C.O.C.A. Times

still, the phonograph and Kinetoscope had pro-
gressed.
The phonograph, which had given rise to the
early parlors and arcades, was no longer a curiosity.
The introduction of cheap spring motors and mass
production had brought it within the financial reach
of the average family and made the talking-machine
a household instrument.
Meanwhile the
Kinetoscope had graduated from its peep-show slot
cabinet to the screen, giving rise to the nickelodeon.
With both the phonograph and the Kinetoscope
finding new sales uses, the arcade was having its
backbone broken.
ing-pictures, and moved their coin ma-chines into
the lobby. Arcade owners began to feel real compe-
tition from the nickelo-deon, for the new movie
houses sprang up wherever a vacant store offered
itself as a location. To meet this rivalry from the
screen, the phonograph and Kinetoscope had been
combined in devices such as Rosenfield's Illustrated
Song Machine, a coin cabi-net in which a phono-
graph record was co-ordinated to play while a series
of drop pic-tures clicked off, and the patron was
given a "talking-picture" he could see and hear.
[Figure 8] This idea incidentally, was not new and
can be traced back o the similar Ki-netophone, mar-
keted by Edison in 1895.
By 1907 the motion picture had evolved into a
First Nickelodeon
The first nickelodeon appeared in Pittsburgh in separate kind of entertainment and some arcademen
June, 1905, in a remodeled store-room, and, ironi- such as Loew, Zukor and Fox turned all their atten-
cally, was located next door to a Penny Arcade. Its tion to this field. Those who remained with the
instantaneous suc-cess led to a skyrocketing boom. Penny Arcade began to gradually fall away from the
Soon arcade operators from coast-to-coast were in- idea of building their businesses around movies.
stalling projection machines, usually in vacant lofts The accent was now on more and better amusement
over their arcades. In several loca-tions customers games, unusual shooting galleries and various nov-
were first persuaded to visit the upstairs movie by elties. With the arrival of the 1920's when new prin-
means of a "crystal staircase" constructed of glass, ciples were introduced to coin-operated amusement
with running water underneath. On their way down games, arcades began to assume their modern day
from the nickelodeon, patrons were routed out thru appearance and finally reached their peak of popu-
the arcade itself, and as they passed thru the rows of larity during the recent war [WWII] years. For
machines they would often drop odd pennies into wherever crowds have spare time and operators
have novel coin machines the Penny Arcade will
the chutes.
Other arcades partitioned off a section for mov- flourish .
A Roovers Stamper centered between Rosenfield
phonographs, and Rosenfield picture machines
on right wall.
An assortment of machines from different manu-
facturers. Cai/le Hercules Grip Test and Mills
Punching Bag in background.
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