nickelodeon
n. countablen. an early type of movie theater that cost five cents to enter. These were popular in the early 1900s before modern cinemas existed.
n. an early twentieth-century movie theater charging five cents for admission, typically featuring short films or illustrated songs. Often associated with the transition from traveling shows to permanent exhibition spaces.
People crowded into the nickelodeon to see the new short film.
Before the rise of grand movie palaces, the local nickelodeon was the primary source of affordable entertainment for the working class.
The rapid proliferation of the nickelodeon across urban centers signaled a shift in social habits, as silent films became a daily ritual for diverse immigrant populations.
Archaic in modern contexts; primarily used when discussing the history of American cinema.