Coyle Theatre
331 McKean Avenue,
Charleroi,
PA
15022
331 McKean Avenue,
Charleroi,
PA
15022
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Looks like the end of the line for this one sadly. https://observer-reporter.com/news/localnews/coyle-theater-demolition-permit-issued-in-charleroi/article_6e2f49f4-c370-11e9-9cfa-670f6073b68e.html?
The calendar of the previous year’s theatrical events in the 1893 edition of The New York Clipper Annual said that the Opera House in Charleroi, Pennsylvania was dedicated on September 14, 1892. A play called “Killarney and the Rhine” was the first presentation.
According to a post from Theatre Architecture on Facebook, the theatre will be demolished.
“It is with great sadness that I announce the impending demolition of the Coyle theater in Charleroi Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh due to a lack of vision by city officials. This is the last theater in the Mon- Valley soon to be gone forever"😥
New photos added .I spoke with a few local residents last weekend who told me they knew the roof had been repaired but have seen no work done on the building for quite some time.Can anyone with FOTC check in with an update ?
See the new photos above and for more up to date information, go here: https://www.facebook.com/The-FOTC-True-Friends-in-the-Valley-703363333085518/
The Coyle was definitely in business well before 1922. A relative was working as a pianist at the Coyle Theater at the time of his death in 1920. He died November 6, 1920.
New Mid Mon Valley Cultural Trust is in place as of June 2014 with renewed efforts to restore this historic Coyle Theater in our Mid Mon Valley! Visit us on facebook(The Official MMVCT site)for daily updates of our progress and how you can get involved with this important restoration and renovation of an American Icon in our midst. This can only be done with community support, involvement and participation. Together we CAN make this happen —– help us bring back some ‘magic’ to the Mon Valley. Contact us at MMVCT, 335 McKean Avenue, Charleroi, PA 15022.
The Coyle Theatre was listed in various editions of Julius Cahn’s guide from the 1890s through the 1910s as a second floor house. The alterations in the 1920s must have been virtually a complete rebuilding to turn it into a modern movie theater.
The house apparently underwent additional alterations in 1934. An item in the April 8 issue of The Film Daily said, under the heading “Coyle Theater Enlarged” that “R. S. Coyle’s theater here is now called the New Coyle, with seating capacity increased to 999.”
Robert Coyle was still operating the house at least as late as 1945, when the July 16 issue of Motion Picture Daily mentioned him as the “…oldest Paramount exhibitor in this territory.”
WE in mid mon valley has lost so much that it for great to have a movie theatre in the valley would great thing for are young people
we must get a movie thater back to the mid mon valley
now
I am interested in learning more about the Mid-Mon Valley Cultural Trust but am having difficulty finding contact information, etc. If anyone can direct me, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thank you!
Here is a night shot from 1984:
http://tinyurl.com/y5ba6r3
The COYLE and STATE were both managed by Lou Gadetti until the first (1981) closing. I talked to him shortly before his death. I was asking if he knew anything about the Charleroi STAR, LYRIC, or STRAND. He thought the STAR was on Washington. I know one of them was in the extant building at the alley between McKean and Fallowfield on 5th. It is triple wide, now three separate storerooms. My comment above on COYLE air conditioning should read 1937.
It appears that work to restore the theater has begun, The Mon Valley Cultural Trust bought the theater in October 2002 they plan on having movies as well as live theater.
The trust agreed to pay all back taxes & $25,000 for the Coyle.
The trust comprises members from Belle Vernon, Charleroi, Monessen and Monongahela.
The Coyle Theater opened in 1895. It originally hosted vaudeville shows and then “talkies.”
Closed in May 1999, the last major movie shown at the theater was the greatest grossing film of all time – “Titanic.”
I am excited to see some work being done on the Coyle. It makes my heart feel good. It was such a grand place and in todays day and age, we need places like the Coyle to bring back the excitement of cinema and its classic elegance. I prefer to go to a place like the Coyle where each thing you do contributes to the experience unlike the other theatres of today.
This architect Victor Rigaumont is the same person as Victor A.Rigaumont. The Coyle should be moved to the Victor A. list.
I have many great memories of the Coyle from my high school days at Mon Valley Catholic. It was great when they reopened the balcony in the late 1980’s. How can I get involved with the group that’s trying to restore it?
The architect was Victor Rigaumont, The builder of the current 1927-28 version (see above picture) was my father, Walter S. Rockwell (b. 1886). The owners were Robert Swan Coyle and sister Carrie B. Coyle. No chains involved. There were 999 seats, 1000 would have required aisles 2X wide, thus impossible. In 1939 an elaborate gas tube lighting of the marquee was added (more than half gone now). Also carrier air conditioning was added. This theater is 50% wider than the old 1891 creation. Robert Roy Rockwell ,
Great history & photo at this link:
View link
I thought about buying this theatre when it was for sale about six or seven years ago. It was a lot of theatre for the money but it also needed big bucks worth of improvements. The air conditioning leaked, and the men’s room looked like something from medieval times. It had already been closed for over a year when I looked at it so I was leary that everything would need to be upgraded to present codes. I remember it being larger than six hundred seats but can’t find my notes to refer to. It did have a nice size balcony. I remember the owner telling me they filled the house once with a “pay per view wrestling program”. Ah! the pre-satallite dish days.
Anyway, glad to see someone is trying to get it open again.