What Is a Nickelodeon Movie Theater?

Imagine a time when movies cost just a nickle.

A nickel was not just a nickel more than a century ago. In an era when the average worker made about 22 cents an hour, a nickel was equal to 15 minutes of work. But in the early 1900s, many Americans thought watching a movie at a nickelodeon was worth that nickel.

The Nickelodeon

Imagine entering a small booth, dropping a penny into a slot and peering through an eyepiece to watch a minute or less of movie. Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope first brought moving pictures to the public. But it was Pittsburgh businessmen Harry Davis and John P. Harris who created the first movie theater---the nickelodeon. It was named for the price of admission combined with "odeon," the Greek word for theater.

Coming of Age

On June 19, 1905, the doors of the first nickelodeon opened. About 450 people came to the theater on opening day. The first theater was small by today's standards, with 96 seats, and its short films were flickering little skits sandwiched between live vaudeville performers. Nickelodeons quickly spread across the country. Within the first two years, about 2 million Americans had been to a nickelodeon. In 1908, there were about 8,000 nickelodeons in America, according to the Library of Congress.

The Death of Nickelodeons

By the end of the decade, the nickelodeon faced decline. Larger theaters that screened longer films had replaced them by 1910, according to the History Channel.

References

• Carnegie Library: Pittsburgh Gave Birth to the Movie Theater Idea (from From The Dispatch, 16 November 1919, by E. W. Lightner)
• Library of Congress: History of Edison Motion Pictures - Fictional Films Dominate as Nickelodeons Emerge (1900-1907)
• History.com: First nickelodeon opens
• History Link: Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope -- forerunner to projected motion pictures -- is demonstrated in Seattle on December 13, 1894
• Yavapai County Long Term Care: Member Newsletter (PDF)