Collection Guide
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Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann collection
423
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Abstract: The collection contains material on nearly 5,000 American motion picture theaters and theater organs, including architectural
blueprints and design drawings; theater reference materials, including clippings, programs, and postcards; and interior and
exterior photographs of theaters. Particularly strong is its coverage of major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San
Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. There is some material from every state and from Washington, D.C. Accumulated
by Tom B'hend from the 1940s onward, since 1972 the collection had been expanded and maintained by Kaufmann, who had made
arrangements for its transfer to the library prior to his death in 1998.
Collector:
B'hend, Tom
Kaufmann, Preston J.
Dates: 1866-1999
Dates: 1905-1969
Collection number: 423
Collection Size:
315 linear ft. of papers
52 linear ft. of photos
10 item(s) of posters
Repository:
Margaret Herrick Library. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Available by appointment only.
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Margaret Herrick Library. Researchers are responsible for obtaining all
necessary rights, licenses, or permissions from the appropriate companies or individuals before quoting from or publishing
materials obtained from the library.
Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann collection, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Bequest of the Preston Kaufmann Trust, 1998
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann collection spans the years 1866-1990s (bulk 1900s-1960s). The papers encompass approximately
315 linear feet and include books, periodicals, blueprints, building plans, and subject files including theater reference
materials. The theater reference material, covering more than 2,000 American theaters, is arranged alphabetically by state,
city, and theater name, and consists of clippings, newspaper advertisements, programs, and documentation on subjects such
as theater organs and theater restorations. There is a large amount of financial and legal material, including box office
grosses, annual financial statements, film booking percentages, legal documents related to the leasing and sale of theaters,
and descriptions of buildings for insurance purposes.
Particularly strong is its coverage of major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and
Philadelphia, but many small-town theaters are also included. There is some material from every state and from Washington,
D.C.
The photograph series of the Tom B’hend and Preston Kaufmann collection spans from the late 1890s to circa 1990 (bulk 1900s-1960s)
and encompasses 52 linear feet, representing nearly 5,000 American theaters. The collection consists of some 24,000 items,
including approximately 15,000 photographic prints, 5,000 negatives, 3,000 postcards, and 500 transparencies.
The photographs document the history of motion picture exhibition throughout the United States. The material is arranged alphabetically
by state, city, and theater name. While every state (and Washington, D.C.) is represented, coverage is particularly strong
in major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Images depict movie theaters converted from opera houses, vaudeville theaters and retail facilities, in addition to thousands
of purpose-built theaters including nickelodeons, movie palaces, neighborhood venues and drive-ins, in locations ranging from
major cities to small towns. The images reveal many different aspects of theaters, including exteriors, marquees, front-of-house
advertising, box offices, lobbies, concession stands, restrooms, auditoriums, organs, and projection booths. The work of many
different architects is represented.
Most of the photographs were taken by professional photographers, and B'hend and Kaufmann themselves collected the images
from both archives and private collections.
Thomas B’hend was born in Hereford, Texas in 1917. When he was a year old, his family moved to Southern California, and by
1920 was living in Pasadena. As a child he would attend screenings at movie palaces in downtown Los Angeles as well as at
the Academy Theater in Pasadena. At the Academy, he observed the preparations for the stage shows put on by Fanchon and Marco
and became fascinated with the live performances that accompanied movie screenings of the era. He attended Woodbury Business
College in Los Angeles and worked as a file clerk for the “Los Angeles Examiner.” During World War II, he served in the United
States Army Air Force where he oversaw a public relations office and base newspaper at the Avon Park Air Force base in Florida.
Following the war, he worked as a salesman for West Coast Banana Distributors in Los Angeles. By this time, B’hend’s interest
in movies theaters had developed into a keen interest in theater organs. From 1962 to 1984 he published “The Console,” a monthly
magazine which reported on theater organ news and events. In 1979 he established Showcase Publications with his partner, Preston
Kaufmann, and published Kaufmann’s book “Fox, the Last Word: ... Story of the World's Finest Theatre” as well as David L.
Junchen’s “Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ.” In 1986, the American Theatre Organ Society asked him to write a monthly
newsletter, “ATOS International News” where he continued reporting on theater organ news as he had done in “The Console.”
In 1991 he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Theatre Historical Society of America, representing the Los Angeles
Metropolitan Region, and he began his own monthly newsletter, the “Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Newsreel,” for THS
members. B’hend wrote both newsletters until his death in 1994.
Preston Joel Kaufmann was born in San Francisco, California in 1954. In 1963 he observed the demolition of the Fox Theatre
in San Francisco and was fascinated with the building’s architectural style. For a time, he studied architectural design but
eventually switched his focus to graphic arts. Nevertheless, he had maintained an interest in the Fox Theatre since its destruction
and had also developed an interest in the design of other movie palaces constructed during the silent film era. As a teenager
he even tried to build a scale model of the Fox, but in studying the structure he decided he could capture the theater better
in a book. For over a decade he researched the theater, conducting interviews with everyone from former ushers to theater
executives, and a friend recommended that he contact noted theater historian Tom B’hend. The two became lifelong partners
and created Showcase Publications, which published Kaufmann’s book, “Fox, the Last Word: ... Story of the World's Finest Theatre,”
in 1979. Kaufmann also worked for “The Console,” a magazine created by B’hend, and the two maintained a personal archive of
material on American motion picture theaters and theater organs. He served on the Board of Directors of the Theatre Historical
Society of America, representing the Los Angeles Metropolitan Region. Before his death in 1998, Kaufmann arranged to have
his and B’hend’s personal archive donated to the Margaret Herrick Library.
Theater reference files (United States); Theater reference files (Foreign); Edwards Theatres. Circuit administration; Edwards
Theatres. Distributor solicitations; Edwards Theatres. Financial files; Edwards Theatres. Legal files; Fanchon and Marco research
files; Oversize; Subject photographs - Theaters (United States); Subject photographs - Fanchon and Marco
Theaters