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1980s. In 2022 the
National Park Service embarked on a two-year rehabilitation of the structure, involving extensive repairs, a new exterior, and an accessible ramp. The Black Maria opened again to the public in April 2024 with new exhibits, interpretive panels, a replica film backdrop, and a supply of period clothing that allows visitors to make their own films and selfies.
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The Black Maria fell into disuse when film productions moved to New York, and the Edison company dismantled the studio in 1903. The Thomas Alva Edison
Foundation built a replica Black Maria on the original site in 1954. The rebuilt studio was used to exhibit films to the public until it closed in the
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and for the first time, they commercially exhibited movies, as we know them today, in their amusement arcade. Patrons paid ¢25 ($ 9 in 2023 dollars) as the admission charge to view films in five kinetoscope machines placed in two rows. Nearly 500 people became cinema's first major audience during the
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The Black Maria was covered in black tarpaper and had a huge window in the ceiling that opened up to let in sunlight because early films required a tremendous amount of bright light. It was built on a turntable so the window could rotate toward the sun throughout the day, supplying natural light for
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221:, and scantily-clad women. Many of the early Edison moving images released after 1895, however, were non-fictional "actualities" filmed on location: views of ordinary slices of life – street scenes, the activities of police or firemen, or shots of a passing train.
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152:. Construction of the building, which included a tar-paper-covered dark studio room with a retractable roof, began in December 1892 and was completed the following year at a cost of $ 637.67 ($ 21,624 in 2023 dollars). In early May 1893 at the
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On
Saturday, April 14, 1894, Edison's Kinetoscope began commercial operation. The Holland Brothers (Andrew M. Holland and George C. Holland) opened the first Kinetoscope Parlor at 1155
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When Edison built a glass-enclosed rooftop movie studio in New York City, the Black Maria was closed in
January 1901, and Edison demolished the building in 1903. The U. S.
192:) was one of the first series of short films made by Dickson for the Kinetoscope in Edison's Black Maria studio with fellow assistant Fred Ott. The short film was made for
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In 1893, the world's first film production studio, the Black Maria, or the cinematographic
Theater, was completed on the grounds of Edison's laboratories (now
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253:. Edison's film studio was used to supply films for this sensational new form of entertainment. More Kinetoscope parlors soon opened in other cities (
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202:. It was the earliest motion picture to be registered for copyright – composed of an optical record of Ott sneezing comically for the camera.
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569:"Early Edison Motion Picture Production (1892–1895) in Inventing Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies"
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When word spread about the new invention, performers flocked to the Black Maria from all over the country in order to be in the films. These
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The Black Maria Film and Video
Festival, established in 1981, was named for Edison's creation; since 2021 the event has been known as the
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The Black Maria was, according to the staff who worked there, a small and uncomfortable place to work. Edison employees
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in West Orange. A previous reconstruction had been built and dedicated in May 1940 when
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A replica of the 'Black Maria' studio appeared in
Universal-International's comedy
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and
Jonathan Campbell coined the name – it reminded them of police
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The first films shot at the Black Maria included segments of magic shows, plays,
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612:. West Orange, New Jersey: National Park Service. 10 April 2024. Archived from
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maintains a reproduction of the Black Maria, built in 1954 at what is now the
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doing her "butterfly dance", recorded at the Edison's Black Maria studio
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purposes, as a series of still photographs to accompany an article in
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The first motion pictures made in the Black Maria were deposited for
666:. New York and Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press.
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hundreds of Edison movie productions over its eight-year lifespan.
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at the
Library of Congress in August, 1893. In early January 1894,
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performances (with dancers and strongmen), acts from
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Buildings and structures in Essex County, New Jersey
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From
Peepshow to Palace: The Birth of American Film
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1313:Film production companies established in the 1890s
265:). In 1901, the first public film was screened in
1323:Demolished buildings and structures in New Jersey
531:"Early Cinematic Origins and the Infancy of Film"
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480:in which it appears as a décor for some scenes.
1308:Film production companies of the United States
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880:Edison Gower-Bell Telephone Company of Europe
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1268:Buildings and structures demolished in 1903
1258:Mass media companies disestablished in 1901
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1318:Film studios and soundstages in New Jersey
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184:The Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze
649:in Movie Habit. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
647:"Hitler, a Film from Germany, DVD review"
158:three people pretending to be blacksmiths
1253:Mass media companies established in 1893
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128:. It was the world's first film studio.
