Hollywood Theater Group At Odds With Venue's New Owners

DORMONT, PA - The nonprofit that runs the Hollywood Theater is concerned about the venue’s future under its new ownership. Friends of the Hollywood Theater will hold a public meeting Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the ownership change and its potential impact on the nearly century-old theater.

“This meeting will be our chance to make the case for why the Hollywood Theater should exist as it already does and not as the vision of someone who would change what has made it so special,” a Facebook post from the group stated. “Let’s pack the house and show Pittsburgh that its film community has the same passion for our mission that we do.”

The theater is being purchased by a theater preservation group that recently moved its headquarters to Pittsburgh from Chicago. The Theatre Historical Society of America is buying the theater from Hollywood Partners, LLC. The company is a division of the real estate firm Kelly-Riley-Nells-Barna & Associates, which has owned the building for about a decade.

The society's national office and staff will relocate to the theater but there are no plans to stop showing movies there, its officials said. They also indicated a desire to continue some of the Friends of the Hollywood Theater’s popular programming and special events.

Photo via Markowitz Communications.