The Benedum Center

Originally known as the Stanley Theater, this building was constructed in 1926-1927 by James Bly Clark as the Pittsburgh flagship of the Stanley-Clark Motion Picture Company. Designed by the Hoffman-Henon Company of Philadelphia, then considered the most important theater designers in the eastern United States, it opened on February 28, 1928, with lavish interior spaces and state-of-the-art equipment that placed it at the forefront of modern theater design, and for decades it hosted many varied entertainments. It survives as a masterpiece from the great age of movie palaces. The Stanley Theater and the adjacent Clark Building were built together as a single project linking offices, commerce, and theater, a union considered an important event in the evolution of urban multi-use developments. Its restrained English Renaissance exterior of brick, terracotta, and limestone was also important for a design considered regional, reflecting, in the architects' view, the taste of local patronage. After a slow decline, the theater was fully restored and expanded in 1985-1986 by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and architects MacLachlan, Cornelius, and Filoni, and it was renamed the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · United States