Benedum Center, Pittsburgh's premiere theater
Built in 1927, then the Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center is Pittsburgh’s premier stage for live theater. Holding 2,885 people the Benedum is also Pittsburgh’s largest theater, beating out Heinz Hall by about two hundred seats.
When built in 1927 it cost three million dollars to build the Stanley and was built to be “Pittsburgh’s place of amusement”. The Stanley changed formats from cinema to a venue for rock concerts until 1982. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust was founded in 1984 with the main purpose of revitalizing Pittsburgh’s cultural district. Restoring the Benedum Center became the Trust’s first project. After two years and forty-three million dollars the Benedum looked just as it did when it opened as the Stanley in 1927, and by following guidelines set by U.S. Department of the Interior, the Commonwealth Bureau of Historic Preservation and the Historic Review Commission of Pennsylvania the Benedum was registered as a historic building with the National Register of Historic Places.