Cheswick Theatre
1500 Pittsburgh Street,
Cheswick,
PA
15024
1500 Pittsburgh Street,
Cheswick,
PA
15024
4 people
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6 screens on December 25th, 1999. Another ad posted.
Expanded to 4 screens on October 22nd, 1976. Grand opening ad posted.
I remember seeing movies at the Cheswick Cinemas. It was unusual in that it had screens in two separate buildings across the street from each other. Each building had their own ticket and concession counter. The Malones kept their theatres clean. The restrooms were spotless, unlike so many theatres these days. I think the last movie we saw there was the Coen brothers “No Country For Old Men”
And as a little update, the theater was torn down on March 12th to make way for a new Sheetz (a regional convenience store chain.). I teared up a bit when I saw pictures of the demolition.
To Beansie, I think you would be happy to know that while Cheswick has closed, the Mulones still own South Pike Cinemas in Sarver. Since the opening of Cinemark a few years ago, it’s attendance has dropped, but it still pulls considerable audiences on the weekends.
I have many fond memories of the Cheswick. It was the first theater in Pittsburgh to have stadium seating and it was always a special great when you got to watch a movie there. I wish I had known about its closing ahead of time, as I would have scheduled off work to be there for the final showing.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY PICTURES FROM THE 60’S WHEN THE CHESWICK THEATER WAS A ONE SCREEN THEATER?
Victor A. Rigaumont was the architect of the Cheswick Theatre. His copyright of the plans for the project was noted in a 1946 Catalog of Copyright Entries from the Library of Congress.
The address should be Cheswick, PA 15024. Cheswick doesn’t use the Pittsburgh Zipcodes like Penn Hills, Greentree, and Dormont do.
Well said, Beansie. I like multi-plexes but you echoed my sentiments. I think there should be room for the small operator too.
We are the owners of Apollo Theatre of St. Marys, in Elk County, Pa. In December 2008, we became introduced to Nick Mulone, and the Cheswick Theatre and through a friendly business handshake removed all the furnishings from the twinned theatre along Pittsburgh Street. Through the generosity of Nick Mulone we were able to completely renovate our twinned 1928 opera house theatre. We are very saddened to learn of the fate of his other 4-plex theatre. This was a classy, clean, family-friendly, and very economically priced theatre. It is too bad when a new multi-plex can come into the area and patrons loose sight of the theatres that have been in existance for decades, and have given generations of families entertainnment. Our hearts go out to Nick Mulone and all of the struggles he endured in having to make the decision to close his remaining theatre.
Any news on this place?
It’s a shame this place closed. Pittsburgh is losing its independent, locally-owned cinemas.
Renewing link.
The November 5, 1949, issue of Boxoffice magazine devoted a page to the Cheswick Theatre. Owner-operator Joseph F. Mulone had done most of the labor of building the original Cheswick Theatre himself, because his financial backer had pulled out of the deal after construction had begun. It took Mulone three years of work to complete this fairly large house, which opened with 722 seats.
I’ve been here a couple of times. It’s kind of a piecemeal theatre in that the screens were added over the years. But it’s kinda nice to see a flick here.
After growing to six screens – four stadium auditoriums in the original 1948 structure and two on the opposite side of Pittsburgh Street, the two that were off by themselves closed a year or more ago.
Although it outlasted the nearby six-screen Harmar indoor, the Cheswick faces competition now from the still-newish Cinemark 18 Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills or whatever the unwieldy correct name is.