Capitol Theater
525 Wylie Avenue,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15219
525 Wylie Avenue,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15219
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The Verdi Theater theater dates to the early-20th Century when there was a significant population of Italian and Jewish residents in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. It opened in 1912. In the 1920’s it was renamed Capitol Theater. It was closed in 1926 and was demolished in 1938. Judging from its location in the lower Hill, the property on which this long-gone theater sat would have been part of either the Civic Arena or its parking lots since 1960.
Contributed by
Ed Blank
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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.