Fort Lee, New Jersey

Fort Lee is a borough located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2000 census, the borough had a total population of 35,461.

Fort Lee: the motion picture capital of America

The history of cinema in the United States can trace its roots to the East Coast where at one time, Fort Lee was the motion picture capital of America. The industry got its start at the end of the 19th century with the construction of Thomas Edison's "Black Maria", the first motion picture studio in West Orange, New Jersey. Cities in New Jersey offered land at costs considerably less than New York City, and the cities and towns of New Jersey near New York benefited greatly as a result of the phenomonal growth of the film indusry at the turn of the 20th century.

Related Topics:
History of cinema - East Coast - Thomas Edison - Motion picture studio - West Orange, New Jersey - New York City

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Filmmaking began attracting both capital and an innovative workforce and when the Kalem Company began using Fort Lee in 1907 as a location for filming in the area, other filmmakers quickly followed. In 1909 a forerunner of Universal Studios, the Champion Film Company, built the first studio. They were quickly followed by others who either built new studios or who leased facilities in Fort Lee. In the 1910s and 1920s, film companies such as the Independent Motion Picture Co., Peerless Studios, The Solax Company, Éclair Studios, Goldwyn Picture Corporation, World Pictures, Biograph Studios, Fox Film Corporation, Pathé Frères, Metro Pictures Corporation, Victor Film Company, Selznick Pictures Corporation were all making pictures in Fort Lee. Such notables as Mary Pickford got their start at Biograph Studios.

Related Topics:
Kalem Company - Universal Studios - Champion Film Company - Independent Motion Picture Co. - Peerless Studios - The Solax Company - Éclair Studios - Goldwyn Picture Corporation - World Pictures - Biograph Studios - Fox Film Corporation - Pathé Frères - Metro Pictures Corporation - Victor Film Company - Selznick Pictures Corporation - Mary Pickford

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the offshoot businesses that sprang up to service the film studios, for nearly two decades Fort Lee experienced unrivaled prosperity. However, just as the development of Fort Lee production facililities was gaining strength, Nestor Studios of Bayonne, New Jersey, built the first studio in Hollywood in 1911. California's more hospitable and cost effective climate led to the eventual shift of virtually all filmmaking to the West Coast by the 1930s.

Related Topics:
Nestor Studios - Bayonne, New Jersey - Hollywood - West Coast

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~