Arsenal Theater
4109 Butler Street,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15201
4109 Butler Street,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15201
1 person
favorited this theater
Located in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh. The Arsenal Theatre opened in 1941.
Contributed by
Rick Aubrey
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
Ed, I found some info on the Arsenal, not sure as to its accuracy and mybe you can verify. Opened as you said in 1915 and was owned by Rowland & Clark, Warner Brothers took over the theatre in 1930 and continued to operate the theatre through different subsidiaries until it closed in 1965. Initial seating listed at 1130.
Excellent, Chuck. Thanks.
Anyone have any pictures of the Arsenal Theater? I spent many Saturdays there watching movies all day long for 50 cents. I guess it was in 65 or 66 I watched the wrecking ball have it’s way with the Arsenal.
Mike
I just located a lady who remembers this theater as she grew up in Lawrenceville PA.
The new Arsenal Theatre and its Warner Bros. connection were described in this 1942 trade article: boxofficemagazine
Thanks so much for posting the article, the photos, etc., everyone. I do indeed remember this theater. Remember going to see “The Great Escape” there, Frankie & Annette, Vincent Price, Peter Sellers, and finally “Mary Poppins.” I was only in grade school when it closed, but the memories are indeliable. I remember the concession stand was actually inside the theater itself. It was like a small open hut. Next to it was a soda machine, that dispensed the soda into a paper cup. You had to drink the soda, before you took your seat. Tickets were purchased outside at the ticket window. You then proceeded inside, up the carpeted hallway (it seemed long to me, but it probably wasn’t), gave the usher your ticket, then went straight ahead through the doors. There, directly in front of you, was the concession stand. To go to seats, you simply turned left and walked until you would make a right down one of the aisles. We always seemed to sit all the way to the farthest left aisle. Never got to use the balcony. The stairs for that were just off the entrance hallway. Thanks again!
Also – in the final years, I remember the theater having “bingo nights.” You’d get a paper bingo slip (I think they came with the purchase of your ticket), and theater manager would call the numbers on stage, prior to curtain time, or perhaps between double-features.
…from the Pittsburgh Press theater ads, it appears that the last feature, “Mary Poppins,” was on August 15, 1965.
The original Arsenal Theatre, opened by Rowland & Clark in 1915, was designed by architect Harry S. Bair. I’m not sure if any of the original 800-seat Arsenal’s structure was incorporated into the 1,150-seat replacement theater that was built by Warner Bros. in 1941, but judging from the Boxoffice article Tinseltoes linked to earlier I think it unlikely. Perhaps the original theater should have its own page.
The original Arsenal Theatre opened prior to 1914, according to an article in the July 15, 1916, issue of The Moving Picture World. James Clark, of Rowland & Clark, was quoted as saying that they built the theater some time after acquiring the Oakland Theatre in 1911, but before building the Regent in 1914. The Arsenal was later enlarged to 750 seats, but the article doesn’t give a date for that project.