The Harris Theater: The Golden Triangle’s Movie Theater
By Olivia Miller
It can be argued that there’s nothing better to do on a Saturday night than go out to dinner and catch a movie at the theater. However, those of us who live downtown are left wondering where we can catch the latest flick. Nestled in the eight hundred block of Liberty Avenue, Harris Theater provides an intimate movie theater experience right in the heart of the Cultural District.
With its neon marquee blazing into the night sky, Harris Theater has been showing movies to Pittsburghers since the 1960s. Originally called The Art Cinema, the theater was previously known for showing foreign films, primarily from countries such as Russia and Italy. In the late 1990s, the theater’s moniker was changed in honor of John P. Harris, a former Pennsylvania state senator and one part of the duo who first introduced the concept of a movie theater.
However, the Harris Theater is not a standard commercial theater. The theater’s less than 200 person capacity allows for a personal theater experience- the perfect medium between streaming a movie at home and sitting in a vast theater among hundreds of other patrons.
The selection of shows at the theater are also unique and not just typical contemporary Hollywood movies. The theater shows a variety of smaller, indie films as well as foreign and classic films. You might even be lucky enough to attend a special showing of a movie with a pre-show presentation centered around the history of the Harris Theater as well as the production, cast, and director of the movie itself. For instance, at the March 11th showing of the 1946 film Brief Encounter, a representative from the Pittsburgh Classic Movie Group gave a presentation about the history of the film in relation to World War II, Pittsburgh, and the evolution of film as a whole.
This week, theater-goers can look forward to seeing Return to Seoul and The Woman on the Roof as part of the Carnegie Mellon University International Film Festival. Both films are being shown at various intervals from March 23rd to the 29th. To see showtimes or buy tickets, visit The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s website here.
