CORPORATE WHIRL

 

When major metropolitan areas around the country are looking for ideas, inspiration, and input on developing their cultural organizations, they often look to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. “Clearly the Cultural District is really unique in the country,” says the Trust’s CEO Kevin McMahon. “A lot of places have performing arts centers and theater districts, but the way that this place has evolved — the interplay between the old and new buildings, the use of public art, the integration of all of those kinds of activities all wrapped together through the Cultural Trust is really unusual.”

Unlike some of the old buildings that McMahon speaks of, the Trust has only been around since 1984 and was formed by the late Jack Heinz as an arts agency and a real estate development institution. “It was set up to be an economic development tool, using the arts to create a better Downtown. That has certainly been the case in the last 20 to 25 years,” McMahon says.

People might not realize that the Trust owns and operates the Benedum Center, the Byham Theater, the Harris Theater, as well as the Cabaret at Theater Square, Wood Street Galleries, 707, 709, and 937. The Cultural Trust also runs the Dance Council, the PNC Broadway Series, the Children’s International Theater Festival, is responsible for First Night Pittsburgh, the region’s largest New Year’s Eve celebration, and recently assumed management of the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

McMahon came to the Trust in 2001, following stints in Cleveland, New York City, and at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center. He was born in Pittsburgh, but grew up in Connecticut. “I made a big circle. Just like everyone else who’s new to the city, I had to find my way around,” he says.

“We’ve got hundreds of thousands of people coming
into the Cultural District each month. We’ve got
1.3 million ticket buyers in a year.”
— Kevin McMahon

Like any organization, the Trust is constantly evolving. In the ’80s, it was acquiring critical property Downtown — such as the adult bookstores, massage parlors, and the XXX theaters of the Red Light District — and renovating the Benedum Center and Byham Theater, building the O’Reilly Theater, and the infrastructure of what is now the Cultural District. Now, McMahon is concentrated on bringing more activity to the already bustling Downtown neighborhood.

“Making Downtown residential is, to me, the big final step,” McMahon says. “We’ve got hundreds of thousands of people coming into the Cultural District each month. We’ve got 1.3 million ticket buyers in a year. And yet, the one thing that’s true for Downtown is that there are still too few residents here. While theatergoers and restaurant patrons will come and go, residents will help to complete the picture.”

Opportunities to live in the golden triangle are becoming more commonplace. In 2006, The Encore on Seventh hi-rise opened in the heart of the Cultural District. And, despite a tough economy, the Cultural District Riverfront Development, a residential and commercial development, is still slated to develop, albeit on a revised construction and fiscal schedule.

So far, though, the Cultural Trust has not been negatively affected by the economy. “Our ticket sales have remained relatively strong, and so have contributions. But Pittsburgh has a very diverse economy; we aren’t dependent on one sector. So far, we’ve been very fortunate to see people continue to come into the theater, and hopefully that will continue,” he says.

McMahon talks about Monty Python’s Spamalot, which was in town during the week of Thanksgiving. Its theme song is “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”
“That’s what we have to do,” he says.

For more information on the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, visit pgharts.org.

Coming up for the Cultural Trust

Take a seat or a tour for song, dance, and art, all available in the Cultural District this month.

Sing it!

January 7-February 1
Go behind the scenes and see how Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons rose to fame in Jersey Boys, a Tony-Award winning musical at the Benedum Center.


Educational entertainment with Nate the Great

January 11-January 18
Budding sleuths will enjoy Nate the Great, a musical about teamwork and friendship presented by the Pittsburgh International Children’s Theater at the Byham Theater and some local high schools.

January 23-January 25
Gershwin comes alive at Heinz Hall as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performs Rhapsody in Blue, featuring pianist Pamela Montero and conductor Andrés Cárdenes.

Aaron and Jamie Solak, Chelsea Holmes, J. Scott Visnich, and Negley Roberts at SPACE Gallery for the Gallery Crawl

January 23
The free Gallery Crawl in the Cultural District is a quarterly event that showcases all of the galleries and spaces in the District.

January 29-February 8
Teens and tweens will flock to the Byham Theater for Disney’s High School Musical, presented by Pittsburgh Musical Theater. Need we say more?

For tickets, call the Cultural Trust’s Box Office at 412.456.6666. For a complete listing of events, visit pgharts.org.

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