Historical Highlight: America's First Commercial Movie Theater

Written by Allison Frazer

Pittsburgh is rich with history and holds a claim to fame in one of the largest and most recognizable industries in America today. The film industry began over 100 years ago right here in Downtown Pittsburgh with the world’s first nickelodeon theater on Smithfield Street. 

In 1905, John Harris and Harry Davis developed and opened the Nickelodeon - aptly named, as it cost only one nickel to enter to see a show, and “odeon” is the Greek word for “theater.” The small venue began with just 96 seats, and each picture show ran about 15 minutes long. 

Prior to the opening of the Nickelodeon, moving pictures had no designated space to be shown to the public. Harris and Davis took a big leap when opening the first theater, not knowing if the public would be interested in this new form of entertainment. However, their worries were put at ease when the theater attracted 450 customers on day one and a whopping 1,500 the next day.

The theater quickly expanded to 200 seats in an attempt to keep up with the growing demand in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region. This rapid growth made Pittsburgh the epicenter of the film world in the early 1900s, creating jobs and boosting the economy.

The Nickelodeon theater fell victim to its own success as it was demolished only five years after opening in favor of the newer and larger cinema that could accommodate feature-length films and large audiences.

Harris and Davis’ invention inspired the openings of Nickelodeons across the country, creating the widespread and booming film industry we know today. Without these two ingenious inventors, moving pictures would still be shown in warehouses and on storefronts instead of in cinemas and on your television screens at home.

Next time you walk down Smithfield Street, imagine yourself as a moviegoer on June 19, 1905, prepared to enjoy the very first iteration of a movie theater.