It is believed that this opened as the Ysabel Theater in 1911, a nickelodeon that was aligned with Edison Studios' films for the venue’s first two years. The Edison equipment was sold off in 1913 suggesting a new arrangement and distributor of film titles. One thing that is certain for this venue; it later operated concurrently with the Evaline Theatre which was on the corner. So the Evaline - a new-build facility - likely deserves its own Cinema Treasures' page.
Reading the history of the building - sorry if there’s hurt feelings - but much of its operational lifecycle strongly suggests that it was a front for illicit activities on the building’s second floor. The constant name changes upstairs are as common as the name and management changes downstairs. An example: a 1917 raid of the Pittsburg Musical Club on the building’s second floor netted dozens of participants at craps tables, two concurrent poker games and absolutely no musical instruments detected in the musical club. Downstairs, the Pitt Photoplay Theater had light business. The club was shut and the movie theater changed owners and names to the Victory Theater (which needs to be added to the list of operational names).
Two Prohibition era raids in the 1920s in the second floor club / speakeasy led to name changes both upstairs and down, as well. Two sheriff sale auctions of the theater in the 1920s suggest either bad financial luck, police intervention, or both. The only trade press article about the business activity at the theater suggests that business was “fair.” Not a ringing endorsement. It is suggested - perhaps incorrectly but plausibly - that the theater was an easy entry and exit point for patrons of the second floor speakeasy and gambling fronts that existed in the 1910s and 1920s. This would also explain the eight names and near comical turnover in ownership that this theater had in 18 operational years during the silent era of film. And if this is erroneous for any and/or all periods of this venue’s operational lifecycle, apologies.
The name is incorrect - it was the Valleyodeon (one word) Theatre and it opened in 1907 according to most reports and was still operating in 1915 but appears to have been sold and closed at that time. Harry Winter was the projectionist and operator from its opening to closing and his wife, Gertrude Winter, was the piano player for its entire run. Mr. Winter contends that the Valleyodeon opened not in 1907 but in 1906 and he remained a projectionist in Pittsburgh until 1964 retiring at the Penn Theatre.
I’m not a Pittsburgh expert by any stretch, but this mapping is nowhere close to the former Valleyodeon location which seems by all descriptions to be in the 15214 zip code with the Taggart street name and address changed. Is there some evidence that this was even demolished?
Appears to have gone out of business in the Summer of 1956 when operators Joseph D. and Mary Mazzei struggled to pay their debt to a candy provider. Mazzei had additionally managed the Art Cinema of Pittsburgh from 1935-1952.
September 18, 1920 grand opening ad for the Palace Theatre with Wallace Reid in “Double Speed” supported by Ben Turpin in “He Looked Crooked” in photos.
J.P Chisholm of Dallas launched the Chisholm Trail Drive-In Theatre with a soft launch on September 2, 1955. The 58' high screen and fried chicken were hits on that night. The true grand opening was then held on September 8, 1955.
The Alvin Airway Theatre opened May 6, 1951 with Randolph Scott in “Fighting Man of the Plains” supported by Woody Woodpecker in the cartoon, “Merry Chase.” It reopened under that name each season through 1955. In 1956, it reopened as the Alvin Airway Drive-In Theatre. In 1957, new operator Durward Rathbun opened for the season on May 25, 1957 with “Many with a Gun” supported by “Storm Fear” for a season as the Sparta Drive-in.
Opening night for Welker & Hannebaum’s Princess Theatre was held on March 15, 1911 with Mack Sennett in “A Summer Tragedy,” Broncho Billy Anderson in “The Desperado,” and “The Three of Them.”
The Perrysville Theatre appears to have opened in 1913 and was offered for sale a year later. Dr. Stybr took on the venue changing its name to the Atlas Theatre in November of 1915. It was operated officially by the Atlas Theatre Company the next month. G.J. Schweitzer of the Century-Family Theatre, Samuel M. Gould of Gould Amusements, Joan Weiner, and Max and Joseph Rand also operated the venue in its silent era. Max and Joseph Rand would equip the venue for sound to remain viable. In 1938, the theatre’s front received a streamline moderne makeover.
In the 1940s, Anthony Latella and Aaron “Twig” Rozenzweig were among the new owners of the Atlas. Atlas shrugged closing April 11, 1953 with a double feature of Yvonne De Carlo in “Hurricane Smith” and Maureen O'Sullivan in “Bonzo Goes to College.” Just weeks later in 1953, the venue was offered for sale for $26,500 ending its theatrical run and becoming a retail operation. The building was still standing although vacant in the 21st Century.
The Arcadia Theatre opened in February of 1916. It was acquired in 1918 by Samuel M. Gould who had the Gould Theatre a block away and the Atlas Theater in his Gould Amusement portfolio. Gould’s local circuit would grow and contract over the years before officially disbanding in 1947. Gourd’s service to the Arcadia would end dying here while working on April 8, 1958. Mrs. Gould took over the theater first closing it at the end of December of 1958 and reopening it one last time on May 5, 1959 but apparently closing it permanently on July 4, 1959.
This venue does appear to have a run and should be listed in the East Allegheny neighborhood for its 40-year run from 1917 to 1957 as the Century Theatre, New Century Theatre, Century Family Theatre and Family Theatre.
Samuel M. Gould began is 43-year film exhibition career here at the Gould Theater in 1915. He created the venue in an existing building at 719-723 East Ohio that had held a decades' old gymnastics club. Beginning with a modest 275-seat auditorium, Gould expanded from 719 to 719-721 taking over the neighboring retail spot. This increased the theater’s size to 500 seats. He would create Gould Amusement taking over the Arcadia a block away that launched in 1918 and the Atlas.
Gould’s local circuit would grow and contract over the years before officially disbanding in 1947. The Gould Theater suffered a projection room fire in 1925 that save the rest of the building. After minor repairs, the Gould carried on until December 9, 1929 when a major projection booth explosion not long after the last showtime destroyed the entire multi-floor building and closed the theater permanently. A brand new G.C. Murphy retail store would be built on the spot of the former Gould.
Gould would go on to work for Warner Bros. Circuit and re-acquired the Arcadia Theatre at 823 East Ohio. His journey would end there dying while working at the theater on April 8, 1958 completing his service to the local movie theater industry. The Arcadia has its own Cinema Treasure page.
Frederick E. Querner opened an airdome known as Querner’s Dome Theater on April 12, 1913. Querner’s musical skills were useful in the presentation of live music with the films played. By 1916 (and perhaps as early as 1914), it was called the Dome Theater still operated by Querner and enclosed operating year-round with a 220-seat auditorium. In 1925, Querner received permission for an addition to the theater. In 1929, it assumed that a refresh brought sound to the Dome to remain viable.
Querner was still going after converting to sound into the 1940s as the Dome Theater. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1942. The theater stayed in the family with his wife, Agnes, running it with her son and Dick Jochim into the 1950s. Its 40 year journey may have ended. The building has since been demolished and replaced by a parking lot.
(This has no connection to the Frederick Theater on Linden Avenue and, thus, is unrelated to the Harry S. Bair designs. Those designs date to January of 1917 for the Linden Ave. Frederick Theater.
This venue was simply called Querner’s Dome Theater, the Dome Motion Picture and, finally, the Dome Theater. And there are two listings for this theater on Cinema Treasures - one as the Dome and one as the Querner. Because this one has the correct neighborhood, I would think this entry should remain as the Dome Theater; aka Querner’s Dome Theater and aka Dome Motion Picture Theatre.)
This venue replaced the Victoria Theatre - second of three using that name in Pittsburgh - that had opened on November 29, 1917 at 1862-1864 Center Avenue. The venue also had a bowling alley associated with it. The Victoria was closed on February 23, 1928 by Pittsburgh Public Safety Director James Clark for multiple safety reason as it had been “operated in a careless manor.” The theater was one of many closed in 1928 over safety concerns. It is assumed that the foundation of the theatre was retained and Louis Hendel had a new $130,000 building with a theater, offices, and a rear retail store built in the same footprint. The Italian Renaissance-styled Roosevelt Theatre (as shown above) launched here February 17, 1929 or just about one year from the date of the Victoria’s closure.
The Roosevelt was known for motion pictures but also live music with performances by Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Mervis Bros. Circuit closed the Roosevelt at the end of a 30-year lease on January 29, 1959 with a double-feature of “Johnny Rocco” and “Revolt in the Big House.” It was then sold to the non-denominational Church of Our Lady as a house of worship. The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority purchased the facility in 1973 for potential re-use. Unfortunately, the venue was gutted by fire on January 13, 1974 and razed shortly thereafter.
