The 20-year battle for New Orleans to be recognised as part of the American cinema document
New Orleans is unquestionably a cultural hotspot in the United States, but it’s deserving of more credit for the influence that it has had on cinematic history.
The unfortunate reality is that, in the United States, a vast majority of the business done within the film industry occurs in either New York or Los Angeles. The business risks feel more insular, especially when limited-release, arthouse films only have real theatrical rollouts in the coastal cities, despite the fact that there are moviegoers in other states that would love to have the same opportunities.
New Orleans has always been an active component in the film industry, and is even the city that has hosted a few new production studios. Although it’s a city that will always have a long cultural legacy as a result of its importance within music history, specifically jazz, it is also the home of America’s first operational movie theatre.
On July 26th, 1896, the historic Vitascope Hall was unveiled to the public as a 400-seat theatre that included a projector and chairs that had been taken in from local churches. It wasn’t just an opportunity to screen new releases, but offered a backseat look at the art of projection itself; those who paid an extra ten cents would be given a tour behind the projection booth, where they could see the Edison Vitascope projector converting still photos into black-and-white scenes.
America has historically not done a great job at preserving its classic films from the pre-Code era, as there are now many films from the silent period that are completely lost. Unfortunately, this dilemma extends to the theatres themselves, as not all cities were granted the distinction of being historical landmarks. The fight to recognise the New Orleans theatre was an important one, as it was critical to the city’s pride within its cinematic influence.
The film historians Ed and Susan Poole first presented their case in 1996, which was ironically a full century after the Vitascope Hall had first opened. It was by no means the first time that locals had lobbied for some sort of protection for the theatre, as a 1912 article in The Times-Picayune argued that it was deserving of the status of a historic marker.
The Pooles were later able to give a presentation in 2014 at the Louisiana Book Fair in Baton Rouge, where they promoted their new non-fiction book, Louisiana Film History: A Comprehensive Overview Beginning 1896, which specifically mentioned Vitascope Hall, but it was after gaining the support of Linda Thurman, the best-selling historian and author of Hollywood South: Glamour, Gumbo, and Greed, that the Pooles got a marker approved by the New Orleans City government.
Production for its installation began in October 2019, but it wasn’t until June 2020 that the marker on Canal St and Exchange Place was placed, and while it’s important for New Orleans to remember its past, specifically in an era where movie theatres are struggling to stay afloat amidst the onslaught of streaming, it’s also integral to develop new opportunities to get a younger generation engaged.
In that attempt, the Vitascope Hall was created with a state-of-the-art entertainment system, including 42 flat-screen TVs, to serve as a new destination location for tourists who happen to be in the New Orleans area, sharing its name with the original New Orleans movie theatre, in what feels like the perfect recognition of the time that has passed.
