Exploring Pittsburgh's Cultural Scene

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. April 19, 2010

APRIL 16, 2010 - The Pittsburgh region is one of America's most vital cultural centers. Following are some reasons why Pittsburgh was named among the top 25 Arts Destinations by American Arts Magazine and American Style Magazine.

A Downtown Cultural Tour

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, incorporated in 1984, today oversees the development and operation of six major theaters in downtown Pittsburgh: the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, Byham Theater, Heinz Hall, the O'Reilly Theater, the Harris Theater and the Cabaret at Theater Square, all located in the 14 block Penn/Liberty section of downtown.

The Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, formerly the Stanley Theater, reopened in 1987 after a $42-million renovation. Every architectural detail — from the two-and-a-half ton, 50,000-piece crystal chandelier to the aluminum-foil-gilded plaster work to the chaser lights on the marquee — were painstakingly restored to their original glory. The proud cornerstone of Pittsburgh's Cultural District, this 2,800-seat theater is home to the Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Dance Council, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Pittsburgh Opera, as well as first-run Broadway touring productions. The Benedum Center is registered with the National Trust for Historic Placesand has been named the “Number One Auditorium in the U.S.” by Billboard magazine. It features a stage comparable in size to the Paris Opera House and the New York Metropolitan Opera, and is one of the few theaters in the United States large enough to stage full-cast, first-run Broadway shows.

The 1,342-seat Byham Theater opened in 1904 as the Gayety vaudeville house and later reopened in the 1930s as a “talking motion picture house.” Today this beautifully restored theater features small- to mid-sized performing arts productions as well as national touring companies in music, dance and performing arts for children.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust renovated the Art Cinema, long notorious for showing “adult” films, and reopened it as the Harris Theater in 1995. Named after John P. Harris, a pioneering Pittsburgher who opened the first nickelodeon theater in 1905, the Harris Theater is the home of Pittsburgh Filmmakers, presenters of independent and foreign films as well as small live performances, lectures and experimental theater.

The O'Reilly Theater was designed by world-renowned architect Michael Graves and opened in 1999. With seating for 650, the intimate O'Reilly is the only downtown theater with a thrust stage, surrounded by the audience on three sides. The O'Reilly is home to Pittsburgh Public Theater.

Heinz Hall enjoys an international reputation as an acoustically outstanding concert hall. The 2,661-seat hall, with its Breche opal and Lavanto marble interior, was built in 1927 by motion picture magnate Marcus Loew and was called the Loew's Penn Theater. The last production in the Loew's Penn Theater was Hello Dolly starring Carol Channing in 1967.

The Howard Heinz Endowment saved the theater from the wrecking ball after it closed in 1968 and reopened it as Heinz Hall after an $11-million renovation. Heinz Hall's opulent interior features the original 1927 imported Italian marble, plush red velvet and shimmering Austrian crystal. Two spectacular 15-foot chandeliers in the Grand Lobby, also part of the original theater, weigh more than a ton each.

Heinz Hall is home to the renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, led by such great maestros as Andre Previn and Mariss Jansons. It also hosts Symphony Pops concerts, directed by Marvin Hamlisch, and Broadway touring companies.

The Cabaret at Theater Square is a $33 million facility with a 253-seat audience. The newest theater in the Cultural District features year-round programming, with a cocktail lounge, restaurant, and a 790-space parking garage.

Dedicated to famous Pittsburgh playwright August Wilson, the August Wilson Center for African American Culture is a multidisciplinary cultural center, in the heart of downtown, featuring Pittsburgh's contributions to African American art, culture and history. The 65,000-square-foot LEED-Certified green facility includes a 486-seat theater, galleries, bookstore, cafe and space for education and research. The Center is the first African American cultural institution in the U.S. to present visual and performing arts, the humanities and educational programs in the same venue.

The Carnegie Legacy

Located in Oakland, between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are Andrew Carnegie's lasting gift to Pittsburgh. Founded in 1895 as The Carnegie Institute, the complex comprises Carnegie Library, Carnegie Music Hall, Carnegie Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Natural History. On the North Shore, two other Carnegie facilities are the Andy Warhol Museum and the Carnegie Science Center.

The Carnegie Museum of Art features distinguished masterpieces of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and 19th-Century American art. The large collection of paintings, prints and sculpture by old masters shares space with works by contemporary artists in the Scaife Gallery. The Carnegie Museum of Art is host to the prestigious Carnegie International.

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is one of the world's largest natural history museums in the country. Called the “home of the dinosaurs” for its famed skeletons of Tyrannosaurus Rex, Diplodocus and other extraordinary fossils, the museum also displays more than five million specimens from all areas of natural history and anthropology. The Hall of American Indians brings Native America history to life with more than 1,000 rare artifacts in the midst of interactive exhibits and a planetarium-style theater.

Exploring Pittsburgh History

A few blocks east of downtown in the bustling Strip District is the Senator John Heinz History Center, a Smithsonian affiliate. Located in the former Chautauqua Lake Ice Company building, the seven-story History Center houses a comprehensive archive of America's early-20th century push to progress and the stories of the people — both workers and managers, entrepreneurs and laborers — who made it happen. The Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and its 27,000-volume library, archives and museum of western Pennsylvania history also make their home at the History Center.

Pittsburgh's diverse ethnic heritage is celebrated at the University of Pittsburgh's Nationality Rooms. These 27 rooms in the Cathedral of Learning were presented to the University as gifts from the various ethnic groups that settled in Allegheny County. Designed by artists and architects from the nations represented, the rooms are authentic examples of Classical, Byzantine, Romanesque, Renaissance, Tudor and Empire styles.

Pittsburgh's industrialist age comes alive at The Frick Art and Historical Center, where visitors can tour Clayton, the former residence of coal and steel magnate Henry Clay Frick. Clayton underwent a six-year, $6-million restoration to become one of the country's most meticulously documented Victorian residences. Set on an elegantly landscaped complex of museums and turn-of-the-century buildings, The Frick allows visitors to step into the Victorian past and enjoy its architecture and artifacts, as well as explore a rich collection of pre-20th century European art. The Frick Art Museum houses a permanent collection of Italian, French and Flemish painting, sculptures and decorative objects highlighted by outstanding works by Peter Paul Rubens, Giovanni di Paolo and Francois Boucher as well as sculptures by Jean-Antoine Houdon. The Center also includes the Car & Carriage Museum and an award-winning Cafe.

Culture Comes Full Circle

Pittsburgh native Andy Warhol, the son of an immigrant Carpatho Rusyn laborer who worked in the steel mills, studied graphic art at Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh. He made his artistic mark as a graphic artist and later became a central figure in the world of pop art while living in New York, but his ties to Pittsburgh remain through the presence of a museum in his name.

The Andy Warhol Museum, the most comprehensive single artist museum in the world, was established through the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh in cooperation with the City and various national and international arts organizations and foundations. Located on the city's North Shore, the museum is housed in a former eight story warehouse beautifully redesigned by Richard Gluckman Architects, New York. The museum contains 35,000 square feet of exhibition space on seven floors, a theater running films regularly, a research and reading room, education facilities, archives, a gift shop and a cafe. The Andy Warhol Museum owns 900 Warhol paintings, 1,500 drawings, 500 prints, 400 photographs, hundreds of films and videos and a massive collection of Warhol's “time-capsules” — boxed records of the artist's day-to-day dealings and penchant for collecting.

In the Mexican War Streets section of the North Shore is The Mattress Factory, a museum of installation art — one of the few museums of its kind in the world. The Mattress Factory provides living and working space to artists from around the world as they create new installations in the former factory space.