This was a venue designed by architect Harry S. Bair in 1912. It was a building whose origin was in city improvement - the Wylie trolley car street line which led to a razing of selected buildings in a block of properties between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. This 7-story venue housed offices and businesses serving as a replacement for the demolished structures. The Verdi Theatre was the first name of the movie house appealing to Italian immigrants. A neighboring confectionery served as the de facto concession stand. In March of 1919, the Verdi improved presentations with two new Simplex projectors.
Joseph Goldhammer took on the venue in the 1920s renaming it as the Capitol Theater which appears to have faded prior to equipping for sound. The Capitol marketed toward its present audience base now a solidly African American neighborhood though not turning away anyone who frequented the Verdi. The building is an amazing source of vice which includes multiple busts for numbers rackets / illegal lotteries, illegal poker games, stabbings and at least one murder. The theater appears to have gone into receivership in 1926. The entire building was razed after a salvage sale in 1938.
The Weiland family operated this venue as one of several theaters in their portfolio. This was a converted garage / retail building that was re-imagined by architects Joseph B. Smithyman and Charles R. Geisler. It appears to have opened as the Weiland Theatre on January 3, 1934 with “Big Brain” and “Samarang.” In April of 1941, the Weiland family sold their theater to the Warner Circuit. Warner immediately changed its name to the Centre. After a brief refresh, the venue relaunched with “High Sierra” and “Keeping Company” on May 9, 1941.
Warner closed here on December 2, 1951 with “The Prowler” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” It was offered for sale with a dozen other Warner theaters as it was likely divesting due to the Paramount decree. The Giant Eagle chain of grocery stores purchased the building and had it demolished for its new store that opened here on May 1, 1952. It would close early in 2006 and replaced by a new CVS drug store.
The Cameraphone Company was the first U.S. circuit to attempt to market itself as a sound movie exhibitor. A franchisee launched on November 1, 1909 with a short-lived Cameraphone Theater playing the talking “Brady’s Thanksgiving” supported by a President Taft at Baseball Games short, and Pathe’s “Doomed.”
The Cameraphone was a dud in Shreveport and just months later, the venue became the Dixie Theatre. It was all over by early 1911 - just about a year after it had launched.
Thomas Burke Jr. and Martin Burke built a two-story, multipurpose entertainment and retail complex at 53-55 Fullerton for just $7,000. The building contained a dance hall, a nickelodeon, a pool hall and a retail shop when it opened in 1914. The theater primarily served African American audiences but all were welcomed. The dance hall / cabaret went by names including the Ritz, the Royal Garden Cabaret, and Javo’s Jungle. The theater was known in its silent era as Burke’s Theatre. Edward Burke served as a projectionist during the venue’s run. It appears that the Burkes sold out in 1930 without converting to sound.
The area in which Burke’s Theater was situated was a vibrant African American community with great night life. Music and meetings were held just doors away at the nearby - and famed - Loendi Social and Literary Club that had opened for elite local African American doctors, business leaders, professors and others back in 1897. But the nightclub held within the walls of the theater complex was anything but exclusive drawing folks of all social classes.
The adjoining nightclub had a tumultuous run and lost its operational license in 1927. Following Prohibition, as Javo’s Jungle, the operation was challenged again in 1936 over its liquor license and was stripped of that license in February of 1937. Renamed the Ritz, it was closed for allegedly running a numbers game that led to a major bust in 1938 halting the business for a period. Another bust came in 1953 where 148 persons were arrested for drinking tax-free in the nightclub that had no valid liquor license.
Meanwhile, the Burkes left their namesake theater apparently at the expiry of a 15-year leasing cycle apparently without converting to sound. The next operator did convert to talkies later that same year under its new name of the Hill Theatre. The Hill changed owners soon thereafter briefly becoming the Fullerton Theatre in 1932. In March of 1932, new operator E.J. Golden took on the venue changing names to the Golden Theater.
Unfortunate events that were suffered by the nightclub / cabaret were also occurring at the theater. Jacob and Sidney Soltz had taken on the venue renaming it as the Rhumba Theater. In 1937, the theatre suffered a minor fire that almost caused a panic; that was followed by a lye incident where a patron through skin-burning lye at fellow patrons. A gas explosion in 1952 caused minor damage and no injuries. And there were minor projection room fires, as well.
