated with incombustible chemicals. The stage in completely separated fron* the auditorium by a wall ot brick and irow t , and, according to the luio now enforced in all Austrian theatres, there is an iron curtain, which can be enforced in two mm. ntes when required. All the mechanism forscene lighting is of iron, and bv a new system peculiar to thiß theatre, the whole stage and different portions of it have beea made movable, so that set scenes with fur* niture can be prepared below the boards and sent up all ready, without any work on the stage or in the slips. The space under the stage is part of the moat of the old forti-* iications. and is oi immense depth. Three stories of private rooms for the actorß andi actresses give the apace all round the stage the appearance of a large hotel. Every performer above the rank of chorus-einger-will have his or her separate dressing-room* I and even the " eupera" will not be more than 12 in one large room. The. the*!?*} will be lighted throughout by eleotrioitY*