The town of Niles in the San Francisco Bay Area (with palm trees that go with the Egyptian theme) is a town associated with silent films. It was even briefly competition for Hollywood. During the early part of the last century it was a vacation spot for San Franciscans who reached it by railway. Although it has great natural beauty, it also had a rough side, with many bars and hotels. It was the perfect place to put a movie studio. Unlike other towns and cities in the Bay Area, the locals appreciated actors, who usually had a reputation for fast living. The town was home to Essanay Studios. Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) and Broncho Billy Anderson filmed some of their most famous silent movies in Niles. Niles Canyon stretches between Niles and Sunol, and was the perfect backdrop to silent films. There was plenty of light, and summer did not often bring rain. Today the nonprofit Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum preserves local history.
Charlie Chaplin, in some ways the main claim to fame of the town, did make a few movies in Niles, including the film titled The Tramp (1915). Perhaps not surprisingly, as a young man from London, he enjoyed city life and found the town too far out for his tastes. In fact he was very different from the Tramp character he portrayed. He said in his autobiography:
"I wanted everything to be a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large ... I added a small moustache, which, I reasoned, would add age without hiding my expression. I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the makeup made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked on stage he was fully born.”
It might be hard to imagine today, but this character made Charlie Chaplin one of the most popular and well paid actors of his day.
There are many houses that were used to house Essanay Studio workers. Now they can have unique features, but in the past the all looked basically the same.
No one is sure where Charlie Chaplin stayed, but this house has some claim to the title. Despite the fact that he was a super-star he stayed in a house like other staff.
The court house is right next door to the jail.
The area downtown is now full of antique shops.
The Silent Film Museum has many objects from Chaplin's era.
The small rail museum is excellent!
Charlie Chaplin lives on in Niles.
Today many people from Macao live in Niles.