The New Granada Theater at 2007 Centre Avenue in the
Hill District
The Hill District is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the years leading up to World War I, "the Hill" was the cultural center of black life in the city and a major cent ...
neighborhood of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, was built in 1927 and 1928. This
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
theater was designed by architect
Louis Arnett Stuart Bellinger
Louis Arnett Stuart Bellinger (September 29, 1891, in Sumter, South Carolina – February 3, 1946, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an American architect responsible for the design of significant buildings in and near Pittsburgh.
Life and work
...
, and originally was a Pythian Temple, a meeting place for the
Knights of Pythias (a
fraternal order and
secret society). In this case, it was a lodge for a group of
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
construction workers known as the Knights of the Pythian. In the 1930s, the building was sold to
Harry Hendel, who moved two blocks from his old Granada Theater to this New Granada Theater. The building was remodeled in 1937 and 1938 by
Alfred M. Marks, and it became a
movie theater as well as a place for live entertainment, music and dancing.
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
legends such as
Duke Ellington,
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...
,
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
and
Cab Calloway performed at this location.
It was added to the
List of City of Pittsburgh historic designations
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
on October 8, 2004,
the
in 2007,
and the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on December 27, 2010.
References
External links
Pittsburgh Music History -Profile of the Pythian Temple /New Granada Theater*
African-American history in Pittsburgh
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Theatres in Pittsburgh
Art Deco architecture in Pennsylvania
Theatres completed in 1928
City of Pittsburgh historic designations
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks
Historic American Buildings Survey in Pennsylvania
1928 establishments in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh
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