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O'Reilly Theater

Coordinates: 40°26′36″N 80°00′06″W / 40.4432°N 80.0016°W / 40.4432; -80.0016
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O'Reilly Theater
Map
Address621 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
United States
Coordinates40°26′36″N 80°00′06″W / 40.4432°N 80.0016°W / 40.4432; -80.0016
OwnerPittsburgh Cultural Trust
Capacity650
Construction
Opened11 December 1999 (1999-12-11)
ArchitectMichael Graves
Structural engineerDeSimone Consulting Engineers
Website
www.trustarts.org

The O'Reilly Theater is a 650-seat theater building, opened on 11 December 1999, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Located at 621 Penn Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh's Cultural District, the O'Reilly Theater is actually a three-part building: The 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2) theater (with a 150-seat rehearsal hall), a large parking garage called Theater Square, and the adjacent 23,000 square feet (2,100 m2) Agnes R. Katz Plaza.[1]

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust built the new theater, designed by architect Michael Graves P.A.,[2] to create a downtown home for the Pittsburgh Public Theater theatrical company, as well as to create additional venues for theater, music, and other art performances. The O’Reilly venue features a thrust stage surrounded by the audience on three sides.[1]

To pay for the $25 million cost of construction, gifts to the project included a naming gift in honor of Dr. Anthony O'Reilly from Mrs. Chryss O'Reilly and several current and past senior executives of the H.J. Heinz Company.[1]

The O’Reilly was built by Turner Construction Company,[3] opened on 11 December 1999, with the world premiere of King Hedley II, by the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson.[1]

Pittsburgh Mercantile Library

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The site of the O'Reilly Theater was previously occupied by the Mercantile Library Hall, which was completed in 1870. The four-story building housed a subscription library, a 1,500-seat auditorium, and commercial space.[4] The Joseph Horne Company department store was a tenant of the building before completing its own building one block to the west in 1893.[5]

Lyceum Theater

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The Library Hall was remodeled in 1886, reopening as the Bijou Theater.[6] The Bijou was replaced by a succession of vaudeville and burlesque houses—the Lyceum, Academy, and Variety—and then was razed and paved into a parking lot after being damaged in the 1936 St. Patrick's Day flood.[1][7] Teddy Roosevelt spoke at a national convention of the Order of the Moose at Lyceum Theater on his visit to Pittsburgh in July, 1917.[8]

See also

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Theatre in Pittsburgh

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Special Report on the O'Reilly Theater Archived 2006-06-29 at the Wayback Machine. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. - 5 December 1999. - Retrieved: 23 May 2006.
  2. ^ Bellon, K. - O'Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh PA: Michael Graves 1999 Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine. - Galinsky. - Retrieved: 2008-06-24
  3. ^ Projects: O'Reilly Theater: Pittsburgh, PA Archived 2007-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. - Turner Construction Company. - Retrieved: 2008-06-24
  4. ^ "The Mercantile Library". Pittsburgh Post. 27 August 1870. Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Moore, Arthur T. (20 February 1949). "Joseph Horne Store Century Old, Began as Little Shop on Market St". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "The New Theater". Pittsburgh Post. 29 July 1886. Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Landmark passes". Pittsburgh Press. 28 August 1936. Retrieved 26 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
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