The Geyer Performing Arts Center

The Geyer Performing Arts Center has enjoyed over 100 years as Scottdale’s premier cultural center. The building has a rich and colorful history and continues to hold a long standing tradition as a community gathering place.

Originally known as the Geyer Opera House, The Geyer Performing Arts Center was the cultural vision of Andrew Geyer, who was the son of a local hotel proprietor. Mr. Geyer built the theater in 1900 and was very successful in establishing the Opera House as a popular social venue which had the honor of hosting many notable theatrical and musical performers. Most famous of its guests were William Jennings Bryan and Nanette Fabray.

Established in 1874, Scottdale Borough was rich in the industrial potential of its many local natural resources. Growing rapidly in the 1880’s and 90’s, Scottdale’s booming economy attracted a great diversity of people, from all of the social classes.

Most important of this bygone era were the employees of the H.C. Frick Coke Company who are credited with building some of the finest and largest homes in Scottdale. The nearby addition of the Opera House gave a social legitimacy to this once sleepy rural community, mirroring the commercial ascent of this burgeoning town.

The ownership of the building and its associated theatrical rights has passed through several hands in its long history. Mr. Geyer owned and operated the theater until 1912 when a newly incorporated Scottdale Theater Company purchased the building. Under their direstion, the theater became a home for vaudeville acts and other live performances
Changes under Scottdale Theater Company ownership included a Big Klingen Wonder Organ, which was sold in 1940 and a change of venue name to the Strand Theater.

The theater was also one of the first in the area to be equipped with a Vitaphone system for the new “talking pictures” of the era. But, despite the purchase of 310 new seats, the theater had fallen on hard times. Following financial procedures, the theater ended up in the hands of its former manager, John C. Bixler.

During Mr. Bixler’s ownership, the building served as a lease-able, multi-function facility which served as, among other things, the Scottdale high school auditorium. The structure at 111 Pittsburgh St. served as home to town meetings, amateur shows, civic organization meetings and a movie theater. The building primarily served as a movie theater after 1959, when the new high school for the Scottdale area was built and took its place as the community lecture hall. The building was closed in 1969 and used only for special purposes until its doors were finally closed to the public in 1971.

The building sat empty and neglected, only to be refurbished and reborn in 1987 when Scottdale Showtime Inc., a nonprofit corporation, began to renovate the structure.

The Geyer Performing Arts Center remains the owner of the building today and continues the tradition of hosting theatrical talent as it once did in its hey-day. The Arts Center is the only cultural outlet in Scottdale Borough and a tangible link to it prosperous past.

Come and visit a living piece of Scottdale’s glory. Perform on stage, book your show, volunteer, or just relax and enjoy a performance in our air conditioned theater. The Geyer Performing Arts Center is your hometown venue to see and be great live entertainment!