# Why was the first nickelodeon established in Pittsburgh?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-first-nickelodeon-established-in-pittsburgh/320617>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 8, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-first-nickelodeon-established-in-pittsburgh/320617 "2005-09-08T04:04:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-first-nickelodeon-established-in-pittsburgh/320617/21 "2011-12-12T05:12:18Z")

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Those are great links Exapno. Do you know if that nickelodeon in Pittsburg was the first to show a zombie movie?

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-first-nickelodeon-established-in-pittsburgh/320617/22 "2011-12-12T14:06:51Z")

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> [@Walloon](#):
>
> An important distinction has to be made here: the first theater built _expressly_ for movie exhibition was opened in Pittsburgh in 1905. Otherwise, American theaters built for stage performances had been showing movies as a sideline since 1896.

This.

There were nickelodeons before there were movie theaters. In general, someone would take a regular storefront and put up a bunch of seats and then project the movies onto a screen. There was often a piano player (originally there to provide music _between_ films; the movies were shown silent in the very beginning).

Theaters didn’t show movies back then; they did well enough with vaudeville and stage plays.

The theater in Pittsburgh was the first to combine the movies with a stage theater.

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-first-nickelodeon-established-in-pittsburgh/320617/23 "2011-12-12T15:34:57Z")

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> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#):
>
> Those are great links Exapno. Do you know if that nickelodeon in Pittsburg was the first to show a zombie movie?

I don’t know, but judging by what you normally see of silent films, they would have been fast zombies.

Darn you, crotsenburg!

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**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-first-nickelodeon-established-in-pittsburgh/320617/24 "2011-12-13T04:07:18Z")

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> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#):
>
> Those are great links Exapno. Do you know if that nickelodeon in Pittsburg was the first to show a zombie movie?

You’d have to ask [George Romero](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_A._Romero).  
Oh, and it’s Pittsburg_h_, thank you very much. We’re also not a backwater as the OP implied. (Yes, I know it’s an old thread, but I’d like to clarify that for those who are just tuning in)

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