Byham Theatre
101 6th Street,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15222
101 6th Street,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15222
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 92 comments
I don’t have anything personally, but if you’re in/near Pittsburgh, you can view the microfilm from The Pittsburgh Press and Post-Gazette at Hillman Library and Carnegie Library in Oakland. I viewed a lot of microfilm from 1968 at Hillman Library about a decade ago. At Hillman, you can now make a copy of something and send it to your own e-mail. If I can be of help, let me know. I’m currently doing my own microfilm project to complete my records of what played all Downtown Pittsburgh theaters from 1979 to 1986.
Hi – Does anyone have any paper from the 1968 premiere of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD ? Newspaper ads, theater material, schedules, flyers, marquee photos. Writer/collector/archivist seeks almost anything for ongoing project.
71dude,
I really look forward to your Fulton I & II postings. Once again you’ve made my day.
July-December 1983 (September is currently unknown):
07/08 Trading Places; Octopussy
07/15 Trading Places; Hot Dreams (X)
07/22 Jaws 3-D; Trading Places
08/05 Gates of Hell; Jaws 3-D
08/12 Gates of Hell; Man Who Wasn’t There 3-D
08/19 Metalstorm 3-D; Yor
08/26 Metalstorm 3-D; Hercules
09/30 Brainstorm; Revenge of the Ninja
10/21 Brainstorm; Valley Girls (X)
10/28 Never Say Never Again; The Evil Dead
11/11 Challenge of the Ninja; Stryker
11/18 Amityville 3-D; Richard Pryor Here and Now
11/25 Amityville 3-D; Wavelength
12/02 Amityville 3-D; Never Say Never Again
12/09 Never Say Never Again; 48 Hrs./Trading Places
12/16 D.C. Cab; The Keep
12/30 D.C. Cab; Christine/The Keep
January-June 1983:
01/01 48 Hrs.; Officer and a Gentleman
01/28 48 Hrs.; One Down, Two to Go
02/04 The Entity; 48 Hrs.
02/11 The Entity; Let’s Spend the Night Together
02/18 The Sting II; Let’s Spend the Night Together
02/25 The Sting II; The Last American Virgin
03/04 The Sting II; Videodrome
03/11 Coed Teasers; The House on Sorority Row
03/18 High Road to China; The House on Sorority Row
03/25 High Road to China; One Dark Night
04/01 High Road to China; E.T.
04/08 E.T.; Frightmare
04/15 They Call Me Bruce?; E.T.
04/22 Bad Boys; Mother Lode
04/29 Something Wicked This Way Comes; The Hunger
05/06 Dr. Detroit; Something Wicked This Way Comes
05/13 Dr. Detroit; Warlords of the 21st Century
05/20 Spacehunter 3-D; Alone in the Dark
05/27 Spacehunter 3-D; Alone in the Dark/Piranha II: The Spawning
06/03 Blue Thunder; Spacehunter 3-D
06/10 Trading Places; Mausoleum
06/17 Trading Places; Sulka’s Wedding
06/24 Trading Places; Twilight Zone
I’ve already listed the first year of Bank and am working on upgrading the Chatham and Warner listings and covering the Fiesta from around 1977 to 1986.
“Aunt Peg,” “Emmanuelle” and “Not a Love Story” were X-rated. “Concrete Jungle” was a moveover – possibly from Warner – that played various other suburban theaters for two weeks before that.
More Fulton on the way…
I meant to say, “Creepshow” at the beginning of its 4th week (not 3rd), possibly being switched to the Mini.
There are also some instacnes from my own childhood where I can correct the record by knowing from having seen it there that “Creepshow” opened at Fulton I while “Aunt Peg’s Fulfillment” (whatever that was?) opened in the Mini. However, it’s quite possible that “Creepshow” switched to the Mini at the start of its 3rd week when the women-in-prison “Concrete Jungle” opened. It’s weeks like that I’m trying to figure out. Common sense tells you that “48 Hrs.” got the main house while the month-old “Creepshow” occupied the Mini.
