Hollywood Theater Sold To Theater Preservation Group

DORMONT PA - The historic Hollywood Theater has been sold to a theater preservation group that recently moved its headquarters to Pittsburgh from Chicago.

The Theater Historical Society of America bought 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, according to society executive director Richard Fosbrink.

“Our mission is to preserve the history of theater buildings. We’re committed to operating it as a community asset just as it has for the past 90 years,” he said. “We want to make sure that we’re showing films and providing an experience which appeals to the community of Pittsburgh.”

Society board president Joe Masher said the Hollywood will show films with broad regional appeal at admission prices significantly lower than those charged by corporate theaters.

“I strongly believe that people generally love the out-of-home movie experience,” he said in a statement. ”By hand-selecting the films that will play at the Hollywood, I’m very confident that we will succeed in providing the best and most affordable entertainment experience for not only the residents of Dormont, but for all of the Greater Pittsburgh region.”

Masher also hopes to work with the Friends of the Hollywood Theater, which currently operates the theater, to continue some of the group’s popular programming and special events.

“We’re open to having them do things they’ve always done—events like ‘Breakfast and a Movie’ and the Hollywood Birthday Party,” Masher said. “They’ve done an admirable job keeping the theater open the last few years, and we respect and appreciate their efforts.”

Moving its headquarters to the nearly century-old theater will provide the society with sufficient space for exhibitions from its collection, which includes old photos, light fixtures, operating ledgers, marketing materials and architectural blueprints.

The Hollywood was built in 1925 and has undergone one major reconstruction and several remodels. Throughout various owners and operators, the theater has been shut for a total of 18 years over its lifetime - but won’t be closed again any time soon.

Photos via Markowitz Communications.