Warner Theatre

I know it broke my heart the day they finally took those Norelco projectors out of that upstairs booth….Just seeing them in that photo almost brought tears,, It was'nt long after that, they moved the Cinerama projectors downstairs….and very rarely ever used the booth upstairs again…

Hi, Joe. I grew up in Pittsburgh during the 50’s and 60’s and some of my most cherished memories are of going to the Warner Theater for their reserved seat engagements. I checked out the pictures on that page and yes, that is the Warner but with some significant modifications. The beautifully carved proscenium arch was preserved but everything behind it was removed: the half dome, the screen, the cameo panels, the orchestra pit, the screen, the stage, even several front rows of seats. This was all replaced by a large stage. A solid deep red curtain hung down behind the arch across the width of the stage. It seemed to come down to the base of the half dome. One can see from the picture where they obtained the stage depth to be able to hold a Cinerama screen, which stretched in an impressive arch from one end of the stage to the other. A curved deep red curtain was also in place masking the screen. Now for regular 70mm productions like “Ben-Hur”. a normal flat screen was used, stretching across the entire stage with its own deep red curtain. I believe the boxes on the side were kept but they were mostly for show. I never saw anyone actually sitting there. The primary colors were beige and deep red. The carpeting and the seats matched the curtains. The deep red of the stage curtains was reinforced by a row of lights with red cels that were attached to the front wall of the balcony. I believe the foyer was much larger than in the picture because I don’t remember looking down on the last rows of the orchestra, so they must have removed several rows nd created a wall to contain the auditorium. Yes, that chandelier was there and the design of that dome resembled the main one in the auditorium itself, just without the chandelier. I don’t remember any furniture being there. I was hoping for some interior pictures of the theatre too, but thanks to linking to the pictures of The Grand. It brought back so many memories. I thought it was the most beautiful theater in the area, and it was well kept during that period so that it could show so many prestigious pictures.

it is a shame that this theatre and all the others are now no longer, either torn down, or in another use. At least some of them are still in use as legit theatres. When I lived downtown I of course always went to these theatres,but even when I lived in Shadyside or East Liberty I came downtown to go to the movies.It was always so much more special. I understand progress and all but it is a shame when a downtown area of a city is devoid of any movie theatre, the multiplexes really ruined it all

again WarnerChatham, great shots. Sad to see the pacman and other early video games in the lobby,a sign of things to come

The Warner Theater was much bigger than what the public saw. There were secret passageways, a huge basement under the auditorium, and dressing rooms behind the stage. There were also three adjacent floors of an abandoned department store called “Frank & Cedar”, which I believed closed around 1960.

Part of the Warner Marquee had lights that no longer worked. There were a set of spot lights mounted on the side of the building that lighted the side of the marquee at night. The ushers had to go turn on a set of lights for the marquee that were known as the “Frank & Cedar” lights. The switch for the lights was in the first floor of the Frank & Cedar room, which was on the same level as the balcony. Going into the Frank & Cedar rooms were like stepping back in time. There were old style light fixtures, an old elevator, wood floors, and carved patterns on the walls. The first floor of the Frank & Cedar rooms would later be used for the food court of Warner Center.

To gain access to the huge basement under the auditorium, you walked down a stone set of spiral steps, sort of like being in a castle. The steps were adjacent to the stage behind the curtain. When you came into the basement, there were markings on the wall giving the water level of the 1937 St. Patrick’s Day flood in Pittsburgh. There were also “fallout shelter” items, like food supplies and water containers. These were probably left over from the “cold war” of the 1960’s. The basement is where the controls were for the heating and air conditioning. There was also a set of steps that led into the old Forbes Avenue box office, which had been long abandoned.