Support the Paramount Pictures Film Exchange!

YPA has nominated the Paramount Pictures Film Exchange in Pittsburgh's Uptown neighborhood to be a City Historic Landmark. Built in 1926, the Paramount film exchange served as the sole distribution point for major motion pictures, between Hollywood and local theaters. Drew Levinson, a film student, created a YouTube video of the film exchange:

Some of the most popular movies came through this film exchange, including Sunset Boulevard, Roman Holiday, and The Ten Commandments. The director Cecil B. DeMille himself spent several days in Pittsburgh at the Paramount film exchange while promoting a new Paramount movie. These were the central meeting point for directors, actors, producers, and theater owners.

Film exchanges existed in most U.S. cities; however, only a few exist today. As movie distribution systems changed, most film exchanges became obsolete by the late 1960s. Pittsburgh Paramount Pictures Film Exchange ceased operation in 1968 and it served many other uses since then. But it has been vacant for the last several years. Many film exchanges in other cities have been preserved and reused, such as in Chicago, Oklahoma City, and Seattle.

Most of Pittsburgh's film exchanges along the Boulevard of the Allies have been demolished. YPA envisions the reuse of Pittsburgh's last remaining original film exchange as an asset for the Uptown community. The first step is local historic designation to prevent demolition.

YPA has worked with a developer to assemble a proposal to convert the building into a LEED-certified green medical clinic that would serve the population of Uptown, Hill District, and West Oakland.

City Council takes testimony on Tuesday, November 17, at 1:30. Please come out and support this important landmark. Or, write a letter of support. More information is on our website, http://www.youngpreservationists.org/ypa-nominates-uptown-building-to-be-historic-landmark