Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-07-15

that he evinced any special interest in the
movingpicture industry.
No more fitting choice could have been
made among Philadelphians identified with
the film industry for the position of one of
the three judges in the EVENING LEDGER
Scenario Contest. Mr.. Mastbaum is, as il
We're, n Philadelphia product, and he repre-
sents the city today in the national councils
of the photoplay art. To. Mr.. c. IL. Cong
don, writing in the Moving Picture World,
we are indebted for the following very inter-
esting account of the development of the
moving picture in this city and the part
Mr. Mastbaum played in ii.
There is no American-born citizen and
comparatively few OF foreign BIRTH in the
United States today who does not know in
more or less detail the prominent place that
the city of Philadelphia occupies in the his
tory of this country Like unto its INSOFAR
able connection with the history of the
United States is Phladelphia's relation to
the mOving-picture industry in America.
Besides being among the first centres
TO exhibit the moving picture, II was in
Philadelphia that DR.. Coleman Sellers.
Philadelphian, conceived the ideas for and
built the first moving-picture machine I'm
1858, which device, though crude, formed
the nucleus around which the moving
tuTe industry of today has been developed.
In speaking OF the history OF the moving
picture industry, so far as Philadelphia is
concerned, the names of two other men in
stinctively come to mind They are those
of Sgmund Lubn, who, although today
film manufacturer exclusively, was this
citys earliest exhibitor and Stanley V.
Mastbaum, at the present time the king
of local exhibitors
The first public showing of a moving
picture on a screen in Philadelphia was
made in the old Bijou Theatre, on Sth street
below Vine, just is years ago. This
demonstration was made as side attrac-
tlon at the Biiou Theatre, then conducted
by the b. f. Keith Company as a vaudeville
house. The exhibition of this Aim was ac-
companied by a lecture given by G. Van
Horn. of the firm of Van Horn & Son,
famous costumers of this city.
1t was during this period that Sigmund
Lubin Philadelphia's first large exhibitor
hit upon the idea of raising the standard of
the houses in which moving pictures We're to
be exhibited The necessity of these i'm
provements dawned upon Mr., Lubin as a
result of his being manufactures of films
at that time.
In order TO carry out his idea of what the
moving-picture theatre, as a playhouse
should be, Mr., Lubin erected Phlladelphia's
first large moving-picture theatre, which
was located on Market street IN the heart
of the city's business district and which
was later destroyed by ire The erection
of the first Lubin theatre served as an in
eentfye 10 other exhibitors OF the day and
the building OF many similar houses fol-
lowed.
Heavy reinforcaments were swung 10 the
support of the cause Of the exhibitors when
Stanley Y. Mastbaum and Alexander r
Boyd with their unlimited financial re-
sources, entered the field in 1914 They
had determined that a beautiful modern
theatre. exhibiting the finest photoplays
proeurable, and charging an admission of
10 and 20 cents. could not only be made
to hold its own, but could be developed
into a money ey-1naking proposition. Many
people aeoted the idea, and when Il vas
announced that the Regent Theatre vas L