Garden Theatre

12 W. North Avenue,
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

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Additional Info

Architects: Thomas N. Scott

Styles: Beaux-Arts

Previous Names: New Garden Theatre

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News About This Theater

Nov 13, 2007 — Pittsburgh Garden Theater headed toward landmark status
Apr 13, 2007 — Community taking suggestions for the Garden
Feb 21, 2007 — City of Pittsburgh to take possession of Garden Theater

The Garden Theatre opened on October 12, 1914, and was designed by Thomas N. Scott. It has a graceful, Beaux-Arts style terra cotta facade.

When it first opened, it was called the New Garden Theatre, to distinguish it from an earlier theater of the same name.

After decades as a first and second-run neighborhood house, it switched to adult films in 1972.

Since the late-1990s, the city government had been trying to seize the property and shut it down, as part of a rehabilitation of neighborhood.

The Garden Theatre was finally closed in March of 2007, the last remaining porn theater in Pittsburgh. With the Garden Theatre’s closure, there are hopes that the theater can be reborn as a concert hall or other live entertainment venue.

Contributed by Bryan Krefft

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Recent comments (view all 46 comments)

SusanD on January 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm

With the advent of VCRs, this had to be one of the last porno theatres anywhere.

TLSLOEWS on February 28, 2010 at 2:09 pm

You are so right Susan.

kencmcintyre on March 31, 2010 at 4:27 pm

Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yccqzv3

Don Lewis on July 12, 2010 at 9:24 pm

From 1971 a photo postcard of the Garden Theatre in Pittsburgh.

TLSLOEWS on July 13, 2010 at 10:13 am

Nice photo Don.

geoffdingle on October 27, 2010 at 9:29 pm

Six face sex charges after Garden Theatre raid
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh police raided the Garden Theatre on the North Side on Monday and arrested six men on sex charges.
Homer Kline, 73, and Aaron Freeman, 58, were charged with indecent assault after police said they grabbed the genitals of undercover officers as a way to initiate sexual encounters.
Four other men were charged with lewdness and indecent exposure: Barry J. Donahey, 52; Stephen R. Arnal, 48; Thomas Henry McCracken, 58; and Ronald Elvin Etheridge, 63.

Life's Too Short on November 29, 2010 at 8:43 am

This place looks disgusting:

View link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/macwagen/393245066/

Wellington1 on April 20, 2013 at 10:45 am

Check out this vintage photo from 1927. Dorothy Gish is on the marquee and the coming attraction is Fritz Lang’s METROPOLIS.

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/garden%20theater

Life's Too Short on December 20, 2015 at 12:50 pm

1971 photo of auditorium here:

http://www.woodhavenhistoric.com/index.php/photos-by-location/united-states/pa/allegheny-county/garden-theater-pittsburgh-pa-1971-photo-3.html

DavidZornig on March 20, 2017 at 2:56 pm

This unfortunate update was in the CT News Forum, but somehow didn’t make it to this page.

http://cinematreasures.org/blog/2017/3/17/pittsburgh-pa-no-appeal-for-garden-theater-block-redevelopment-effort

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