Second Act

They came in droves, each clutching a nickel to see the latest thing in technology — moving pictures. When the first ever movie theater opened in June 1905, about 7,000 people a day lined up to pay 5 cents to see something they’d never seen before. The theater, located on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh and owned by Harry Davis and John P. Harris, was named “nickelodeon,” after the price of admission and Odeon, the ancient name of Greek theaters.