In 1909, as moving picture theaters spread rapidly across the United States and attracted weekly audiences, businessmen on Cherokee Street converted commercial buildings into movie houses. On this section of Cherokee Street, now known as Antique Row, three places showed silent movies in 1909. The 19th century storefronts at 1953-55 and 2131 Cherokee Street became movie odeons, and to meet heavy demand for moving pictures, a tent was built on the then-empty lot at 2016 Cherokee to serve as an instant theater. After the evening meal, neighbors from the surrounding flats and apartments walked there to watch black and white silent films starring performers such as Mary Pickford and directed by early filmmakers such as D.W. Griffith.
