Edison's Black Maria
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The Black Maria (pronounced ma-Riy-uh) was Thomas Edison's movie production studio, built in West Orange, New Jersey completed in 1893 at a cost of $637.67. It closed in January 1901 and Edison demolished the building in 1903. The US National Park Service maintains a reproduction of the Black Maria, built in 1954 at what is now the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange. A previous reconstruction had been built and dedicated in May 1940 when MGM held the World Premiere of Edison, the Man starring Spencer Tracy in theaters throughout the Oranges (West Orange, East Orange, South Orange, and Orange).
The Black Maria was, according to the staff who worked there, a small and uncomfortable place to work. Edison employees W.K. Dickson and Jonathan Campbell coined the name – it reminded them of police Black Marias, (also known as "paddywagons") of the time because they were also cramped, stuffy and a similar black color. Edison, however, called it "The Doghouse."
Widely cited as "America's First Movie Studio", the Maria was covered in black tarpaper and had a huge window in the ceiling that opened up to let in sunlight because early films required a tremendous amount of bright light. It was built on a turntable so the window could rotate toward the sun throughout the day, supplying natural light for hundreds of Edison movie productions over its eight year lifespan.
When word spread about the new invention, performers flocked to the Black Maria from all over the country in order to be in the films. These silent movies featured dancers, pugilists, magicians and vaudeville performers. Of course, this was great publicity for Edison who would often pose with the performers for newspaper articles.
Films Shot at the Black Maria
- Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze, also known as Fred Ott's Sneeze
- Blacksmith Scene
- Prof. Welton's Boxing Cats
- Sioux Ghost Dance
- Buffalo Bill's Shooting Skill
- Cripple Creek Bar-Room Scene
The Black Maria in Popular Culture
- They Might Be Giants "...see the Black Maria revolving slowly on its platform" in their song, "Edison Museum".
- Marvel Comics feature a superhero called "Black Mariah"
- "A TASTE OF MURDER: Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers", Edited by Jo Grossman & Robert Weibezahl, features a recipe called "Pork Chops Black Mariah."
- Todd Rundgren wrote and performed a song called "Black Maria" on the album "Something/Anything," which was released in 1972.
External links
- [Edison National Historic Site, "The Black Maria"]
- [History of Edison Motion Pictures]
- [Black Maria Film Festival]
- [EDISON: The Invention of the Movies]
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