I visited the new Pearl Theater last night and realize it’s less than a block away from the home of Siegmund Lubin, the pioneering filmmaker who made films in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Lubin, who was an optician and master of lenses, became an important rival of Thomas Edison. The home at 15th and Oxford was recently renovated and now has apartments for Temple University students. According to Joseph Eckhardt’s book, the Lubin home was also used as a set and studio for some of Lubin studio films.
The neighborhood is also the current home of filmmaker Lou Massiah, who won a MacArthur “genius” award for his work. Massiah started the Scribe Center in West Philadelphia and also makes documentary films. So, I guess the Oxford Street location of the new Pearl has quite a movie pedigree.
I visited the new Pearl Theater last night and realize it’s less than a block away from the home of Siegmund Lubin, the pioneering filmmaker who made films in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Lubin, who was an optician and master of lenses, became an important rival of Thomas Edison. The home at 15th and Oxford was recently renovated and now has apartments for Temple University students. According to Joseph Eckhardt’s book, the Lubin home was also used as a set and studio for some of Lubin studio films.
The neighborhood is also the current home of filmmaker Lou Massiah, who won a MacArthur “genius” award for his work. Massiah started the Scribe Center in West Philadelphia and also makes documentary films. So, I guess the Oxford Street location of the new Pearl has quite a movie pedigree.