Stanley Theater

Known today as the Benedum Center, the facility opened as the Stanley Theater on February 27, 1928. James Bly Clark, an early theater tycoon who assisted in the founding of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, financed the $3 million dollar project. The Stanley was billed as "Pittsburgh's Palace of Amusement." In attendance on opening night were Governor John S. Fisher, Mayor Charles H. Kline and Adolph Zukor, president of Paramount Studios. Regular admission cost 65 cents—25 cents if you came before noon—and performances provided a welcome lift of spirits during the Great Depression. The theater was purchased and remodeled by the Cinemette Corporation in 1976. In 1977, DiCesare Engler Productions bought the Stanley and presented rock and roll concerts through 1982.