71dude,
Thank you for the Fulton/Fulton II listings. Do you have 1983-1985/86? I can’t recall when exactly the main Fulton closed — I know “City Heat” played there in December, 1984 before moving over to the Mini a couple weeks later — but I’m pretty sure Cinemette kept the much smaller Fulton II open a while longer. I know the final movies played Downtown Pittsburgh around August 31, 1986. The Bank Cinemas and the Fiesta were the last two to go at the same time. I’m trying to piece together as accurate a record as possible about what played in the 1,500-seat Fulton I vs. the 220-seat Fulton II in those final few years. It especially interests me when two new titles opened at the Fulton on the same day, and which film got the big house and which film was relegated to the small house. The disparity in seating is something I find really unique – at least for this area. When something opened new at the 220-seat Fulton Mini (aka Fulton II), there was usually lower expectations for that particular film. I realize you can’t always tell from the advertising, but I plan to double back and check the Pittsburgh grosses from Variety, local film reviews and columns to try to confirm as much as possible. Moveovers from Fulton I and other theaters, and low-budget exploitation usually went to the Mini, but there are some cases where the bookings are less clear. For instance, the re-release of 1953’s “House of Wax” in 3-D opened at the Fulton the same day in February, 1982 as “The Border” with Jack Nicholson. Both played two weeks. In an instance such as that (and a handful of others), I’m trying my best to at least find out which film opened in which house. Again, thank you greatly for your help.
July-December 1982:
07/02 Poltergeist; Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
07/09 Rocky III; Zombie/Boogey Man
07/16 Rocky III; Firefox
07/23 Rocky III; Raiders of the Lost Ark
07/30 Sword and the Sorcerer; Rocky III
08/06 Sword and the Sorcerer; Forced Vengeance
08/13 Friday the 13th Part 3; Summer Lovers
08/20 Friday the 13th Part 3; Things Are Tough All Over
08/27 Friday the 13th Part 3; Emanuelle’s Daughter
09/03 The Beastmaster; Midnight
09/10 House Where Evil Dwells; Midnight
09/17 Deadly Silver Ninja; The Soldier
09/24 Amityville II: The Possession; Slumber Party Massacre
10/01 Amityville II: The Possession; The Challenge
10/08 Body and Soul; Giselle
10/15 Body and Soul; Blood Tide
10/22 Halloween III; Blood Tide
10/29 Halloween III; Not a Love Story
11/05 Halloween III; Conan the Barbarian
11/12 Aunt Peg’s Fulfillment; Creepshow
11/19 Creepshow; The Missionary
11/26 Creepshow; Fist of Fury/Chinese Connection
12/03 The Concrete Jungle; Creepshow
12/08 48 Hrs.; Creepshow
12/22 48 Hrs.; Officer and a Gentleman
January-June 1982:
01/01 Sharky’s Machine; Body Heat
01/08 Sharky’s Machine; Dead & Buried
01/15 Sharky’s Machine; Windwalker
01/22 Windwalker; Vice Squad
01/29 Watcher in the Woods; Vice Squad
02/05 Vice Squad; Raiders of the Lost Ark
02/12 House of Wax; The Border
02/26 The Seduction; Cathy’s Curse
03/05 The Seduction; Hell Night
03/12 Parasite; The Seduction
03/19 Parasite; Fighting Mad
03/26 Parasite; Absence of Malice
04/02 Cat People; Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip
04/09 Cat People; Silent Rage
04/16 Penitentiary II; Cat People
04/23 Penitentiary II; A Stranger Is Watching
04/30 The Beast Within; Penitentiary II
05/07 AC/DC: Let There Be Rock; The Beast Within
05/14 AC/DC: Let There Be Rock; Swamp Thing
05/21 Fighting Back; The Iron Dragon Strikes Back
05/28 Fighting Back; Death Wish II
06/04 Poltergeist; Death Wish II
06/18 Poltergeist; Visiting Hours
06/25 Poltergeist; Grease 2
Keep an eye out on the other Pittsburgh first-run theaters and I will add what I can at various times. My research only runs from 1958 to 1981, however. Plus, I will get 1972-1977 in here as well.
