The silent film era lasted almost 40 years, from the 1890s through the 1920s, and for a few bright years–-1913 to 1916–Essanay Studios ( America’s first Hollywood) took up shop in the small East Bay town of Niles, about 20 miles south of Oakland, and produced silent films.
Accessible by the Western Pacific Railroad, but cut off by rolling hills and Niles Canyon from the booming industrial towns of the Bay Area, the town of Niles served as the backdrop for most of the Essanay Studios silent films.
Essanay Studios produced over two hundred and fifty silent films in Niles: Broncho Billy westerns, Snakeville Comedies, contemporary dramas, and five comedies by Charlie Chaplin, including “The Tramp” (1915).
The film studio closed in 1916 due to a change in ownership and consolidation of production facilities at the main studio in Chicago. Nevertheless, the Essanay Studio in Niles was the most successful movie company in the San Francisco Bay Area during the silent era.
Although the Essanay Studio was torn down in 1933, there are still bungalows and buildings along main street that exist from the silent era.
There is a silent film museum across the street with vintage movie equipment, posters, memorabilia and a theatre to view silent films accompanied by piano.
To log the virtual, please answer the questions in an email to me. Do not put any of the answers in your log.
1) How many in your group and list their caching names.
2) How many large embedded stones are on top of the monument?
3) What do the stones spell?
4) What year was the plaque dedicated?
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.