On the entertainment side, the Rhumba Theatre played African American led films from Sack Amusement. The Rhumba also hosted live music shows including a regular gig for Dakota Staton who went on to have a hit single in the 1950s. The theatre soldiered on despite a 1953 announcement of the Lower Hill Development / Redevelopment project that included the Civic Arena that would open on September 17, 1961. The Leondi club moved to new digs in 1958. The owners of the Rhumba were forced out in 1958 and the property razed. The Soltzes and the building’s owner successfully sued the City for shorting them the money they felt they were promised after the building had already been razed. The building - a vital everyperson’s part of the Jazz Age in Pittsburgh was finally silenced.
Closed at the end of its 50-year lease on September 6, 1965 with a triple feature of “Son of Katie Elder,” “Crack in the Mirror” and “Psycho.” The vacant venue was demolished beginning in November of 1968.
Built on the Greater Pittsburgh Drive-In Theatre’s former spot on Route 30 was the David Rockwell-architected Loews North Versailles. The 20-screen, $20 million megaplex had 4,200 seats with its largest auditorium seating 635 and sporting a 60 foot screen. But with competition from the Destinta Theatre nearby at Pittsburgh Plaza in Versailles and Loew’s own Waterfront 22 within ten miles opening in 2000, this was going to be a financial challenge.
In 2001, Loews Cineplex Circuit filed for bankruptcy protection likely able to duck creditors in some of its failed new locations in overbuilt situations. The Loews 20 North Versailles fit the bill perfectly and was quickly shuttered on June 28, 2001.
The Eastland Shopping Theatre was announced in the Fall of 1960 to be anchored by a Gimbel’s Department Store and a Sears store followed soon after its opening with a J.C. Penney’s. The two anchors launched before the mall’s other stores in August of 1963. Associated Theaters announced that it would add a single-screen cinema to the complex. The $400,000 elliptical structure with its vaulted roof was a daring design by architects Bernard J. Liff and Just of Liff-Just-Chetlin of Pittsburgh. Ground was broken in July of 1964 but soon Associated reconsidered the theatre’s design likely to better fit its spot in the shopping center and, likely, to save money on construction. The 1,000-seat road-show ready Eastland Theatre launched on Christmas Day of 1964 with Peter Ustinov in “Tokapi.”
The theatre was taken over by Cinemette Circuit. The shopping plaza got major competition in 1969 from the Monroeville Mall just six miles a way. In response, the complex housing the theatre became known as the Eastland Mall officially on November 14, 1973 as an enclosed shopping complex. But the closing of the Gimbel’s anchor led the Eastland Mall down a path toward greyfield status - a term synonymous with a “dead” or dying mall. Cinemette - seeing the mall in a downward spiral - downgraded its Eastland cinema to a sub-run dollar discount house on February 27, 1987. Cinemette would soon morph into Cinema World.
Cinema World appears to have dropped the location and it was run as an independent with the Manor Theatre to closure. The Eastland Theatre closed on July 30, 1992 at the end of a leasing cycle remaining as a sub-run discount venue. Its final films were “Lethal Weapon III” and “Beethoven” splitting with “Alien 3.” The Mall scraped by year after year with fewer and fewer stores and services until mercifully being shuttered in 2004 due to complaints including but not limited to falling ceilings, constant roof leakage, lack of heat, and buckling floors. The entire Mall including the former cinema was razed in 2007 with the exception of the Eastland Mall roadside attractor which curiously stayed as a “ghost sign” in the 2010s.
Associated Theaters launched the 1,100-seat Quad Cinema with four identical 275-seats as an automated theater in the basement of the Executive Building in downtown McKeesport. Cinemette took on the Associated properties and ran the Quad until 1978. Mike Cordone acquired the venue next for his Mini-Cinemas Circuit. But, as noted above, the venue flooded a final time and Cordone removed the projection and other useful equipment ending the theater’s run.
It is believed that this opened as the Ysabel Theater in 1911, a nickelodeon that was aligned with Edison Studios' films for the venue’s first two years. The Edison equipment was sold off in 1913 suggesting a new arrangement and distributor of film titles. One thing that is certain for this venue; it later operated concurrently with the Evaline Theatre which was on the corner. So the Evaline - a new-build facility - likely deserves its own Cinema Treasures' page.