Ron,
Bless you. This information means a lot to me. I have Ed’s records of what played in Downtown Pittsburgh from the 1950s thru the late ‘70s. That’s why I’m looking for what played Downtown from 1979-1986. I’m pretty sure the last two movies I saw Downtown were “Psycho III” and “Aliens” at the Fiesta in July/August of 1986. Sadly, by the summer of 1987, all were closed (except the Fulton Mini, which reopened for another 8 years or so as an art house called Filmmakers at the Fulton. I saw a bunch of films there too, but it just wasn’t the same by then. Gosh, 1981. That was a golden time for me. That’s the last full year my grandmother was alive and still living with us, and I remember seeing “For Your Eyes Only” at the main Fulton in the summer of '81 and “Scanners” and “Fort Apache, The Bronx” at the Mini earlier that year. By that time, however, we had discovered the suburban theaters and the convenience of free parking. Now I just wish I would have seen more of the films I saw Downtown in those final years. I liked all of those 1981 films you mentioned, plus “Nighthawks,” “Blow Out” and “Escape from New York.”
And here’s 1981 – the last year I kept records for…
Fulton I
01/01/81 Any Which Way You Can
01/14/81 Scanners
02/04/81 Fort Apache – The Bronx
02/25/81 Maniac
03/11/81 The Fun House
03/25/81 Thief
04/01/81 Fear No Evil
04/08/81 Nighthawks
04/29/81 Friday the 13th II
05/20/81 The Legend of the Lone Ranger
06/03/81 The House by the Lake/The House That Dripped Blood/Last House on the Left
06/10/81 Clash of the Titans
06/24/81 For Your Eyes Only
07/15/81 Escape from New York
07/29/81 Blow Out
08/12/81 Deadly Blessing
08/19/81 Comin' at Ya in 3-D
09/16/81 Snake Fist Fighter
09/23/81 Mommie Dearest
10/21/81 The Boogens
10/28/81 Halloween II
11/18/81 Nightmare
12/02/81 Demonoid
12/16/81 Sharky’s Machine
Fulton II
01/01/81 Flash Gordon
01/14/81 Any Which Way You Can
02/04/81 Scanners
02/11/81 My Bloody Valentine
02/25/81 Fort Apache – The Bronx
03/25/81 Fear No Evil
04/01/81 Thief
04/15/81 Sphinx
04/22/81 Galaxina
04/29/81 DARK – REMODELING
05/13/81 Hardly Working
05/20/81 Alligator
05/27/81 Girls USA
06/03/81 Smokey Bites the Dust
06/10/81 On the Right track
06/17/81 Texas Chainsaw Massacre
06/24/81 Clash of the Titans
07/08/81 Escape from New York
07/15/81 For Your Eyes Only
07/22/81 Blow Out
07/29/81 Victory
08/12/81 Blow Out
08/19/81 Deadly Blessing
09/02/81 Under the Rainbow
09/02/81 Night School
09/23/81 Kill and Kill Again
09/30/81 Friday the 13th I/Friday the 13th II
10/07/81 Final Exam
10/14/81 The Boogens
10/21/81 Mommie Dearest
10/28/81 The Boogens
11/04/81 Carbon Copy
11/11/81 Prince of the City
11/18/81 Halloween II
11/25/81 Eye of the Dragon/Jaws of the Dragon
12/02/81 Nightmare
12/09/81 Time Bandits
12/23/81 Body Heat
In all, I can now remember why I did NOT patronize the Fulton much that year – mostly low grade horror flix. The only decent films to play there all year were “Thief,” “For Your Eyes Only,” and “Prince of the City,” which was moved over from a two-week engagement at the Warner, and I must confess the cinematography & score sort of brightened up the average cop story that was “Sharky’s Machine.”
In a few years there would be no first-run theaters downtown.
