[Editor's note - In this piece I'll be using the common American version of theater opposed to the UK standard theatre. No offense to anyone who has a preference for the latter]
Did you know that if you google 'what was the very first movie theater' it renders just over 10 thousand different options? Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but there really is some extensive and well-researched material on the subject. Certainly way more than I had originally anticipated. As a result, I decided to write a little 1200-word something on this topic.
According to NPR, the first public motion picture theater opened way back on June 19, 1905, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was called the Nickelodeon, named after the Greek word for theater, 'odeon' and 'nickel,' the price for admission. This Nickelodeon was an instant hit and before too long similar venues began to sprout elsewhere - and by 1908 there were an estimated 8000 or so similar Nickelodeons scattered throughout the country.
However, prior to the Nickelodeon craze, there was the Vitascope Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana. This short lived experience was first introduced back in July of 1896 by William Rock and Walter Wainwright. According to a reliable a trustworthy information source (we'll call it Wikipedia), Rock and Wainwright converted a vacant store into the very first storefront theatre. Over the course of two months during that summer of '96, for the small fee of ten cents, they'd cram 400-hundred eager attendees into the hall like prawns. Yay them! ;)
Americans weren't the only ones getting in on the action. Over in France, European audiences had the the Lumiere brothers: Louis and Auguste. The Lumieres famously unveiled their Cinematographe (a film camera that also functioned as a photo developer and projector) to the world during a movie screening at the Grand Cafe in Paris in December of 1895, delighting audiences - and even creating mild hysteria. A very widespread urban legend has it that an early Lumiere film, one involving a train entering a local station, terrified countless viewers when they were unable to distinguish the difference between an arriving train on a movie screen vs an actual train. That film: Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7laguPTT-Q
Those are just three examples, though I assure you there are many, many more. This isn't to suggest that movie theaters are alone in this type of rhetoric. First ever movie theater claims aren't too dissimilar from, say, the countless legions of pizzerias in New York who all claim to be the very first pizzeria ever - even though it's unlikely any of them are. |Lombardi's enters the chat|
But here's some food for thought: If the Nickelodeon is the first, and the Vitascope Hall is also the first, but the Lumieres screening at the Grand Cafe have a claim to that title as well, is it possible for all of them to be the first? Or perhaps, none of them?
And while we're on the subject of who-did-what first, what about Simon von Stampfer? Arguably this man was the OG in this entire arena - and no, I'm not only saying that because his name shares a striking similarity to this author. A little known fact, way back in the 1830s Stampfer, an Austrian mathematician, created the very first moving (AKA rotating) picture with the Stroboscopic disc. (As seen below). Does he not deserve a place somewhere in this conversation?
Stampfer's invention helped pave the way for the likes of Thomas Edison and Louis Le Prince, whom we often cite as the pioneers for inventing motion picture machines. And speaking of Edison - there were at least two other cases of inventors creating moving image machines between Stampfer in 1830s and Edison's work in the 1870s and 80s. And yet, Edison's the name we often think of first.
But isn't that just the way it is in life? The first person to do something often isn't actually the first person to do something. And if they are, they don't seem to get recognized for it... at least until somebody else comes along and does it better.
At the end of the day, does it really matter? Eventually inventions reach that universal point where its creator becomes almost immaterial. The creation transcends any claim for ownership. I think of an interview between Conan O'Brien (comedian, late-night host, legend) and Jack White (musician, singer, legend) where they discuss this very type of thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iZfCCqPsWA.
Movie theaters, as far as I'm concerned, fall into that same realm. While's there's a distinct possibility the first movie theater debate will remain a point of contention for years to come, the invention itself will have a more lasting existence. In the 100-some-odd years since they were first introduced, movie theaters have taken on a lifeforce of their own. Some are big, some are small, some are corporate owned, some independent. Some are of the drive-in variety. Some are found in shopping malls. Some are extinct. But all belong to viewer. Their entertainment. Their escape. Their highs, their the lows. Their everything. Movie theater experiences are all encompassing. And there's something unique and often therapeutic about that. To borrow a line from that Nicole Kidman AMC commercial where she's sitting in an empty theater, 'even heartbreak feels good in a place like this.'
So with that in mind, in this expanded movie theater history universe conversation, I say, let them all be first! The Lumieres, the guys in New Orleans, the guys in Pittsburgh and all the other guys I didn't bring up. They all left their mark in some form or another and should be celebrated as such. And isn't that way more important? It's the type of thing that makes everybody feel good, in an old Frank Capra film sorta way. So cheers to you, 'first movie theater ever!' Who ever you are. Or aren't.
Oh! And speaking of celebrating... over the next few months I'll be sharing stories, thoughts, memories, favorites and an overall general love for all things related to movie theaters. I feel this is an especially important discussion right now. With ongoing strikes absolutely plaguing the industry we just don't know what this means for the future of movie theaters. In a 2020 filing by NATO (National Association of Theater Owners) there are estimated to be over 5500 active movie theaters. On the surface that seems like a ton, and it is, but it's also down a whopping 2000 or so theaters from their hey day, back in the mid-90s. With television streaming channels continuing to increase, and screening opportunities at theaters continuing to decrease, the outlook for movie houses across the country (corporate, independent or otherwise) doesn't seem overtly optimistic. And if things don't change we may find a not-too-distant future where we're no longer debating who created the very first movie theater, but instead, who might own the last.
Wow. Things went a bit bleak there at the end. An odd thing too, seeing that I started that paragraph with celebrating. Sorry. Bottom line, I have many thoughts, to the teetering point of obsession, on this hot topic. Mostly good, I have to admit. So please continue to read my many disorganized meanderings - I'll try to keep them light - and obviously feel free to leave a comment!
