The Rise of Movie Palaces During the Silent Era
Following the rise of the film industry in the early twentieth century, the Movie Palace became the primary manner in which motion pictures were showcased. Several factors, most notably America’s booming economy and heavy investments in the film industry, led to the rise of the Movie Palace. These were more than just buildings that presented films; they were designed in ways to attract large audiences who could enjoy a night of elegance away from their realities and could make going to the movies a remarkable event. The Movie Palace era is thought to have started with the opening of the Regent in New York in 1913, and lasted until around 1930, with its peak being in 1920.[1] However, before the introduction of the Movie Palace, the very first type of film exhibition was the Nickelodeon, which was a small viewing house that showed short films for only a nickel per admission. Nickelodeons were an extremely popular form of entertainment from 1905 to around 1912,[2] and attracted nearly twenty percent of the nation’s population at its …
Kristina Cunningham recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Oakland University, with a Major in Cinemas Studies and a Minor in Communications. She currently works at Vera Bradley, and is planning to pursue a career in film and television production. Kristina enjoys traveling and hopes to explore Europe and Australia in the coming years. She also loves animals, and if she spots a dog she will drop everything to run and pet it.
