Black Maria and the Birth of the World’s First Movie Studios

Where Budding Directors and Producers Got Their Start In Movies

Edison's movie production activities ran from 1893 to 1918, during which Edison Studios made approximately 1200 movies, 54 feature length and the rest shorts. From New Jersey to New York, Edison Studios, beginning with the Black Maria, was home to some of the first movies filmed at historic locations:

• The Black Maria, the first movie studio ever was invented by Thomas Edison to film all day long in West Orange. It was around from 1893-1901. 

• Edison’s Manhattan Studio in NYC a rooftop glass-enclosed studio that operated from 1901 to 1906.

• Edison’s Bronx Studio in Bedford Park, NYC opened in 1907 and operated until 1918.

  
  

Here in these studios, America’s first directors began the development of the artistic craft and profession we know so well today. Each studio further refined and improved the movie-making process, which included introducing special effects and new techniques as well.

The Black Maria is possibly the most notable of the Edison Studios, being the world’s first film production studio. The 1954 reproduction of the Black Maria below is housed at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange today.

Using natural sunlight to film, the roof of the Black Maria was cranked open to admit the light; and the entire studio rotated on wheels 15 degrees every hour to track the sun. The unique design of the Black Maria studio allowed Edison’s team to rely entirely on natural sunlight for filming. Edison once remarked about the often cramped conditions in which they made movies in this studio saying, “It was a ghastly affair, but it worked.”

Edison and his assistants would experiment with film and sound for hours in this building, pictured in the drawing below. Many of these early experiments began inside the Black Maria, where Edison and his team pushed the limits of motion pictures.

Work inside the Black Maria laid the groundwork for synchronized sound and motion pictures decades before Hollywood adopted it. They were able to synchronize motion and sound as early as 1895, only a few years after opening the Black Maria.

Curious to see how they came out? Check out some of Edison’s Studios most notable films here.

Long before Hollywood, it all began inside the Black Maria, the world’s first purpose-built movie studio. We all know about Hollywood and what movies are selling out in the theaters today. But, did you know where it all began?