Success Stories Behind Pittsburgh’s Art House Theatres

posted by ThrHistoricalSociety on July 21, 2015 at 9:22 am

Do you have an art house movie theatre in your neighborhood? No matter where you are in your operations plan, you will find some helpful perspectives in this article. Here are some stories about successes in Pittsburgh, a city with with at least 11 art house theatres.

“[Pittsburgh is]…a small city uncharacteristically rich, and competitive, in independent movie offerings. Ensuring that an art house theater both serves local residents and draws enough of a crowd requires a business model that makes the theater more than a place to watch movies.

It becomes what Denis board member Mary Jo Meenen, borrowing from sociologist Ray Oldenberg, calls the “third place,” an area outside of home and work that acts as a space of “community-making.” For these new theaters, that’s been the plan from the start. “What we need to do as a big component of this is education, community offerings with the Y, the local schools,” said Mr. Duggan, president of the Village Theater Company. “It became much more than just a movie theater. It became what will hopefully be an icon.”

Read the Pittsburgh Post Gazette article here: http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/movies/2015/07/19/Pittsburgh-art-house-movie-theaters-reinvent-themselves/stories/201506180176

ABOUT THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA: Founded by Ben Hall in 1969, the Theatre Historical Society of America (THS) celebrates, documents and promotes the architectural, cultural and social relevance of America’s historic theatres. Through its preservation of the collections in the American Theatre Architecture Archive, its signature publication Marquee™ and Conclave Theatre Tour, THS increases awareness, appreciation and scholarly study of America’s theatres. Learn more about historic theatres on our website at www.historictheatres.org