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470:Edison's Black Maria studio is used in
154:Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences
1263:Commercial buildings completed in 1893
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875:Edison and Swan Electric Light Company
408:Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze
388:Selected films shot at the Black Maria
233:showings of films with titles such as
138:Thomas Edison National Historical Park
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991:General Electric Research Laboratory
706:Edison: The Invention of the Movies
429:The Dickson Experimental Sound Film
63:A drawing of the exterior from 1894
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696:History of Edison Motion Pictures
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635:Black Maria Film Festival website
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1232:Thomas Alva Edison silver dollar
1192:Thomas Edison in popular culture
986:Storage Battery Company Building
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421:The Boxing Cats (Prof. Welton's)
383:The boxing cats (Prof. Welton's)
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1052:The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace
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930:Motion Picture Patents Company
915:Edison Storage Battery Company
905:Edison Portland Cement Company
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1283:Defunct American film studios
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447:Buffalo Bill's Shooting Skill
278:Edison National Historic Site
211:Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
1121:The Execution of Mary Stuart
895:Edison Manufacturing Company
500:"The Films of Thomas Edison"
452:Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene
7:
1102:Tales from the Bully Pulpit
885:Edison Illuminating Company
571:, retrieved April 15, 2012.
477:Hitler: A Film from Germany
465:Thomas Edison Film Festival
284:held the world premiere of
55:Edison's Black Maria Studio
10:
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940:Oriental Telephone Company
900:Edison Ore-Milling Company
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1094:Edison's Conquest of Mars
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971:Memorial Tower and Museum
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701:Black Maria Film Festival
1303:Mass media in New Jersey
1273:1890s in American cinema
976:National Historical Park
768:Edison's Phonograph Doll
662:Robinson, David (1997).
436:Fun in a Chinese Laundry
1293:West Orange, New Jersey
1288:Landmarks in New Jersey
1227:Statue of Thomas Edison
834:Incandescent light bulb
559:Robinson (1997). p. 23.
294:in theaters throughout
16:Film production company
1018:Theodore Miller Edison
935:Mine Safety Appliances
870:Thomas A. Edison, Inc.
758:List of Edison patents
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118:film production studio
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691:at Wikimedia Commons
504:Turner Classic Movies
472:Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
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274:National Park Service
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1202:Pearl Street Station
890:Edison Machine Works
798:Quadruplex telegraph
689:Edison's Black Maria
1212:Thomas Edison House
1197:War of the currents
849:Thermionic emission
844:Nickel–iron battery
824:Edison–Lalande cell
819:Consolidated Edison
583:Abbott and Costello
541:on 19 February 2014
510:on 17 February 2014
37:40.7843°N 74.2337°W
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1176:Edisonian approach
458:In popular culture
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336:featured dancers,
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168:Annabelle Whitford
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1145:A Night of Terror
763:Carbon microphone
687:Media related to
442:Sioux Ghost Dance
413:Fred Ott's Sneeze
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189:Fred Ott's Sneeze
42:40.7843; -74.2337
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1036:Young Tom Edison
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966:Depot Museum
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839:Movie camera
812:Advancements
773:Edison screw
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657:Bibliography
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630:
618:. Retrieved
614:the original
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543:. Retrieved
539:the original
535:filmsite.org
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529:Dirks, Tim.
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512:. Retrieved
508:the original
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498:Wood, Bret.
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217:matches and
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1113:Productions
961:Black Maria
854:Ticker tape
829:Fluoroscopy
783:Kinetoscope
749:Discoveries
545:20 February
514:20 February
368:Ghost Dance
304:East Orange
300:West Orange
296:The Oranges
239:Blacksmiths
235:Barber Shop
150:Kinetoscope
142:West Orange
122:West Orange
69:Black Maria
40: /
1247:Categories
1078:Literature
981:State Park
956:Birthplace
793:Phonomotor
788:Phonograph
485:References
243:Cock Fight
219:cockfights
213:, various
207:vaudeville
146:New Jersey
126:New Jersey
28:74°14′01″W
25:40°47′03″N
1171:Edisonade
1153:Kidnapped
949:Monuments
803:Tasimeter
585:Meet the
474:'s movie
432:(1894/95)
338:pugilists
290:starring
247:Wrestling
194:publicity
176:copyright
1129:The Kiss
1054:" (1998)
863:Ventures
226:Broadway
1185:Related
590:(1955).
263:Chicago
251:Trapeze
132:History
1156:(1917)
1148:(1911)
1140:(1910)
1132:(1896)
1124:(1895)
1105:(2004)
1097:(1898)
1089:(1886)
1070:(2020)
1062:(2017)
1047:(1940)
1039:(1940)
1005:Family
670:
620:9 July
438:(1896)
424:(1894)
416:(1894)
404:(1893)
398:(1893)
366:Sioux
312:Orange
310:, and
261:, and
249:, and
215:boxing
140:), at
112:) was
1164:Terms
1067:Tesla
1028:Films
1020:(son)
1014:(son)
186:(aka
668:ISBN
622:2024
547:2014
516:2014
67:The
314:).
282:MGM
228:in
178:by
120:in
116:'s
105:mə-
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