Francis Ford Coppola decided he would name his future studio "Zoetrope" after receiving a gift of zoetropes from Mogen Scott-Hansen, founder of a studio called Lanterna Film and owner of a famous collection of early motion picture making equipment. While touring Europe, Coppola was introduced to alternative filmmaking equipment and inspired by the bohemian spirit of Lanterna Film. He decided he would build a deviant studio that would conceive and implement creative, unconventional approaches to filmmaking.
Upon his return home, Coppola and George Lucas searched for a mansion in Marin to house the studio. However, with equipment flowing in and no mansion found yet, the first home for American Zoetrope became a warehouse in San Francisco on Folsom Street in 1969.
A series of films later, the studio continues to strive toward innovative filmmaking strategies in the historic copper clad Sentinel Building, home to American Zoetrope since 1972.