Harris Theatre
809 Liberty Avenue,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15222
809 Liberty Avenue,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15222
5 people
favorited this theater
On November 9, 1995, the Harris Theatre was officially opened to the public. Formerly known as the Art Cinema, the Harris represented the cornerstone of the redevelopment of Liberty Avenue.
Located in the nationally known and locally resitered Penn-Library Historic District, the Harris Theatre was the first moving picture house in Pittsburgh to commercially show “art movies” until competition from other city theaters led to its conversion to an adult, pornographic movie house in the 1960’s.
The theatre’s marquee was restored, and the theatre seats 194 for movies and 178 for live performances.
The Harris was named through a gift from the Buhl Foundation after John P. Harris, co-founder of Nickelodeon – the first theater solely dedication to the showing of motion pictures- and a Pennsylvania State Senator.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 34 comments)
LM, do you know if Gerald DeLuca still posts on CT. I came across a bunch of notes for him and one was on this theatre.
Renewing link.
Photo from 1948:
View link
Chuck….Gerald DeLuca still posts on CT. This is a recent night photo.
Here is a photo of the Art Cinema courtesy Dorsett Studios.
View link
Yes, Gerald DeLuca (that’s me) still posts on CT. But I tend to specialize in cinemas of my area, the state of Rhode Island.
An article about the Harris with a picture of the auditorium: View link
I’ve been here a couple of times. As part of PGH Film Makers, it’s a good place to see fare that’s just a little out of the mainstream. I wish they’d do something with the exterior, though. That blue still reminds me of its days as a porno house.
If anyone has any stories about going to/ working at this threatre in its adult days, I would love to hear them. I am chronicling the histories of adult theatres in the US. Please contact me at Thanks!
I checked out a few porn flicks here dating back to the mid-70,s. A few years ago, I went to a screening of the Vincent Gallo film Brown Bunny. The name of the theatre may have changed, but hard-core sex content in(some of)their features was still around.