Nickelodeon is an early 20th century form of small, neighborhood movie theaters in which admission was obtained for a nickel. By 1907, one estimate (based on basic business economics) was that an average of over two million people attended the nickelodeons daily. The popularity of these affordable, entertaining, and highly profitable venues was such that their numbers mushroomed to approximately 8,000 in the U.S. by 1908. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... A typical multiplex (AMC Promenade 16 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California). ... The United States five-cent coin, commonly called a nickel, is a unit of currency equaling one-twentieth, or five-hundredths, of a United States dollar. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Nickelodeons were usually minimally converted main street storefronts, formerly used as shops (or even livery stables). Most were small, with fewer than 200 seats, 200 being the threshold then in place in many cities where the nickelodeon had to take out theatre licenses instead of the much cheaper amusement license. The auditorium was small: one story high, typically 25 feet wide and 70 feet deep. Its seats were usually simple kitchen chairs and its walls were often painted red. Main Street in Los Altos, California. ... A vehicle for hire is a vehicle providing public transportation, which transports one or more passengers between locations of the passengers choice. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... Amusement, Viktor Vasnetsov Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and usually entertaining events or situations, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. ... An auditorium is the area within a theatre, concert hall or other performance space where the audience is located in order to hear and watch the performance. ...

Nickelodeons in competitive markets had a piano or organ, playing whatever music the pianist or organist knew that seemed appropriate to a scene (e.g. classic ragtime for a chase sequence, or what was called at the time "Eliza-crossing-the-ice" music during the scary moments). A grand piano, with the lid up. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Modern style pipe organ at the concert hall of Aletheia University in Matou, Taiwan The organ is a keyboard instrument with one or more manuals, and usually a pedalboard. ... Classic Rag (or classical ragtime) is a term used to describe the style of ragtime composition pioneered by Scott Joplin and the Missouri school of ragtime composers. ... Uncle Toms Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is a novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe which treats slavery as a central theme. ...

The name "Nickelodeon" was coined (an apt term) by Harry Davis and John P. Harris, who opened their small, storefront theatre under that name on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in June of 1905. Though theirs was not the first theatre in the world to specialize in presenting movies, Davis and Harris found such great success with their operation that their concept of a five cent theatre running movies continuously was soon imitated by hundreds of ambitious entrepreneurs, as was the name of the theatre itself. [1]. Nickname: Steel City, Iron City, City of Champions, City of Bridges, City of Colleges, P-Burgh, The Burgh Motto: Benigno Numine Location in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Allegheny County Founded 1758 Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (D) Area    - City 151. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Louis B. Mayer came of age just as the popularity of the nickelodeon was beginning to rise; he renovated the "Gem Theater" in Haverhill, Massachusetts, converting it into a nickelodeon he opened in 1907 as the "Orpheum Theater", and announced that it would be "the home of refined entertainment devoted to Miles Brothers moving pictures and illustrated songs" [2], [3]. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Seal of Haverhill, MA Haverhill is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts. ...

Their numbers declined as cities grew and industry consolidation led to larger, more comfortable, and better-appointed movie theaters.

Types of "moving pictures"

Nickelodeons would show films which were typically fifteen to twenty minutes in length, and in a variety of styles and subjects, such as short narratives, "scenics" (views of the world from moving trains), illustrated song slides, local or touring song and dance acts, comedies, melodramas, problem plays, stop action sequences, sporting events (e.g. the 1897 Corbett-Fitzsimmons championship fight or the 1899 Jeffries -Sharkey fight) and other features which allowed them to compete with vaudeville houses. Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... Poster for The Perils of Pauline (1914). ... The term problem plays is applied to the three plays William Shakespeare wrote between the last of his pure comedies (Twelfth Night) and the first of his pure tragedies (Othello) They are Alls Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida. ... Pixillation (from pixilated) is a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. ... James John Corbett, born September 1, 1866 in San Francisco, California, United States – died February 18, 1933 in Bayside, New York, was a heavyweight boxing champion. ... Robert James Bob Fitzsimmons (May 26, 1863 - October 22, 1917) was a Cornish native and moved to New Zealand in his childhood. ... This is a chronological list of world heavyweight boxing champions, as recognized by the following organizations: The World Boxing Association (WBA), founded in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA), The World Boxing Council (WBC), founded in 1963, The International Boxing Federation (IBF), founded in 1983, The World Boxing Organization... James Jackson Jeffries (The Boilermaker) (born April 15, 1875 in Carroll, Ohio, United States – died March 3, 1953 in Burbank, California) was a world heavyweight boxing champion. ... Sailor Tom Sharkey (b. ... Vaudeville is a style of multi-act theatre which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. ...

The titles of a few of the films released in 1907 and distributed to nickelodeons by the Miles Brothers (Herbert and Harry) partially illustrate this diversity. 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Boat Race Logo Exhausted crews at the finish of the 2002 Boat Race The Boat Race is a rowing race between the rowing clubs of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. ... Tommy Burns, ca. ... James Jackson Jeffries (The Boilermaker) (born April 15, 1875 in Carroll, Ohio, United States – died March 3, 1953 in Burbank, California) was a world heavyweight boxing champion. ... Logo of the Shriners The Shriners, or Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, are an Order appendant to Freemasonry. ...

See also

• Nickelodeon, a 1976 film about the early days of the silent movies business.
• The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has an exhibit, Yesterday's Main Street, which includes a working mock-up of a nickelodeon.

Nickelodeon is a 1976 film directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Ryan ONeal, Burt Reynolds, Tatum ONeal, Brian Keith, Stella Stevens, and John Ritter. ... The Museum of Science and Industry is housed in the only surviving building from the 1893 World Columbian Exposition and is a National Historic Landmark. ...

External links and sources

• The Nickelodeons, written by Joseph Medill Patterson and published in the November 23, 1907 issue of The Saturday Evening Post
• "Story films" distributed by the Miles Brothers, from the American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films