niles essanay silent film museum

There is a small silent film museum in historic Niles area of Fremont open for a few hours each week-end. In addition, usually on Saturday night, there are silent movies - check their web site for what is playing. Its a small place but great for seeing the silent films and listen to live piano music. A fun historic way to enjoy an evening out.

If you have not watched a silent film with LIVE piano playing you have missed an important part of our culture. On most Saturday nites, for a mere $5pp, you can be treated to the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Bronco Billy and a host of talented folks you might not even know about. And once a month they feature comedies. There are treats including freshly popped corn and cold drinks for $1ea. And, if you want to help conserve or restore old films or this fabulous building, donations are gladly accepted. To make this all more interesting, docents give an historic overview of the building and pre-intermission films and then at intermission invite you to tour the building and its film artifacts. There are 3, 1-seat uni-sex restrooms. Except for the 1st, 2nd or 3rd rows, the seats are old theater seats of HARD plywood. Be sure to grab a seat cushion from against the wall before they run out. The last row of seating is made up of patio chairs and the set-up is HP friendly except for the stairs which go up to the 2nd floor original projection room. The film screen is on an elevated stage. So, while the seats are located on a flat floor, you should not have any trouble seeing. The doors open 30 minutes prior to screening time - which seems to normally be 7:30pm. You may buy your tix in advance over the internet and retrieve them at the little box office booth as you enter the theater. You can also view the upcoming film schedule and other info. There is no reserved seating. And, while the theater holds a couple of hundred seats and does fill-up, there was no one who had to stand when we were there last Sat nite. This is a great thing to do and little off the beaten track to share without of towers. If you have not been here - the street is full of antique shops and bordered with historic bungalows. The drive in via Niles Canyon/Niles Blvd from Rt3 680 can be a little dicey with no lighting and 1 lane on a very curvy ~7 mile road. You might want to consider coming in on MIssion Blvd or via 1-800 onto NIles Alvarado. But, no matter how you arrive - you will not be sorry.

For the last couple of years, I was aware that the silent film museum was open, and really did not venture in. For a long, long, long time, the building was an old camera shop and studio, so I didn't bother to explore it. But, a couple of months ago while strolling between antique stores and boutique shops, I took a look. I was glad I did. There is a great deal of movie history both on display in artifacts and memorabilia, but also in the building itself. The front part of the building is "the museum" with several original film cameras and projection devices on display. The majority of this section is dedicated to merchandise, but of the type not easily found if you are interested in collecting or just learning about older films. The back of the building is the theater, and every Saturday night they have a movie and one or more shorts. All are silent. If you are not aware of it, Niles was the original Hollywood. Fortunately, that industry went south literally and figuratively, leaving only the relics of those original studios and the timeless images of Tom Mix, and Charley Chaplin wandering the hills of Niles canyon in the background. We decided to plan a movie night out, and took our adult daughter to see a Clara Bow movie. The experience was surprisingly enjoyable. I've never been to an authentic silent film in a theater with a piano player providing the accompaniment. I have to say the lady who played that night was superb. She provided non-stop sound and between the big screen and piano, I was thoroughly drawn into the action - as much as any modern day film. At intermission, they invite the audience to tour the projection booth. The booth had been sealed up for decades, and it is a fully authentic time capsule. They have authentic projectors, and the booth differs only in changes required to meet current codes when they show movies today. The staff provided a tour, and were eager to answer my steady stream of questions. Overall, this was an unexpected delight. Admission is a $5 donation, paid at the 1920's style ticket booth at the back of the museum, just before you enter the theater. They have snacks for sale, and the actual seating is the real deal. Be aware that the theater section gets very warm and stuffy during the films. Wear light, layered clothing, and ladies may want to carry a small hand fan. In this setting, it would be stylish as well as helpful.

the museum captures a lot of the flavor of the silent film era. The feature we saw was a historical documentary on the cliff house in San Francisco

This is a very special place in Fremont, California. This silent film museum shows silent films at a very low cost. The museum is great for history buffs. It is location in the Niles section of Fremont.

The home for Charlie Chaplin films, this a working man's movie hall that lacks frill and has hard chairs (take a pillow.) Piano players change but ya, the B&W films did not rely on sound. For a feel of how it was, it is. Historic pre-Hollywood, that is Niles. Well worth you time and still cheap, as working cinema was invented.

If you are in the East Bay area and looking for something to do, take a short drive towards Fremont to visit Niles and its silent movie museum. The museum is on the site of the old Essanay film studio; the movie home of the first cowboy film star, Bronco Billy Anderson, and Charlie Chaplin. It's time well spent if you have any interest in the history of the movie industry, and if you like Charlie Chaplin, Our Gang, or any of the old silent (or early talkie) classics, be sure to time your visit on a Saturday or Sunday so you can watch several films in the museum's old bare-bones screening room. If you go for the silent films, you can't help but be impressed by the live piano accompaniment. Admission to the films is only $5 and snacks are cheap. Even if you can't make it for the films, you should go to see the posters and artifacts in the museum. They have a great gift store too.

My family and I make going to this place a nice tradition they're open every week and even on events like the super bowl (for people that don't watch it). It's a fun place to hang out and watch old films.

The entire staff is very knowledgeable about Niles and its film industry times. Very interesting information provided and VERY interesting pictures for Niles prior to becoming a District of Fremont.

We purchased advance tickets via their website to attend the Comedy Short Subject Night. Other than the receipt from Paypal, we didn’t get any confirmation or instruction when/how to get the ticket. We arrived at 6:45pm for 7:30pm showing. The museum (theater) was closed and the sign said the door will open at 7pm. About 20 people were congregated by 7pm outside the museum. Once the door was opened, most of the people formed a line to purchase their tickets inside and there was a lady standing aside and calling out for Will-Call customers. I was prepared to show the lady the Paypal receipt but there was no need; she looked up our last name and gave us the tickets and told us to proceed to the theater (skip the ticket purchase line). The theater was filled with old wooden theater chairs and some modern plastic lawn chairs. A lady was handing out seat cushions at the entryway. The seating capacity was around 150 and there is no seat assignment. When the movie started, the theater was about 70% filled; the youngest patron was 10-ish and the oldest was 93 (she was just few years younger than the theater itself). It is an old theater so it might not be possible but I wanted to see more restrooms; there were only two old unisex restrooms. Snacks (coffee, popcorn, ice cream, candy bar, etc) were available for purchase and the overall atmosphere was very casual and relaxed. The movies were fun and the background history and the trivia given were very interesting and enhanced our viewing pleasure. They showed 4 movies that night and took a break after first two which was around 9:30pm. They encouraged us to check out the museum shop and the projection room during this time which made us speculate the break will not be a short one. We were really tired that day and the prospect of going home late (11pm at the earliest as that pace) was dreadful; regrettably, we left the theater without viewing latter two movies. If you like silent movies, you will have a good time.

I've been on their mailing list for years. When I did attend, I met Charlie Chaplin's daughter Jane. What a very complete experience. They are so commited, so enthusiastic and so well prepared. You know you are falling in with some true film enthusiasts and experts. A high quality group!(I visited years ago, but can't get the date to change on this site. Sorry. Wanted to be 100% honest.)

This is the only place of it's kind that I know of. You can see the silents and recognize where some of them were made -- right on the street where the museum is. And downtown Niles has not changed much since then. Great to do in combination with a ride on the Niles Canyon Railroad and lunch at Bronco Billy's pizza.