The first nickelodeon, a form of movie theater that charged a nickel for admission, opened on June 19, 1905, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These early theaters played short films and were a step in making motion pictures accessible to the wider public, paving the way for the modern movie industry. The nickelodeon was revolutionary in democratizing the cinema experience, making it affordable and available, thereby influencing the cultural fabric of 20th-century America.