Before Hollywood, there was Midwood, in Brooklyn.

Do you remember the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn? Of Course not, you would be over 100 years old if you did, but I do, and very much so. How do you ask? Do I have a time machine? Well not really, but I did grow up in a house that backs that studio, and my parents still live in that house today.

As a kid, growing up in Brooklyn, I had many summer jobs, but one of my first steady jobs was to operate and manage the “Avenue M Video store” on East 16th, a locally owned movie rental joint. As I walked up and down Avenue M, I would pass by, and couldn’t help but to imagine, what happened in that facility back in the early days of Vitagraph. This might have been one of the early sparks that attracted me to the world of Media and Entertainment, and throughout the years had the pleasure to work in many ABC and CBS Studios and projects, but unfortunately never at this location.

Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925.

The studio was located at 11 East 14th Street in Midwood, Brooklyn. It was a large complex of buildings that included sound stages, editing rooms, and a library. The studio also had a pool that was used for filming underwater scenes.

• Vitagraph Studios produced a wide variety of films, including comedies, dramas, and newsreels. Some of the studio’s most famous films include “The Life of Moses” (1909), “Ben-Hur” (1907), and “The Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack” (1912).
• Around 1903, it was the home for Florence Turner, the most popular American actress to appear on screen, was also known as the “Vitagraph Girl.” This was one the first studios in America to release the first batch, and hundreds of them, of silent movies.
• In 1953 to be purchased by NBC and converted to a state-of-the-art color broadcasting facility. Some notable television shows originated there including: Peter Pan with Mary Martin, the Kraft Music Hall and Mitch Miller.
• In 1956, NBC filmed it’s famous “The Esther Williams Aqua Spectacle” at the studio. The swimming pool constructed for the show still remains, hidden under the floor of Studio 1.
• The facility also played host to a number of popular and longlasting television shows, The Cosby Show, Another World and As the World Turns, SNL segments, a long list of movies and music videos.

When I was visiting my parents last week, I gazed up on the century-old Vitagraph smokestack still protruding out, but now with scaffolding around it. Part of the facility is now a school, and the other part is JC Studios, and there are rumors that it might be up for grabs for about 20 million smackeroos. Crossing my fingers that it will be revitalized and once again bring quality content to many homes.

UPDATE: In 2015, the Vitagraph Studios site was demolished. A new apartment complex was built on the site. A plaque was installed to commemorate the history of the studio.

Here is a fun video of Don Rickles from The Kraft Music Hall 1968, walking up and down Avenue M, and I think I can see some of my old neighbors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp3o50jifMw