1966/1967, Throughout the United StatesDuring the 1960’s Chevrolet produced a traveling spectacle called the Chevy Show and it took place in a portable inflatable theater called a Cinesphere. These Chevy Shows were seen throughout the nation at fairs and shopping center parking lots by millions of people. An article entitled “Agricultural Expositions Prime Business Targets” located on page 33 of the Sunday, August 21, 1966 edition of the
Morgantown Dominion Post, a Morgantown, West Virginia, newspaper states, “Chevrolet is sending out two Cinenspheres— inflatable theaters that can hold up to 250 persons and present three shows an hour — to a total of 30 fairs this season. Among the places where Chevrolet has dispatched the Cinesphere are the Heart of Illinois Fair in Peoria and the Milwaukee Fair. ‘IT’S ONE way we have of keeping the Chevrolet name and image before the public,’ a company official said. ‘It helps us get to the grass roots of America.’ Chevrolet spends $15,000 a month to support its two cinespheres, which includes the salaries of a half a dozen men who travel with them and local manpower hired in each town. Local dealers are also encouraged to tie in with the traveling show. The Cinesphere was at the Allentown Fair, where more than 500,000 persons attended its nine-day run earlier this month.”
https://newspaperarchive.com/morgantown-dominion-post-aug-21-1966-p-33/In addition to grandstand attractions featuring Camaros driven by “Joie Chitwood and his famous Auto Daredevils” an article on the upcoming 97th Danbury State Fair held in Danbury, New York (October 1-9, 1966) appeared on page 4 of the
Brewster Standard Newspaper from Brewster, New York also mentions, “other highlights will be the 1966 Chevy Show in the cinesphere theater.”
http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn84031640/1966-09-22/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=01%2F01%2F1966&city=&date2=10%2F31%2F1967&searchType=advanced&SearchType=phrase&sequence=0&lccn=&index=0&words=Cinesphere&proxdistance=&county=&to_year=1967&rows=20&ortext=&from_year=1966&proxtext=&phrasetext=cinesphere&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1 Click on the following two links to see newspaper ads for the Cinesphere Chevy Show when it visited San Bernardino, California in March of 1967.
1st Ad:
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SBS19670317.1.53&srpos=3&e=01-09-1966-31-12-1967--en--20--1--txt-txIN-cinesphere-------1 (San Bernardino Sun, March 17, 1967 page 53)
2nd Ad:
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SBS19670318.1.32&srpos=4&e=01-09-1966-31-12-1967--en--20--1--txt-txIN-cinesphere-------1 (San Bernardino Sun, March 18, 1967 page 32)
While the next two newspaper articles are from 1968, they give a good overview of how the Chevy Show operated. I’m sure it was much the same during 1966 and 1967.
Underneath a picture of the 1968 version of the Cutaway Camaro, an article on page 99 of the January 21, 1968 edition of
The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida states, “CAMARO 'HALF CAR' The ‘inside’ story of Chevrolet's exciting new Camaro is exhibited in the special ‘half car’ display unit pictured above. The sporty Camaro is "cut in two" to reveal design highlights and the workings of inner mechanical components. The Camaro ‘half car’ is a centerpiece of Chevrolet's 1968 automobile road shows.” (
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/134774799/)
An article on page 7 of the June 4, 1968 edition of the
Ashbury Park Press from Ashbury Park, New Jersey talks about what guests witnessed during their visit to the Chevy Show. It states, “Cine-sphere Show Set For Opening EATONTOWN - The Cine-sphere Chevy Show, already seen by millions of people in the United States, will be at the Monmouth Shopping Center Thursday through June 15. Kitson Chevrolet and the Monmouth Shopping Center Merchants Association are the sponsors. A movie, ‘Chevrolet x-citement,’ will be shown on a dome-shaped screen in a vinyl-coated theater supported entirely by air pressure, maintained by aromatic blowers. The theater will seat 174 persons. There is no admission charge, and viewing hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Sunday. The viewer will find himself in the center of the action, which will include a helicopter ride under Utah's Rainbow Bridge, a mule ride into the Grand Canyon, a ski ride in the Rockies, and a whirl around the Indianapolis speedway behind the wheel of a racer. A highlight of the show will be a drawing for two Chevy Juniors built on a go-cart chassis, with a fiberglass body and a three-and-a-half horsepower, one-cylinder engine, capable of moving the vehicle along up to 25 miles an hour. Registration tickets for the drawing will be available at all stores at the center. The drawing will take place at 8 p.m., June 15.” (
www.newspapers.com)
1st picture: Cover of
Mainstream: News of Chevrolet Merchandising Activities, November 1966, Volume 4 Number 3: (
http://pilotcarregistry.com/rare-vintage-photos.html) Does anyone have this or any other copies of this publication? I would love to see more of Chevrolet’s merchandising activities!
2nd picture: Ad for Pinewood Shopping Center December 9-17, 1966:
www.pinterest.com 3rd picture: Camaro Cutaway and engine in Tent:
http://pilotcarregistry.com/rare-vintage-photos.html