Thanks, Ed, for the excellent input, as always. I’ll still put 1981 in when I can, it’ll give people some idea of what was there.
I don’t believe management of the two Fultons waited a full week to switch films back and forth. Not only could they do so from day to day as they examined box-office figures, but they could make an adjustment even the first day as it suited them. Newspaper ads were locked in days in advance, so they’re not a significant issue here.
Also, though it was in a losing cause, the film distributors tried to keep track of which auditoriums their pictures were playing in because technically each move could generate new booking “terms” for the engagement. But the fast-growing world of multiplexes, with movies jumping freely to larger or smaller auditoriums from day to day or even mid-day, made the tracking of such things virtually impossible in cities where the film companies no longer maintained offices. And they were willing to hire “checkers” only in selected circumstances. Chuck, I sincerely think it will be impossible for you to know which films were in which Fulton auditoriums most weeks. The information never officially existed even on paper. Changes could occur on the basis of verbal instructions, and no one who wasn’t working on the premises from day to day would be the wiser.
Ron,
I remember from my childhood that the much-smaller Fulton Mini (barely over 200 seats) was often used as a moveover auditorium for films that opened at Fulton 1 and other Downtown theaters. A former manager at the Fulton once told me a story of the new “Death Wish II” and the week-old “Fighting Back” flipping back and forth at least one time in May, 1982. Looking forward to the final year, 1981.
Ron,
I remember from my childhood that the much-smaller Fulton Mini (barely over 200 seats) was often used as a moveover auditorium for films that opened at Fulton 1 and other Downtown theaters. A former manager at the Fulton once told me a story of the new “Death Wish II” and the week-old “Fighting Back” flipping back and forth at least one time in May, 1982. Looking forward to the final year, 1981.
1980 for the Fulton I & II is a real mess…lots of switching back and forth, so here goes.
Fulton I
01/01/80 Star Trek – The Motion Picture
01/30/80 American Gigolo
03/05/80 Windows
03/12/80 And justice for All/The China Syndrome
03/19/80 Windows
03/26/80 Little Darlings
04/30/80 The Return of the Tiger
05/07/80 The Nude Bomb
05/21/80 Mad Max
05/28/80 A Force of One
06/04/80 Tom Horn
06/11/80 The Shining
07/16/80 Honeysuckle Rose
07/30/80 Dressed to Kill
08/13/80 Prom Night
08/20/80 Smokey and the Bandit II
09/03/80 The Octagon
09/17/80 Smokey and the Bandit II
09/24/80 The Big Brawl
10/01/80 Terror Train
10/22/80 Motel Hell
11/05/80 The Awakening
11/12/80 The Exterminator
11/26/80 The Last Days of Bruce Lee
12/10/80 Flash Gordon
12/24/80 Any Which Way But Up
Fulton II
01/01/80 Roller Boogie
01/30/80 The Prize Fighter
02/06/80 Guyana: Cult of the Damned
02/13/80 Penitentiary
03/05/80 The Godsend
03/12/80 Windows
03/19/80 Little Darlings
03/26/80 When Time Ran Out
04/09/80 Humanoids from the Deep
04/16/80 ffolkes
04/30/80 Love at First Bite
05/07/80 The Return of the Tiger
05/21/80 The Nude Bomb
05/28/80 Mad Max
06/04/80 A Force of One
06/18/80 Don’t Answer the Phone
06/25/80 The Silent Scream
07/09/80 Zombie
07/23/80 Dressed to Kill
07/30/80 The Final Countdown
08/06/80 Prom Night
08/13/80 Smokey and the Bandit II
08/20/80 The Children
08/27/80 The Octagon
09/03/80 Smokey and the Bandit II
09/17/80 The Big Brawl
09/24/80 Boogey Man
10/01/80 The Big Brawl
10/08/80 Caligula
10/29/80 The Awakening
11/05/80 The Exterminator
11/12/80 Borderline
11/19/80 Mother’s Day
11/26/80 Mother’s Day/The Awakening
12/03/80 Flash Gordon
12/10/80 The Last Days of Bruce Lee
12/17/80 Any Which Way You Can
12/24/80 Flash Gordon
I used the “Downtown Theaters” listing in Friday and Saturday editions of The Pittsburgh Press for each week. Whatever was listed first I considered to be Fulton I and what title was second was Fulton II. Unfortunately, I’m not 100% sure that what was printed was exactly accurate as witness the shifting back and forth of “Smokey & the Bandit II,” “Prom Night,” and others. Perhaps the management of the theater would start a new film in the bigger Fulton I auditorium and then shift it the next week for another one and if that one didn’t pan out, move the first film back into the Fulton I if it was still doing business. Your guess is as good as mine. Ed???
