Cinema 4
3075 W. Liberty Avenue,
Dormont,
PA
15216
3075 W. Liberty Avenue,
Dormont,
PA
15216
10 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Harris Amusement Co., Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.
Architects: Charles R. Geisler
Previous Names: Harris Theatre, Harris South Hills Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Harris Theatre was opened in 1927 by the Harris Amusement Co. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer 2 manual 6 Ranks organ.
The South Hills Theatre was operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. in 1941. The theatre enjoyed a lively popularity in the 1950’s and 1960’s as residents would walk from their homes to enjoy its weekly thrills and chills. The Wurlizer organ was removed and sold to an individual in the 1980’s. In 1994 it was divided into four screens and became Cinema 4. It was closed in 1998 and was abandoned, the marquee in September 2004 was still advertising its last movie “Along Came A Spider”.
It was demolished in May/June 2010.
Contributed by
vince
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Recent comments (view all 79 comments)
great stories sad ending.
Do I know you, norelco?
The Cinema 4 was my first theater after I got my union card.
The South Hills theatre may be gone, but remnants of the front entrance ticket booth were donated to the Dormont historical society. I was given the task to refurbish and reconstruct the ticket booth. I am happy to say I completed that task on March 15, 2012. The ticket booth will be displayed in the Dormont municipal center (the old Hiilsdale school). I spent many of my teenage years trying to sneak in around that booth. I hope a lot of old friends stop by to visit it.
This comment from 2007 by thespian110 says that the architect of the Harris South Hills Theatre was Charles R. Geisler.
I shot the last interior images in The South Hills Theater. The next day it was all gone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ODB8NxnP58 I also documented the restoration of The Hollywood Theater. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2MhihbU8V8
Those photos of the Cinema 4/South Hills Theater in ruins are amazing. Sad, but amazing.
Opened 1927 by Harris Amusements Company. Quadrupled 1994 into Cinema 4, last film screened 1998
“Along Came a Spider,” “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles,” and “Blow” (see marquee from one of the photos) were all released in 2001, so I think that’s more accurately the last year the theater was open.
Cinema 4, knows for nearly all of its existence as the South Hills, was sold in August 2000 by Michael Cardone to Richard Dobrushin of Key Productions. The new owner removed the seats from one auditorium with the idea of turning it into a club. Not sure if that ever happened. In June or July of 2001 Dormont Boro closed the theater. It sat unoccupied for many years – perhaps a decade before being razed. A large pharmacy was constructed on the property. The Overview here should be changed to read “Demolished.”
Children rate at the South hills for porno movies.
Children’s rates for adult movies? Fri, Nov 5, 1971 – Page 40 · The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com