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| Essential
Architecture- Chicago
Northeast Essanay Studios |
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architect |
Various |
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location |
1333-45 W. Argyle St. |
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date |
1908-15 |
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type |
movie studio |
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The most important structure connected to Chicago's role in the early
history of motion pictures, Essanay produced hundreds of early motion
pictures, featuring such stars as Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, and
cinema's first cowboy hero--and a co-founder of Essanay--G.M. "Bronco
Billy" Anderson. After its founding, the company also began making
movies in California, where reliable weather facilitated outdoor
filming. Changes in the movie industry, the defection of Chaplin as the
company's star performer, and disputes between Anderson and his
co-founder led to the collapse of the company in 1917. The fanciful
terra-cotta Indian head at the building's entrance was Essanay's logo.
The name is a combination of the initials of the two studio founders'
last names: S & A. |
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|
links |
With special thanks to the City of
Chicago website,
www.egov.cityofchicago.org , for much of the info on this page.
Photos copyright City of Chicago. |
| www.essential-architecture.com | |