Thomas Edison National Historical Park
Black Maria: The First Movie Studio
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
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Transcript
Before Hollywood, there was Black Maria.
Built in 1893, Edison's Black Maria studio became the first movie studio in the United States.
The building rotated to follow the sun because early film technology depended on natural light.
The story is not simply that Edison invented movies. Motion pictures developed through many inventors and experiments. Black Maria represents one important step in that larger history.