On June 19, 1905, the first nickelodeon opened in Pittsburgh and attracted about 450 visitors. Nickelodeon were movie theaters that charge a nickel (hence the name) for admission. Commonly placed in converted storefronts, nickelodeons showed projected films and were very popular from 1905 to 1915. Up to two million Americans had visited a nickelodeon at one point, but their popularity decreased with the advent of large movie theaters. Nevertheless, they were an influential part in the American entertainment industry.
Movie cameras were being developed since the 1880s by inventors such as Thomas Edison. In the 1890’s, Edison patented the Kinetograph, which used celluloid film to capture movement. This invention became widely used and facilitated the development of motion pictures.
Nickelodeons offered both movies and live acts known as vaudevilles. The entertainment lasted between fifteen minutes and an hour, and they were commonly accompanied by a pianist. The subject matter was very diverse; it could include anything from “scenics” (views around the world from a train) to “actualities” (like a documentary today). The wide appeal of nickelodeons helped to expand their popularity. Some titles included Johnny’s Run” by English cinema director Frank Mottershaw and “Village Fire Brigade” by Scottish photographer James Williamson. These films were, respectively, a drama and a comedy.
Like many technological innovations, new developments push them out of popularity. The decline of nickelodeons began a few years before the break of World War I. Bigger auditoriums were built which provided a more comfortable place to watch than a converted storefront. Furthermore, the feature films that were developed in the 1910s were longer in length and thus more attractive to consumers. Still, these short films had a long-lasting impact on American society.
Nickelodeons were important in advancing the silent film industry and giving a new form of entertainment to Americans. These short films would fuel the further development of film and movies. Because of their popularity and the interest from the public, nickelodeons helped to modernize film and movies. Without them, we may not be going to the movie theaters today.
Sources:
This was very interesting and really well written! I enjoyed reading about the very beginnings of the movie theater and how it set the stage for all of these large-scale productions we have today. I also loved this post because now I see where the kids tv channel Nickelodeon comes from! It's so cool to see how even though these small, 19th century movie theaters were eventually shut out from society by newer, bigger theaters, there's still a little bit of that history in the 21st century today. I've always found the name, Nickelodeon, weird for a tv channel, but now that I know the meaning behind it, I'm all the more interested in the stories behind every name in society today.
ReplyDeleteI found this post to be very insightful, as I never knew the origins of the Nickelodeon shows. Not only were the shows popular in the 1900s, but they set the foundations for the movies that we enjoy today. Upon further research, I found that in the early stages of the movie theaters, vaudeville theater owners had to buy film from factories and have film mailed to them. This made it quite costly to change shows often, since the shipment costs were high. Later on, films were distributed to theaters through a rental system, making it much easier for the theaters to show a variety of films.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-nickelodeon-opens
This blog was very fun and interesting to read! It was very interesting to read about the origins of modern day movie theaters and see where one of my favorite childhood channels got their name from. Upon further research about the origins of the name "Nickelodeon", I found that the term was popularized by two men named Harry Davis and John P. Davis. They opened a small storefront theater and their concept of 5 cent theater showings was spread to hundreds of entrepreneurs who wanted their same success.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelodeon_(movie_theater)