Reading the history of the building - sorry if there’s hurt feelings - but much of its operational lifecycle strongly suggests that it was a front for illicit activities on the building’s second floor. The constant name changes upstairs are as common as the name and management changes downstairs. An example: a 1917 raid of the Pittsburg Musical Club on the building’s second floor netted dozens of participants at craps tables, two concurrent poker games and absolutely no musical instruments detected in the musical club. Downstairs, the Pitt Photoplay Theater had light business. The club was shut and the movie theater changed owners and names to the Victory Theater (which needs to be added to the list of operational names).
Two Prohibition era raids in the 1920s in the second floor club / speakeasy led to name changes both upstairs and down, as well. Two sheriff sale auctions of the theater in the 1920s suggest either bad financial luck, police intervention, or both. The only trade press article about the business activity at the theater suggests that business was “fair.” Not a ringing endorsement. It is suggested - perhaps incorrectly but plausibly - that the theater was an easy entry and exit point for patrons of the second floor speakeasy and gambling fronts that existed in the 1910s and 1920s. This would also explain the eight names and near comical turnover in ownership that this theater had in 18 operational years during the silent era of film. And if this is erroneous for any and/or all periods of this venue’s operational lifecycle, apologies.
The name is incorrect - it was the Valleyodeon (one word) Theatre and it opened in 1907 according to most reports and was still operating in 1915 but appears to have been sold and closed at that time. Harry Winter was the projectionist and operator from its opening to closing and his wife, Gertrude Winter, was the piano player for its entire run. Mr. Winter contends that the Valleyodeon opened not in 1907 but in 1906 and he remained a projectionist in Pittsburgh until 1964 retiring at the Penn Theatre.
I’m not a Pittsburgh expert by any stretch, but this mapping is nowhere close to the former Valleyodeon location which seems by all descriptions to be in the 15214 zip code with the Taggart street name and address changed. Is there some evidence that this was even demolished?
Appears to have gone out of business in the Summer of 1956 when operators Joseph D. and Mary Mazzei struggled to pay their debt to a candy provider. Mazzei had additionally managed the Art Cinema of Pittsburgh from 1935-1952.
September 18, 1920 grand opening ad for the Palace Theatre with Wallace Reid in “Double Speed” supported by Ben Turpin in “He Looked Crooked” in photos.
J.P Chisholm of Dallas launched the Chisholm Trail Drive-In Theatre with a soft launch on September 2, 1955. The 58' high screen and fried chicken were hits on that night. The true grand opening was then held on September 8, 1955.
The Alvin Airway Theatre opened May 6, 1951 with Randolph Scott in “Fighting Man of the Plains” supported by Woody Woodpecker in the cartoon, “Merry Chase.” It reopened under that name each season through 1955. In 1956, it reopened as the Alvin Airway Drive-In Theatre. In 1957, new operator Durward Rathbun opened for the season on May 25, 1957 with “Many with a Gun” supported by “Storm Fear” for a season as the Sparta Drive-in.
Final showtimes were “Fast on the Draw” supported by two comedy shorts on July 14, 1950. The theatre was destroyed the next day by a massive fire.
Opening night for Welker & Hannebaum’s Princess Theatre was held on March 15, 1911 with Mack Sennett in “A Summer Tragedy,” Broncho Billy Anderson in “The Desperado,” and “The Three of Them.”
Closed March 3, 2010. Demolished May 2021.
The Perrysville Theatre appears to have opened in 1913 and was offered for sale a year later. Dr. Stybr took on the venue changing its name to the Atlas Theatre in November of 1915. It was operated officially by the Atlas Theatre Company the next month. G.J. Schweitzer of the Century-Family Theatre, Samuel M. Gould of Gould Amusements, Joan Weiner, and Max and Joseph Rand also operated the venue in its silent era. Max and Joseph Rand would equip the venue for sound to remain viable. In 1938, the theatre’s front received a streamline moderne makeover.
