Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts
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Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, located in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Cultural District on Penn Avenue is near PPG Place, CNG Tower, Fifth Avenue Place, and Gateway Plaza. Now the home of the world-renowned Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, the hall is visited by more than a half-million people every year. About 200 shows are staged each year. A sold-out performance holds 2,676 people. The building has been operating as Heinz Hall for about 35 years, but it was previously the Loew’s Penn Theater.
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[edit] Before Heinz Hall
Heinz Hall almost never existed because plans were being made for an entire $40 million cultural complex in the Upper Hill District, above the recently built Civic Arena. This plan fell through when a new stadium for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates took top priority. The Howard Heinz Endowment paid $850,000 for the closed and vacant movie house known as Pittsburgh’s “Temple of the Cinema” in 1967. The Heinz family would also fund the multimillion dollar renovation for the performing arts center that would house all local production companies.
Henry John Heinz was an active contributor and a major force in the development of downtown Pittsburgh, particularly the Cultural District. Called a “generic philanthropist” by a friend, H. J. Heinz donated to the arts, healthcare, education, historic preservation, and was an active contributor all over the city. Carol Brown, president of the Cultural Trust said (about H. J. Heinz), “He was a man of great taste. He expected the best, and he expected his standards to be met."[1] Heinz was an especially strong force in the arts, all while running the well-known company his grandfather founded.
[edit] Loew’s Penn Renovation
Marcus Loew’s movie houses were built with only the finest and most expensive materials of the time. As patrons entered the spectacular building they would see the marble staircase that leads from the Grand Lobby upstairs and stand in awe as they looked up at the 50 foot Venetian ceiling, supported by massive columns. The enormous bronze and crystal chandeliers are 15 foot each and weigh over a ton. The many draperies and hangings decorating the building are imported silk damask. These “palaces” were all similar in design.
The Loew’s Penn Theater, suffered a bittersweet ending like many other movie houses at the time. As the popularity of television soared, movie theaters were losing business and being forced to close. The Loew’s Penn closed its doors in 1964. The movie theater sat empty for five years and was almost demolished to make way for a parking lot. The Heinz family stepped in to save the old movie house, and the transformation began.
Refurbishing old movie palaces was a much more cost effective plan as opposed to building a new performing arts complex. Although much of the grandeur of the Loew’s Penn still remains, Heinz Hall is simple while still remaining elegant. It took three years for the $10 million renovation to be completed, most of the work being done by local craftsmen and artisans. The 24-karat gold leafing alone took 18 months for two local craftsmen from the A. J. Vater Company to complete. The crystal chandeliers are still the originals from the Loew’s Penn, but they have been dismantled and redesigned with new crystals. Once a year, usually over the summer, all of the chandeliers are lowered to be cleaned and re-lamped. The orchestra pit is powered by a hydraulic lift and is able to hold 80-85 musicians. A new five story wing was also added in the back of the building. It added 25 feet to the stage and has a lot more dressing rooms and soundproof rehearsal rooms. The main rehearsal room has the same dimensions as the stage, so it is perfect for conducting thorough rehearsals. The fan reflector proscenium helps project sound further, making Heinz Hall a “good throw.”[2] The most expensive seats are in the dress circle of the balcony where sound quality is best. The orchestra’s previous home, the Syria Mosque, was drab and sound quality was poor. Another one of the Loew’s movie house features that makes Heinz Hall great for concerts or shows is there is not a bad seat in the house. Even at the outermost edges, the audience can still see. In 1995 Heinz Hall underwent a $6.5 million renovation in which new additions were made to make a visit to the theater more enjoyable.[3]
[edit] Grand Opening of Heinz Hall
On September 10, 1971 the symphony had their first concert, conducted by William Steinberg. Two days later Civic Light Opera (CLO) had their opening night in their fourth home. It is nearly impossible to find any newspaper articles on the opening because the Pittsburgh Press was on strike at the time. A number of important people were in town for the event such as, Charleton Heston, James Earl Jones, Agnes de Mille, and Gregory Peck. The inaugural day speech was presented by H. J. Heinz II.
[edit] Other places within Heinz Hall
In February 1978, plans were announced for the construction of a garden beside Heinz Hall, and the building housing Woolworth’s was soon demolished. The Garden Plaza opened May 7, 1982. During spring, summer, and early fall the Garden Café is open for lunch on weekdays. Also, during intermission guests can go out to the plaza to see the waterfall and water sculpture, Quartet. Another place to have a special event is the elegant Mozart Room. A reservation is needed, but it is open for pre-show dining or a private function. The Mozart Room and the Garden Café are catered by Truffles and Flourishes.[4]
[edit] Events at Heinz Hall
The 1986-87 season was exciting with three anniversaries occurring simultaneously. While the PSO celebrated its 90th, the Pittsburgh Symphony Society celebrated its 60th, and Heinz Hall had its 15th. The 1987-88 season was the beginning for the second performing arts center to open downtown. The Benedum Center (formerly the Stanley Theater, another old movie house) became the new home of the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Civic Light Opera, and Pittsburgh Dance Council.
Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts is known for its grandeur and excellence as a concert hall and showplace, making it a great place to spend an afternoon for a matinee or an evening performance. The PSO offers a wide array of musical performances, such as classical, Pops concerts with Marvin Hamlisch, Symphonies with a Splash, Fiddlesticks and children’s concerts, and more. In between the orchestra’s many performances, Heinz Hall also hosts Broadway tours, speaker’s series, and is a great place for a special event.
Heinz Hall has hosted a number of important people and events. Graduations, proms, even a wedding engagement have taken place there! A memorial concert for Pittsburgh native, Fred Rogers was held in 2003 after his death. In 2004, local musicians came together with special guest, Bruce Springsteen, for the Flood Aid concert to help local residents after many neighborhoods were flooded from Hurricane Ivan. The December 2nd concert was sold out. Marvin Hamlisch conducted a four-part pops concert in 1995 that aired on PBS. A segment of the Doo-Wop series has also been taped on the stage. Heinz Hall was briefly seen in the 1991 movie Bob Roberts, directed by Tim Robbins. It really made its movie debut in the 1998 TV movie The Temptations. Most recently, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and the Steelers’ Max Starks “competed” in the Broadway musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Taped on the stage of Heinz Hall, composer and songwriter, Burt Bacharach was on NBC’s Today show December 5, 2006. Heinz Hall is an important part of the arts in Pittsburgh and continues to make history.
[edit] References
- ^ Brignano, Mary. Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera: How the Dreams Came True. White Oak Publishing: Sewickley, PA, 1996.
- ^ “Recycled Centers.” Time, 27 December 1971 (accessed 14 November 2006), <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,905620,00.html]>.
- ^ “A History of Heinz Hall.” Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (accessed 31 October 2006), <http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pghsymph.nsf/web/history.html]>.
- ^ “Dining at Heinz Hall.” Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, (accessed 2 December 2006) <http://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/pghsymph.nsf/web/mozart.html]>.
[edit] Bibliography
“Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts.” Cinema Treasures. 2005. Cinema Treasures. http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2758/].
“Loew’s Penn Theater.” Historic Pittsburgh Image Collections. 2 Nov. 2006 http://images.library.pitt.edu/].
Naylor, David. Great American Movie Theaters. Baltimore: The Preservation Press, 1987.
---. American Picture Palaces: The Architecture of Fantasy. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1981.
“Who's Who: An Explanation of Some Historic Names Visitors Will Hear Again and Again in Pittsburgh.” Visit Pittsburgh.com. http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=169].
