Fifty Before '50: The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

 by JB

We are simply passing through history, Dr. Jones. This... this IS history.

This past weekend I had occasion to finally visit a wonderful place, the Niles Essanay Film Museum in Fremont, California. The museum stands today where the old Essanay studio once stood, famous because it birthed the career of cowboy star “Bronco Billy” Anderson (The “A” in “Essanay”*) and briefly hosted Charlie Chaplin when he was between studios in Chicago, Illinois and Hollywood, California.**

Chaplin made a total of five two-reelers at the Niles Studio in 1915: A Night Out, The Champion, In the Park, A Jitney Elopement, and The Tramp. The Tramp is the best known of these, the film where Chaplin really defined the character he would continue to play for the next 25 years. When I was but a lad, I owned The Tramp on Super 8mm film and would run it endlessly through my little projector in our basement. The final shot of the film is justifiably famous as Charlie, back to camera, walks down a long rural road dejectedly, then shakes it off and proceeds in a jaunty fashion to his future and the film’s fade out. A highlight of this museum visit was when our docent, Michael Bonham, informed me that, on our route to the museum, my wife and I had crossed the very grassland where that famous shot was filmed.

This was turning into a pilgrimage.

And I will tell you of much else besides—of barn doors and wigs and fake moustaches and equipment satchels. The Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum is brimming with original costumes, props, equipment, and cameras from the early 19-teens: posters, glass slides, zoetropes, mutoscopes, and a vintage taxicab are all part of the fun and history.

In 1916, Bronco Billy Anderson sold his percentage of Essanay and went to work for a rival studio. Later that year, the Essanay studio closed. It sat abandoned for a number of years. The Nickelodeon next to the studio closed its doors in 1924 when it was replaced by a newer, more modern theater one door down, The Edison. The Edison showed movies until 1956 when a fire burned it to the ground. (That plot of land is now the museum’s parking lot.)

The original Nickelodeon changed hands frequently over the next forty years and served time as a dance hall, a warehouse, a karate school, and a photographer’s studio. In 2002, with the efforts of the museum’s staff and many donors, it was converted back into a movie theater and still hosts screenings today.

One of the outbuildings at the studio was moved to another location in town. As time wore on and the studio fell into disrepair, it was eventually razed. The outbuilding shed across town too had seen better days, but the museum managed to preserve a single exterior barn door. It is proudly on display in the museum. How many silent film stars TOUCHED that door? Leaned on it between takes? Hauled it aside or pulled it closed? Struck a match against its rough surface? Because I touched it too. Just sayin'.

The museum is also the proud home of Keystone comic Hank Mann’s wig and moustache. I did not try them on.

I was accompanied on this trip by my lovely wife, who took many of these photos I trust you’re enjoying. Her favorite artifact was the “We Make Moving Pictures” equipment case, actually used by Essanay's crew more than 100 years ago. It’s beautiful; we wish it was available as a t-shirt. That equipment case, when brandished in 1916, could get your turned away from any high-class hotel in town. Movie people then were held in disrepute.

The docents at the museum really know their stuff. We talked to Mr. Bonham for quite a time and he gave us a personal tour of the museum, the theater, and the projection booth. This man is knowledgeable. I learned new things about the same movie history I had taught for thirty years. Thanks, Michael.

NOTE: The museum has its own YouTube Channel, which is very delightful. I warn you though, once you start clicking around this treasure trove, you will find yourself falling down the silent movie rabbit hole and surrendering all your free time!


*Anderson’s partner was George Spoor. “S” for Spoor and “A” for Anderson became “Essanay.”

**The Chicago building still stands at 1333 West Argyle Street in Uptown. Chaplin only made one film there before moving to Niles. He thought Chicago to be inhospitably cold.