No Downtown Pittsburgh Movie Theater, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Says

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has abandoned plans for a first-run six-screen movie theater in Downtown Pittsburgh.

The theater was to be located in the long-closed Bally Sports Club on Sixth Street, which was a movie house before it became a fitness center. The building formerly housed the Gateway Theater, which closed in 1980. It was to have had a modern sound system, reclining seats and serve light food and drinks.

The Trust told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that it decided to scrap the plan because building renovation costs had more than doubled since the project was announced prior to the pandemic.

The Trust plans to dedicate resources planned to complete the theater toward improvements for its other venues such as the Benedum Center and the Byham and O'Reilly theaters.

The Benedum formerly was the Stanley movie theater and the Byham once was the Fulton movie theater.