The Byham Theater is a landmark building at 101 Sixth Street in the
Cultural District of
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Originally built in 1903 as The Gayety Theater, the former
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
house was renovated and reopened as The Byham Theater in 1990.
Built in 1903 and opened
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
night 1904, the then-named Gayety Theater was stage and
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
house, and it featured stars such as
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...
,
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born Gertr ...
, and
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...
. It was renamed The Fulton in the 1930s when it became a full-time movie theater. The classic horror film ''
Night of the Living Dead
''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven peop ...
'', which was filmed in and around Pittsburgh, had its world premiere at the Fulton in 1968. In 1990 the
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT) is a nonprofit arts organization formed in 1984 to promote economic and cultural development in Downtown Pittsburgh. The "Trust" has focused its work on a 14-square block section called the Cultural District, wh ...
bought the theater and refurbished the Fulton as part of its plan for the Cultural District.
Carolyn M. Byham and
William C. Byham of Pittsburgh made a major naming gift for a 1995 renovation, and it has been the Byham Theater since.
1960 World Series Game Seven
For the 50th anniversary of the
Bill Mazeroski
William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "The Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A 7-time All-S ...
's series winning home run, the first public showing of the
Game 7 tape discovered in December 2009 was hosted by
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...
at the theater on November 13, 2010 at 6 p.m. Mazeroski was joined by Pirate MVP
Dick Groat
Richard Morrow Groat (born November 4, 1930) is a former professional baseball and basketball player who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball. He rates as one of the most accomplished t ...
and former Yankee
Bobby Richardson
Robert Clinton Richardson, Jr. (born August 19, 1935) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he fo ...
to be interviewed during the showing of the game.
MLB Network
The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox Com ...
then telecast the game and interviews nationally.
See also
Theatre in Pittsburgh
Theater in Pittsburgh has existed professionally since the early 1800s and has continued to expand, having emerged as an important cultural force in the city over the past several decades.
History
The heritage of theater in Pittsburgh stretches ...
References
*
*
*
* Fulton Theater Record
Records of the Fulton Theater, 1962-1963, AIS 68:6a, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh)
External links
Byham Theater homepage
{{Coord, 40.4439, -80.0025, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title
Music venues in Pittsburgh
Theatres in Pittsburgh
Theatres in Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks
Theatres completed in 1904