Essanay

hauber108.DeleteThis@yahoo.com wrote:
> David Totheroh wrote:
> > hauber108.DeleteThis@yahoo.com wrote:
> > > >
> > > > The Sanborn evidence is very compelling and must be considered pretty
> > > > definitive. But it IS 1919 and even a quick look at the series of
> > > > photos of the Keystone facilities on Schneider's site shows how quickly
> > > > the structures evolved, and the timeframe of Keystone images
> > > > (1912-1915/6) is almost exactly the same length of time as is the gap
> > > > of time from the period we were referencing to the date of the Sanborn
> > > > map (1915/6-1919). It is for that reason that I discounted the
> > > > structures in the immediate area of the entryway. I did find the
> > > > similar position of the telephone pole interesting, but that obviously
> > > > could be coincidental.
> > > >
> > > > What I find most interesting/troubling is the Moving Picture World
> > > > reporting from 1917 that seems to be at odds with the inference taken
> > > > from the Sanborn maps that the studios were as independent and
> > > > self-contained in 1915 (and before) as they had become in 1919. Who is
> > > > wrong, the author of the MPW article when he says Keystone took over
> > > > the Selig property via Bison and then expanded it to 5 acres, or the
> > > > source of the info that says the provenance is the direct line
> > > > evolution of the 3/4 acre lot from Selig to Fox (who outgrew it) to
> > > > Garson with Keystone/Bison uninvolved in the occupancy of that parcel?
> > > > It's all very curious.
> > >
> > > It's all pretty clear cut...yes, they are completely different studios
> > > and neither entity had anything to do with the formation of the other.
> > >
> > > New York Motion Picture Company built the Bison studio in 1909, then in
> > > 1912 after Thomas Ince moved Bison to Santa Ynez Canyon and Keystone
> > > was founded by NYMPC, Keystone took over the lot. Sennett remained
> > > there until 1928. The studio was continuously occupied from 1909 to
> > > 1928 by NYMPC/Triangle/Sennett. If you see pictures of the front any
> > > time from the early teens to the early Thirties (after it had been
> > > abandoned), the one front building (a former grocery store) and the
> > > gate always looked the same except for signage and small details. Selig
> > > had nothing to do with this studio (either side of the street) ever.
> > >
> > > If MPW said Keystone took over Selig property via Bison, then it was
> > > WAY off base. Selig was a wholly different studio built in 1910/11 by
> > > William Selig, which then became Fox, and later a succession of
> > > independent rentals (Sennett may have leased it at some point for extra
> > > production space, but it was not his studio, and Selig never had
> > > anything to do with the rival NYPMC studio).
> > >
> > > The Norbig/Reaguer/Bronx/etc. was a third studio, though I'm not sure
> > > when it was built. That definitely seems to be the one that Chaplin
> > > rented, but small independent studios like that often had many
> > > different tenants at once, and their names changed frequently, so it is
> > > possible that Rolin was renting space there at the same time as
> > > Chaplin.
> >
> > Here's the MPW quote that had me confused. ""The Selig company has now
> > two studios in Los Angeles. One is located in Edendale, and at the
> > present time leased by the Keystone." The only way I can figure out to
> > reconcile the apparent conundrum is if the Selig property that Fox took
> > over and outgrew, was then rented for a time in 1917 by a still
> > expanding Keystone before (or as part of) the "succession of
> > independent studios" that became the Garson Studio of the 1919 Sanborn
> > map.
> >
> > OK, I just went back and reread your earlier post and caught this
> > sentence that slipped past me the first time: "Sennett later leased or
> > bought the Selig/Fox studio in the late teens and rented it to
> > tenants." So that explains that there WAS an overlap between Selig and
> > Keystone and why MPW reported what they did.
> >
> > But now you've got me confused about something else. What Chaplin
> > rental are you talking about? I've always understood that the shared
> > Rolin/Chaplin space used for By the Sea and Work was the Bradbury
> > Mansion on Court & Hill downtown, not anything in Edendale. (See David
> > Kiehn's Harold Lloyd quote on pg 212 of his Broncho Billy book.) And
> > I'm nearly positive the "Lone Star" Chaplin used for the Mutuals was
> > known to be the space on Lillian Way, again not in Edendale. (Both John
> > Bengston's Keaton and Chaplin books, plus Rollie's first address in LA
> > on Cole Ave support that.) In between, weren't the Essanays from A
> > Woman through Police all shot out of the Majestic Studio in Boyle
> > Heights? What am I missing?
>
>
> Sorry, that was my confusion...this all started from Annette's mention
> of Lloyd filming at 1745 Allesandro and I got mixed up and thought the
> thread started from Chaplin being there, but going back to the old
> posts I realized my mistake.

Glad to hear it. I am comfortable leaving it to the Lloyd folks to
straighten out the Allesandro-Court&Hill-Fairview --
Triangle-Majestic-Lubin situation without me. ;-)

Thanks for all the info and sharing your research, Brent.