The First Movie Theater

The first movie theater in the U.S. opened on June 26, 1896, in New Orleans. Called "Vitascope Hall" after Mr. Edison's motion picture machine which had only been out for about three months, it cost 10 cents to get in.  New York businessman, William "Pop" Rock started the movie house, and he was quoted as saying "We packed them in." At this time, motion pictures were in their infancy and often considered a novelty. Few imagined such a popular future.

Rock refurbished an empty store for the opening. He basically covered the windows with black canvas and brought in around 400 chairs. He paid $2,500 for the projector, which was an exorbitant sum in that day, and the movies were short, only lasting a few minutes. Of those first films, The Kiss seems to have been the most popular with audiences, despite the fact that many clergymen didn't approve of showing kissing passionately.

Rock chose to keep Vitascope Hall open for only a few months, closing it in October 1896. For one thing, he planned to return to his home in New York. First, however, he would continue to give exhibitions at other locations in New Orleans.  In the meantime, other similar movie theaters were planned and opened quickly in the larger cities to take advantage of the new fad, a fad that would become a very popular form of entertainment.

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