In the 1940s, Anthony Latella and Aaron “Twig” Rozenzweig were among the new owners of the Atlas. Atlas shrugged closing April 11, 1953 with a double feature of Yvonne De Carlo in “Hurricane Smith” and Maureen O'Sullivan in “Bonzo Goes to College.” Just weeks later in 1953, the venue was offered for sale for $26,500 ending its theatrical run and becoming a retail operation. The building was still standing although vacant in the 21st Century.
Zip code is 15214
The Arcadia Theatre opened in February of 1916. It was acquired in 1918 by Samuel M. Gould who had the Gould Theatre a block away and the Atlas Theater in his Gould Amusement portfolio. Gould’s local circuit would grow and contract over the years before officially disbanding in 1947. Gourd’s service to the Arcadia would end dying here while working on April 8, 1958. Mrs. Gould took over the theater first closing it at the end of December of 1958 and reopening it one last time on May 5, 1959 but apparently closing it permanently on July 4, 1959.
This venue does appear to have a run and should be listed in the East Allegheny neighborhood for its 40-year run from 1917 to 1957 as the Century Theatre, New Century Theatre, Century Family Theatre and Family Theatre.
Samuel M. Gould began is 43-year film exhibition career here at the Gould Theater in 1915. He created the venue in an existing building at 719-723 East Ohio that had held a decades' old gymnastics club. Beginning with a modest 275-seat auditorium, Gould expanded from 719 to 719-721 taking over the neighboring retail spot. This increased the theater’s size to 500 seats. He would create Gould Amusement taking over the Arcadia a block away that launched in 1918 and the Atlas.
Gould’s local circuit would grow and contract over the years before officially disbanding in 1947. The Gould Theater suffered a projection room fire in 1925 that save the rest of the building. After minor repairs, the Gould carried on until December 9, 1929 when a major projection booth explosion not long after the last showtime destroyed the entire multi-floor building and closed the theater permanently. A brand new G.C. Murphy retail store would be built on the spot of the former Gould.
Gould would go on to work for Warner Bros. Circuit and re-acquired the Arcadia Theatre at 823 East Ohio. His journey would end there dying while working at the theater on April 8, 1958 completing his service to the local movie theater industry. The Arcadia has its own Cinema Treasure page.
Likely closed after a minor projection booth fire on August 22 1921 as the building is used for other retail purposes not long after.
Frederick E. Querner opened an airdome known as Querner’s Dome Theater on April 12, 1913. Querner’s musical skills were useful in the presentation of live music with the films played. By 1916 (and perhaps as early as 1914), it was called the Dome Theater still operated by Querner and enclosed operating year-round with a 220-seat auditorium. In 1925, Querner received permission for an addition to the theater. In 1929, it assumed that a refresh brought sound to the Dome to remain viable.
Querner was still going after converting to sound into the 1940s as the Dome Theater. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1942. The theater stayed in the family with his wife, Agnes, running it with her son and Dick Jochim into the 1950s. Its 40 year journey may have ended. The building has since been demolished and replaced by a parking lot.
(This has no connection to the Frederick Theater on Linden Avenue and, thus, is unrelated to the Harry S. Bair designs. Those designs date to January of 1917 for the Linden Ave. Frederick Theater.
This venue was simply called Querner’s Dome Theater, the Dome Motion Picture and, finally, the Dome Theater. And there are two listings for this theater on Cinema Treasures - one as the Dome and one as the Querner. Because this one has the correct neighborhood, I would think this entry should remain as the Dome Theater; aka Querner’s Dome Theater and aka Dome Motion Picture Theatre.)
This venue replaced the Victoria Theatre - second of three using that name in Pittsburgh - that had opened on November 29, 1917 at 1862-1864 Center Avenue. The venue also had a bowling alley associated with it. The Victoria was closed on February 23, 1928 by Pittsburgh Public Safety Director James Clark for multiple safety reason as it had been “operated in a careless manor.” The theater was one of many closed in 1928 over safety concerns. It is assumed that the foundation of the theatre was retained and Louis Hendel had a new $130,000 building with a theater, offices, and a rear retail store built in the same footprint. The Italian Renaissance-styled Roosevelt Theatre (as shown above) launched here February 17, 1929 or just about one year from the date of the Victoria’s closure.
