Editing Keystone Studios (section)

{{Use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = September 2019}}
{{short description|American film studio (Los Angeles; 1912–1935)}}
{{Coord|34|05|10.37|N|118|15|34.80|W|display=title}}
{{Infobox company
| name                = Keystone Studios
| logo                = 
| image               = File:Keystone Studios (00069483).jpg
| image_caption       = Keystone Studios, 1915
| successor           = 
| foundation          = 1912 (as Keystone Pictures Studio)
| founder             = [[Mack Sennett]]
| defunct             = 1935
| location            = [[Edendale, Los Angeles]]
| industry            = [[Film studio]]
| key_people          = 
| products            = 
| num_employees       = 
| parent              = 
| subsid              = 
}}

'''Keystone Studios''' was an early [[film studio]] founded in [[Edendale, Los Angeles, California|Edendale, California]] (which is now a part of [[Echo Park, Los Angeles|Echo Park]]) on July 4, 1912 as the '''Keystone Pictures Studio''' by [[Mack Sennett]]  with backing from actor-writer [[Adam Kessel]] (1866–1946)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0450254/ Internet Movie Database]</ref> and [[Charles O Baumann|Charles O. Baumann]] (1874–1931), owners of the New York Motion Picture Company (founded 1909).<ref>[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/companies/N/newYorkMoPicCo.html Silent Era.com]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.moviemoviesite.com/Years/1911-1920/1912usa.htm |title=MovieMoviesite.com |access-date=August 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023323/http://www.moviemoviesite.com/Years/1911-1920/1912usa.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The company, referred to at its office as '''The Keystone Film Company''', filmed in and around Glendale and [[Silver Lake, Los Angeles]] for several years, and its films were distributed by the [[Mutual Film Corporation]] between 1912 and 1915.<ref>[http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/companies/M/mutualFilmCorp.html ''Mutual Film Corporation''] at Silent Era. Retrieved 2012-01-30.</ref> The Keystone film brand declined rapidly after Sennett went independent in 1917.<ref name=Booker2011/>

The name ''Keystone'' was taken from the side of one of the cars of a passing [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] train (Keystone State being the nickname of the [[Pennsylvania|Commonwealth of Pennsylvania]]) during the initial meeting of Sennett, Kessel and Baumann in New York.<ref>{{cite news |title=HOW KEYSTONE GOT ITS NAME |newspaper=LA Times |date=7 January 1917 |page=24 (of Part 3)}}</ref>

The original main building, the first totally enclosed film stage and studio in history, is still standing. It is located at 1712 Glendale Blvd in [[Echo Park, Los Angeles]] and is now being used as a [[Public Storage|Public storage facility]].<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin|last=Bengtson|first=John|author-link=John Bengtson|year=2010|publisher={{ill|Lobster Films|fr}}|minutes=11:30}}</ref>