Heinz Hall
600 Penn Avenue
Saturday: 10am-1pm
Neighborhood: Downtown
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Restrooms Available: Yes
Design Matters
The present home of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra was built in 1927 as the Loews Penn Theater by Chicago architectural firm Rapp & Rapp, which specialized in 20th century movie palaces. The building was shuttered in 1964 but escaped demolition and was renovated and re-designated as Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts in 1971. The renovation maintained the original French Court style of the building, and a large part of the work was done by local craftsmen, including the McKees Rocks-based A. J. Vater Company.
Your Experience:
Calling all aspiring conductors: create your own concert with the world-class musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Step on the stage that has been shared by world-famous artists like Yo-Yo Ma, Trevor Noah, Ben Folds, Bonnie Raitt and Celtic Thunder. Heinz Hall is made for your Instagram and print-worthy photos, including close views of two spectacular 15-foot chandeliers in the Grand Lobby. While you’re waiting, look below your feet at the red carpet and see if you can figure out the inspiration behind the logo.
Originally constructed as a Rococo style movie palace, the Heinz Hall opened in 1927 as Loew’s Penn Theater. Marcus Loew built the opulent theater in the Golden Age of Hollywood, including a stage for touring acts and musical numbers.
The theater boasted of a state of the art ventilating system, a moveable stage and modern lighting. Loew installed a Robert Morton organ, which contained 500 miles of wire and could produce the sounds of a variety of instruments such as harps, chimes, drums, flutes, oboes, and tubas.
The original architects were C.W. and George L. Rapp of Chicago and New York. Rapp and Rapp envisioned a fifty-foot high vaulted Venetian ceiling with bronze and crystal chandeliers in the Grand Lobby and Breche opal and Lavanto marbles in the mezzanine.
Plaster work depicting allegorical figures covered the ceilings and complemented art works in the lobby, including a miniature bronze of Diana the Huntress and a painting of the Battle of Hastings.
Time took its toll on the Loew’s Penn Theater.
The 1936 St. Patrick’s Day flood claimed the Morton organ and the crowds slowly dwindled at the downtown movie theater. In 1964, the theater closed, but had a brief comeback in 1967 featuring Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly! Even with this final resurgence, financially, the Loew’s Penn Theater could not survive. The movie palace seemed destined for demolition until H. J. Heinz II and the Pittsburgh Symphony Society stepped in.
In need of a new performance venue, the Pittsburgh Symphony decided restoration was the best way forward for a multipurpose performing arts center. Funds from the Howard Heinz Endowment purchased the Penn Theater. The architectural firm of Stotz, Hess, MacLachlan, and Fosner oversaw the renovation.
The acoustical consultant, Dr. Heinrich Keilholz, attested to the theater’s acoustic suitability for the Pittsburgh Symphony, Opera, and others.
Work on the theater included extending the back wall of the theater to increase the size of the stage and transforming the commercial space on the corner of Sixth Street and Penn Avenue from shops and a diner into administrative offices above and the theater’s street level box office. The main entrance was also relocated to make way for the thirty-foot window at the end of the Grand Lobby. Overall much of the original craftsmanship of the theater was retained.
In the auditorium, twelve crystal chandeliers were designed by J. & L. Lobmeyr of Vienna, who also created the chandeliers at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The renovation included the addition of a reflector above the proscenium and an acoustic shell over the front of the stage to better transmit the sound of the symphony. At the time of the renovation, the number of seats in the auditorium was reduced to provide more comfortable seating for audiences and to improve the aisles.
The theater’s grand reopening as Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts took place on September 10, 1971 with Dr. William Steinberg conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in its first concert at the symphony’s new home.
Since 1971 and while serving as a cornerstone of the Cultural District and a key player in the revitalization of downtown Pittsburgh as a center for the arts, Heinz Hall has undergone several minor renovations and an addition of the Garden Plaza on the corner of Sixth Street and Liberty Avenue.
In August 2016, Heinz Hall became the first theater in Western Pennsylvania to install the Dauler Hearing Loop, providing better sound to hearing aid and cochlear implant users.