The Roosevelt was known for motion pictures but also live music with performances by Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Mervis Bros. Circuit closed the Roosevelt at the end of a 30-year lease on January 29, 1959 with a double-feature of “Johnny Rocco” and “Revolt in the Big House.” It was then sold to the non-denominational Church of Our Lady as a house of worship. The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority purchased the facility in 1973 for potential re-use. Unfortunately, the venue was gutted by fire on January 13, 1974 and razed shortly thereafter.
This was a venue designed by architect Harry S. Bair in 1912. It was a building whose origin was in city improvement - the Wylie trolley car street line which led to a razing of selected buildings in a block of properties between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. This 7-story venue housed offices and businesses serving as a replacement for the demolished structures. The Verdi Theatre was the first name of the movie house appealing to Italian immigrants. A neighboring confectionery served as the de facto concession stand. In March of 1919, the Verdi improved presentations with two new Simplex projectors.
Joseph Goldhammer took on the venue in the 1920s renaming it as the Capitol Theater which appears to have faded prior to equipping for sound. The Capitol marketed toward its present audience base now a solidly African American neighborhood though not turning away anyone who frequented the Verdi. The building is an amazing source of vice which includes multiple busts for numbers rackets / illegal lotteries, illegal poker games, stabbings and at least one murder. The theater appears to have gone into receivership in 1926. The entire building was razed after a salvage sale in 1938.
The Weiland family operated this venue as one of several theaters in their portfolio. This was a converted garage / retail building that was re-imagined by architects Joseph B. Smithyman and Charles R. Geisler. It appears to have opened as the Weiland Theatre on January 3, 1934 with “Big Brain” and “Samarang.” In April of 1941, the Weiland family sold their theater to the Warner Circuit. Warner immediately changed its name to the Centre. After a brief refresh, the venue relaunched with “High Sierra” and “Keeping Company” on May 9, 1941.
Warner closed here on December 2, 1951 with “The Prowler” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” It was offered for sale with a dozen other Warner theaters as it was likely divesting due to the Paramount decree. The Giant Eagle chain of grocery stores purchased the building and had it demolished for its new store that opened here on May 1, 1952. It would close early in 2006 and replaced by a new CVS drug store.
The Cameraphone Company was the first U.S. circuit to attempt to market itself as a sound movie exhibitor. A franchisee launched on November 1, 1909 with a short-lived Cameraphone Theater playing the talking “Brady’s Thanksgiving” supported by a President Taft at Baseball Games short, and Pathe’s “Doomed.”
The Cameraphone was a dud in Shreveport and just months later, the venue became the Dixie Theatre. It was all over by early 1911 - just about a year after it had launched.
Thomas Burke Jr. and Martin Burke built a two-story, multipurpose entertainment and retail complex at 53-55 Fullerton for just $7,000. The building contained a dance hall, a nickelodeon, a pool hall and a retail shop when it opened in 1914. The theater primarily served African American audiences but all were welcomed. The dance hall / cabaret went by names including the Ritz, the Royal Garden Cabaret, and Javo’s Jungle. The theater was known in its silent era as Burke’s Theatre. Edward Burke served as a projectionist during the venue’s run. It appears that the Burkes sold out in 1930 without converting to sound.
The area in which Burke’s Theater was situated was a vibrant African American community with great night life. Music and meetings were held just doors away at the nearby - and famed - Loendi Social and Literary Club that had opened for elite local African American doctors, business leaders, professors and others back in 1897. But the nightclub held within the walls of the theater complex was anything but exclusive drawing folks of all social classes.
The adjoining nightclub had a tumultuous run and lost its operational license in 1927. Following Prohibition, as Javo’s Jungle, the operation was challenged again in 1936 over its liquor license and was stripped of that license in February of 1937. Renamed the Ritz, it was closed for allegedly running a numbers game that led to a major bust in 1938 halting the business for a period. Another bust came in 1953 where 148 persons were arrested for drinking tax-free in the nightclub that had no valid liquor license.
Meanwhile, the Burkes left their namesake theater apparently at the expiry of a 15-year leasing cycle apparently without converting to sound. The next operator did convert to talkies later that same year under its new name of the Hill Theatre. The Hill changed owners soon thereafter briefly becoming the Fullerton Theatre in 1932. In March of 1932, new operator E.J. Golden took on the venue changing names to the Golden Theater.
