Kinetoscope Parlor

Arcadia

In the 1890s, after Thomas Edison’s company came up with the Kinetoscope camera, machines were developed for viewing the films in locations like this one in New York City and soon Boston. These machines were set up in rows with each showing a different moving picture short. Films ran only a few minutes, and each person watched separately. (Courtesy of Thomas Edison National Historical Park.)

As featured in Images of America - Boston's Downtown Movie Palaces.

Arcadia - Home of the iconic Images of America series and publisher of thousands of hyper-local hometown history books.

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