What Was the First Indoor Movie Theater?

Movie Theater|Theater

The first indoor movie theater was invented in the early 1900s by American Thomas Edison and his associate W.K.L. Dickson.

It was called the Kinetoscope and was a viewing device that allowed one person to watch a short movie at a time. The movies were short, only about 50-60 seconds long, but were revolutionary for their time because they allowed people to watch movies in a comfortable theater setting rather than having to stand outside and watch from the street.

The Kinetoscope used 35mm film and was mounted on a wall or table with an electric motor that drove a sprocket wheel that pulled the film through the projector’s gate. The light source for the projector came from an incandescent bulb which illuminated the filmstrip as it ran through the projector’s gate. The images were then projected onto a screen.

The first actual indoor movie theater, however, wasn’t built until 1905 by American inventor Charles Smith in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His theater had seating for more than 700 people and was called “The Nickelodeon” because admission cost only five cents.

The Nickelodeon featured silent films which were accompanied by live music from either an organ or piano player. This soon became a popular form of entertainment as more theaters opened around the country offering similar services.

Conclusion:

The invention of Thomas Edison and WKL Dickson’s Kinetoscope in the early 1900s enabled people to watch movies in a comfortable theater setting rather than having to stand outside and watch from the street. Charles Smith then created the first actual indoor movie theater in 1905 which he named “The Nickelodeon” because admission cost only five cents.