{"nrhp_refnum":"10001071","name":"New Granada Theater","other_names":["Pythian Temple"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2007-2013 Centre Ave","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.44660468200004,"lon":-79.97859730499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-12-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story former fraternal lodge and commercial building on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District, built as the Pythian Temple and later remodeled as the New Granada Theater. It is brick over a steel frame with terra cotta detailing.","why_significant":"The building served as a central venue for African American secular events in the Hill District, including lodge activities, athletic events, musical performances, and community gatherings. The nomination links it to the Colored Knights of Pythias, to architect Louis A. S. Bellinger, Pittsburgh's first African American architect, and to the Pittsburgh Courier's reach. Its significance is argued under ethnic heritage and entertainment themes for the period 1927 to 1950.","narrative":"Built in 1927 on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District, the three-story brick building was designed by Louis A. S. Bellinger, the city's first African American architect, for the Colored Knights of Pythias, whose Pennsylvania jurisdiction had bought the lots in 1925. Originally planned in the Tudor Revival style with terra cotta coats-of-arms and crests, it housed a banquet hall, a second-floor auditorium seating 1,500 that could be converted into a basketball court, and rental storefronts. The Pythian Temple opened in 1928 and hosted lodge meetings, athletic contests, and social events advertised in the Pittsburgh Courier. In 1936-37 it was remodeled as a theater, opening as the New Granada Theater in May 1937 with an Art Deco entry and marquee. The building is valued for its role as a secular gathering place for Black Pittsburgh during a period when few comparable facilities existed, and it remained a focal point until urban renewal in the 1950s disrupted the neighborhood. It has been vacant since the mid-1970s.","period_of_significance":"1927-1950","architect_builder":"Louis Arnett Stuart Bellinger (architect)","architectural_style":"Tudor Revival (original); Art Deco (1936-37 first-story remodeling)","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Vacant since the mid-1970s; roof collapsed and interior damaged; new roof installed in 2009; enameled metal marquee removed in 2009 and in storage.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.364371-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/10001071.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001071/6a92620748-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10001071/6a92620748-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Lee Paxton","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewGranadaTheater.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Lee Paxton</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewGranadaTheater.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997810","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Granada_Theater","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7007837"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/new-granada-theater-10001071/"}