Paramount Film Exchange (Pittsburgh)

Paramount Film Exchange (Pittsburgh) is a building at 1727 Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, the structure is owned by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In 2009, the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh, an organization devoted to historic preservation, nominated the Paramount Film Exchange for official historical designation. A Nov. 17, 2009 hearing of Pittsburgh's City Council to rule on landmark status for the building had to be postponed as a quorum was not present.

The Historic Review Commission of the City of Pittsburgh grants landmark designation based on “the importance of a particular place to Pittsburgh’s heritage.” The YPA attributed the site's historical significance to its role as one of the film exchanges that operated in the city from the 1920’s until 1980’s. The site is credited as being the last remnant of the rich past of Pittsburgh's so-called "film row." Initial attention to the Paramount Film Exchange came in 2008, when 21-year-old film buff Drew Levinson entered and won a video contest sponsored by the YPA of Pittsburgh with his short film on the Paramount Film Exchange. Levinson's video rallied support behind saving the Film Exchange from sale or demolition by UPMC. UPMC and the Exchange's other large institutional neighbor, Duquesne University, both oppose landmarking the building.

References

<reference>"Historic Landmark Nomination Goes Before City Council Nov. 18." Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh.

External links

• Paramount Pictures Film Exchange (YouTube video)
• Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh