A Pop Up Nickelodeon for holiday season
The Theatre Historical Society of America invites you to cross the threshold to 1905 Pittsburgh and the forerunner of the modern movie theater, the first Nickelodeon.
From Light Up Night Nov. 17 to First Night Dec. 31, a Pop Up Nickelodeon will represent what THS executive director Richard Fosbrink calls “The Pittsburgh Idea” and allow us to experience the city’s role as the birthplace of cinema. That original Nickelodeon was on Smithfield Street, but this one will appear in the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s storefront at 811 Liberty Ave., the former home of Arcade Comedy.
The Pop Up Nickelodeon began to take shape in a conversation between Mr. Fosbrink and the Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership’s Jeremy Waldrup, who thought it would be a good idea for the holiday season and got the Trust involved to provide a space.
The THS — an organization that celebrates and documents the relevance of historic theaters in the United States — moved its archive here from Chicago at the beginning of the year.
“We wanted to do something to introduce ourselves to the city, and what better way than to show why Pittsburgh is important to the cinema industry?” Mr. Fosbrink said.
A re-creation of the original sign will mark the spot on Liberty Avenue, while inside, there will be a ticket booth and an exhibition. Visitors will then walk past drapes to find an upto-date screen displaying films from the era, including Edwin S. Porter’s “The Great Train Robbery” and Georges Melies’ “A Trip to the Moon,” as well as short films introducing the THS and its mission. The films will total about an hour of screen time and run in a loop.
“People don’t always know where that phrase ‘This is where we came in ...’ comes from. It came from nickelodeons. It didn’t matter if you came in at the beginning,” Mr. Fosbrink said.
The Pop Up Nickelodeon will run noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday (noon to 9 p.m. on Black Friday) and noon to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday. The entry fee is meant to be as it was back in the day — a nickel — but donations of any amount will be accepted.
The plaque marking the original site at 441 Smithfield St. is in storage for now, as the building is being redeveloped. But this holiday season in the Pittsburgh Cultural District, Pittsburghers can pause and reflect on where movies began, and how far they have come.
“This notion of a Pop Up Nickelodeon is kind of what they thought of back in 1905,” Mr. Fosbrink said. “They didn’t think it would last.”