From the Archives

European Documentary Filmmakers Set Sites On Fort Lee Film History

Making movies in Fort Lee in 1912.

Fort Lee for those of us who live here is sometimes just home, and it is hard to fathom the interest the outside world shows in our little borough perched atop the bluffs of the Palisades. This column has covered much of Fort Lee’s history, including our role as the birthplace of the American film industry, but this week we add an international flavor via the year 1912. This year, 2012, as noted in previous archive pieces, we celebrate some of the most important centennials in American and world cinema history, all of which occurred on the streets of Fort Lee.  Madame Alice Guy Blache built and opened her Solax Studio on Lemoine Avenue (present days site of the A&P) here in Fort Lee in 1912. She produced, wrote and directed hundreds of …

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Museum Exhibit Showcases Founding of Universal Studio in Fort Lee

“Universal Studio Centennial Exhibit: From Fort Lee to Universal City” is open to the public but will change to some extent over the next month or so. It’s a must see for film buffs and fans of “Law & Order: SVU”

A new exhibit currently on display at the Fort Lee Museum continues the Fort Lee Film Commission’s yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Universal Studio in Fort Lee. The exhibit, “Universal Studio Centennial Exhibit: From Fort Lee to Universal City,” is produced by the Film Commission and documents the birth of the film giant in the borough in 1912 with archival photos, studio artifacts and more. It includes items on loan from the studio and from the hit NBC Universal TV show, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” which has in the past shot extensively in Fort Lee. Executive director Tom Meyers of the Fort Lee Film Commission said most of the props used in episodes of “Law & Order: SVU” will eventually have to be…

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From the Archives

A Universal Studio Centennial Starts With A Mockingbird

50th anniversary screening of the Universal Studio Academy Award-winning film "To Kill a Mockingbird" is April 13 at 8 p.m. in the Fort Lee Municipal Courtroom in Borough Hall.

This year marks the centennial of the largest movie studio in the world, Universal Studios. With its massive, legendary back lot in a city called Universal in Los Angeles, it started on a much smaller scale in the wilds of Coytesville (Fort Lee) New Jersey in 1912.  Universal Studio founder Carl Laemmle  first came to Coytesville in 1909 when he operated the Independent Motion Picture Company (IMP) – here he shot his first film, Hiawatha. In 1912, Laemmle purchased the Champion Studio on Fifth Street. This studio, built in 1910 by Mark Ditenfass, was the first studio built in Fort Lee and today still stands and is operated as a printing plant.  The structure is the oldest standing movie studio building in America. Once Laemmle purchased …

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From the Archives

Universal Studio Centennial: From Fort Lee to Universal City, 1912-2012

Fort Lee commemorates the 100th anniversary of the founding of Universal Studio.

This year marks the centennial of the largest studio in the world, one born on the cliffs of the Palisades in the Coytesville section of our very own Fort Lee. In 1909, a German-born immigrant came to the Coytesville section of Fort Lee to produce his first film, Hiawatha, for his Independent Motion Pictures (IMP) Company. This gentleman was Carl Laemmle. In 1912, Laemmle came back to Fort Lee, where he founded Universal Studio, and its first home was in the old Champion Studio building, which still stands on Fifth Street north of Washington Avenue. It is the oldest standing studio building in America, and its present-day use is as a printing plant. Mr. Laemmle broke ground in 1914 for what was to be for a short time the largest studio in …

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