Kings Court Theater
3807 Forbes Avenue,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15213
3807 Forbes Avenue,
Pittsburgh,
PA
15213
11 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Associated Theatres
Architects: Edgar A. Kwalwasser
Styles: Tudor Revival
Previous Names: Beehive Oakland Theater
Nearby Theaters
In 1965 George and Ernest Stern of Associated Theatres converted an old city police station in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section into a first-run motion picture theater that was adjacent to the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. Because the outside of the police station had a sort of English castle motif, it was called the Kings Court Theater. Its location next to Pitt’s campus made it a popular theater for a number of decades, premiering many of the hot "youth-oriented" pictures of the late-1960’s and 1970’s and for years running midnight movies, especially “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” wherein patrons would dress like the characters in the film and act it out along with the screening.
I worked at the theater in 1980 and 1981 as a cleaner after showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. What a mess it was–rice everywhere, along with toilet paper, playing cards, toast, and other things, all watered down from being soaked with water from spray bottles. Then there were the bathrooms, where patrons frequently had consumed too much alcohol before attending the showing and didn’t make it. I worked with another woman and we usually filled 18-20 large garbage bags with trash. But it was a lot of fun to work there!
The theater was later sold and leased by a coffeehouse chain and was turned into a combination coffeehouse/movie/concert theater called the Beehive Oakland, which also was very popular. But after a number of years, the building’s owners and/or realty management company refused to renew the lease. The building currently is empty.
Contributed by
Ron Miller
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Recent comments (view all 33 comments)
I also remember an item in George Anderson’s Post-Gazette column from August ‘72 when Woody Allen’s “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex” premiered at the Kings Court: Anderson commented on huge lines around the block on opening day. “Sex” wound up playing a little more than three months at the KC until it was replaced with “Play It As It Lays.”
I drove through Oakland last visit to Pgh and was sad to see the Old English font missing from the marquee, BUT if they turned this old police station into a movie theater in 1965, then they can always turn a T-Mobile store back into one in the future.
I was an usher (in full tux and bowtie) for midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show at this theater from 1980 to 1982 while I was attending Pitt. It was a cool little theater and we ushers, the other staff and the “shadow” actors all had a great time. As an usher, I was a full participant in the RHPS participation madness, including carrying an umbrella, toast, rice and other stuff. The cleanup afterwards was a true mess, but it was worth it for all the great fun that we had!
One of the projectionists was a friend of mine, and I got the grand tour of the place in 1981. I learned how the films ran, (I never knew), and got to see all the little nooks and crannies of the place. It was really cool. (And now… it’s just another Oakland store that T-Mobile occupies). Blech.
It is sad to see the Kings Court as a storefront. In it’s day, it was an elegant roadshow theatre under the direction of Tom Bryant. Tom was one of the handful of Associated Theatres managers that was a true professional and showman. He managed his theatres with pride. Tom was later promoted to run the Associated downtown Pittsburgh theatres, Fulton, Gateway, Fiesta, etc. A true management star.
There are a couple of Facebook pages that ex-King’s Court and ex-Manor/Squirrel Hill Theater folks might want to visit, with discussion about “the old days” and lots of information, newspaper clippings, etc.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Knights-of-the-Kings-Court/56709306700
http://www.facebook.com/groups/71314204775/
I went to this theater in the 1960’s and saw the movie “Camelot” the perfect venue for that film.
My father made the sign (RK Neon) and we came to watch the first movie screened (Camelot, I think). Decades later I watched the sign being dismantled as the building became a cellphone company, I think.
August 11th, 1965 grand opening ad in photo section.
An article in the October 27, 1979, issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentioned in passing that the King’s Court Theatre had been designed by architect Edgar A. Kwalwasser.