Unfortunate events that were suffered by the nightclub / cabaret were also occurring at the theater. Jacob and Sidney Soltz had taken on the venue renaming it as the Rhumba Theater. In 1937, the theatre suffered a minor fire that almost caused a panic; that was followed by a lye incident where a patron through skin-burning lye at fellow patrons. A gas explosion in 1952 caused minor damage and no injuries. And there were minor projection room fires, as well.
On the entertainment side, the Rhumba Theatre played African American led films from Sack Amusement. The Rhumba also hosted live music shows including a regular gig for Dakota Staton who went on to have a hit single in the 1950s. The theatre soldiered on despite a 1953 announcement of the Lower Hill Development / Redevelopment project that included the Civic Arena that would open on September 17, 1961. The Leondi club moved to new digs in 1958. The owners of the Rhumba were forced out in 1958 and the property razed. The Soltzes and the building’s owner successfully sued the City for shorting them the money they felt they were promised after the building had already been razed. The building - a vital everyperson’s part of the Jazz Age in Pittsburgh was finally silenced.
Closed at the end of its 50-year lease on September 6, 1965 with a triple feature of “Son of Katie Elder,” “Crack in the Mirror” and “Psycho.” The vacant venue was demolished beginning in November of 1968.
The $500,000 1976 renovation of the Stanley Theater by Cinemette Circuit was credited to architect Bernard J. Liff
Built on the Greater Pittsburgh Drive-In Theatre’s former spot on Route 30 was the David Rockwell-architected Loews North Versailles. The 20-screen, $20 million megaplex had 4,200 seats with its largest auditorium seating 635 and sporting a 60 foot screen. But with competition from the Destinta Theatre nearby at Pittsburgh Plaza in Versailles and Loew’s own Waterfront 22 within ten miles opening in 2000, this was going to be a financial challenge.
In 2001, Loews Cineplex Circuit filed for bankruptcy protection likely able to duck creditors in some of its failed new locations in overbuilt situations. The Loews 20 North Versailles fit the bill perfectly and was quickly shuttered on June 28, 2001.
The Eastland Shopping Theatre was announced in the Fall of 1960 to be anchored by a Gimbel’s Department Store and a Sears store followed soon after its opening with a J.C. Penney’s. The two anchors launched before the mall’s other stores in August of 1963. Associated Theaters announced that it would add a single-screen cinema to the complex. The $400,000 elliptical structure with its vaulted roof was a daring design by architects Bernard J. Liff and Just of Liff-Just-Chetlin of Pittsburgh. Ground was broken in July of 1964 but soon Associated reconsidered the theatre’s design likely to better fit its spot in the shopping center and, likely, to save money on construction. The 1,000-seat road-show ready Eastland Theatre launched on Christmas Day of 1964 with Peter Ustinov in “Tokapi.”
The theatre was taken over by Cinemette Circuit. The shopping plaza got major competition in 1969 from the Monroeville Mall just six miles a way. In response, the complex housing the theatre became known as the Eastland Mall officially on November 14, 1973 as an enclosed shopping complex. But the closing of the Gimbel’s anchor led the Eastland Mall down a path toward greyfield status - a term synonymous with a “dead” or dying mall. Cinemette - seeing the mall in a downward spiral - downgraded its Eastland cinema to a sub-run dollar discount house on February 27, 1987. Cinemette would soon morph into Cinema World.
Cinema World appears to have dropped the location and it was run as an independent with the Manor Theatre to closure. The Eastland Theatre closed on July 30, 1992 at the end of a leasing cycle remaining as a sub-run discount venue. Its final films were “Lethal Weapon III” and “Beethoven” splitting with “Alien 3.” The Mall scraped by year after year with fewer and fewer stores and services until mercifully being shuttered in 2004 due to complaints including but not limited to falling ceilings, constant roof leakage, lack of heat, and buckling floors. The entire Mall including the former cinema was razed in 2007 with the exception of the Eastland Mall roadside attractor which curiously stayed as a “ghost sign” in the 2010s.
Associated Theaters launched the 1,100-seat Quad Cinema with four identical 275-seats as an automated theater in the basement of the Executive Building in downtown McKeesport. Cinemette took on the Associated properties and ran the Quad until 1978. Mike Cordone acquired the venue next for his Mini-Cinemas Circuit. But, as noted above, the venue flooded a final time and Cordone removed the projection and other useful equipment ending the theater’s run.