Ron,
Can you please post what was playing at the Fulton vs. Fulton II (Mini) in 1980? Thank you greatly in advance.
Ditto on the time machine idea!
Ron,
“Walk Proud” was a dopey drama with Robby Benson cast as a Hispanic tough who falls in love with a Caucasian girl, which, of course, rattles both of their worlds. That definitely seems like a Fulton Mini film if there ever was one.
ChuckC, you’re so right. Moviegoing today is infinitely more boring than it was back then (both in terms of the theaters and films themselves). I was lucky enough to be born in 1971 and start going to Downtown Pittsburgh theaters as a little kid in late 1975, so I was lucky enough to catch the tail end of that era. I cherish those experiences and often wish I could travel back in a time machine to see hundreds of more movies that way. I will check out your site.
Fulton I
01/01/79 Superman – The Movie
02/14/79 The Warriors (moveover from Fulton II)
04/04/79 Ashanti
04/11/79 Hurricane
05/02/79 Psychic
05/16/79 Dawn of the Dead (moveover from Gateway)
05/23/79 Good Guys Wear Black
06/13/79 Prophecy
06/27/79 Escape from Alcatraz (moveover from Fulton II)
07/25/79 The Amityville Horrror
09/19/79 The Exorcist
10/03/79 Starting Over
11/07/79 The Onion Field
12/05/79 Star Trek-The Movie
Fulton II
01/01/79 Force 10 from Navarone
01/17/79 Sasquatch
02/07/79 The Warriors
02/14/79 The Soul Brothers of Kung Fu
03/14/79 Agatha (moveover from Chatham)
03/21/79 The Real Bruce Lee
04/11/79 Ashanti (moveover from Fulton I)
05/02/79 Invasion of the Body Snatchers
05/09/79 Richard Pryor in Concert
05/30/79 Cemetery Girls
06/06/79 Walk Proud
06/13/79 When the Screaming Stops
06/20/79 Escape from Alcatraz
06/27/79 Prophecy (moveover from Fulton I)
07/11/79 Phantasm
08/01/79 The Wanderers
08/08/79 Americathon
08/15/79 Star Wars
09/12/79 City on Fire
09/19/79 Wanda Nevada
09/26/79 The Hitter
10/03/79 The Exorcist (moveover from Fulton I)
10/10/79 Another Richard Pryor (earlier concert film retitled)
10/17/79 Avalanche Express
10/31/79 When a Stranger Calls
11/07/79 Starting Over (moveover from Fulton I)
12/19/79 Roller Boogie
This is the best I can figure out – there might be some switches of films back in May, but i can’t see them switching the Chuck Norris “Good Guys Wear Black” back and forth between the two for three weeks, plus “Cemetery Girls” seems like a smaller theater horror in for a one-week quickie. Ditto “Walk Proud,” whatever that was??? I’m guessing the newspaper had an error in the listings.
PS – I’ll get these in as I can for you – I do not currently have the web at home & must do this at work & time is at a minimum right now here.
Ron,
I don’t mean to be a pain, but I’m really looking forward to the listings of what played at Fulton I vs. Fulton II from 1979-1981. Your answer about “Thief” solved a 27-year-old mystery for me.
Ron,
A million thanks. This information makes my week.