By SHARON EBERSON
The walls are tumbling down, both literally and figuratively in the West End, where the transformation of Pittsburgh Musical Theater‘s century-old building is removing accessibility obstacles and paving the way to a sustainable future.
The former St. James School at 327 S. Main Street, built in 1915, became PMT’s home in 2000, and was repurposed to include the Gargaro Theater in 2015. The continued reshaping of the building now focuses on “accessibility, economic revitalization and enhanced public space for the region’s growing creative community.”
The smashing start to renovations – a wall-breaking ceremony on July 9, with Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Sara Innamorato striking the blows for change – offered a view of the façade at the corner of Sanctus and South Main Streets, where a window to the two-story lobby will replace brick and mortar.
The $8 million first phase of an ongoing $20 million campaign will add the building’s first elevator, allowing accessibility to all levels of a facility that includes the Gargaro Theater and the PMT Conservatory, for students ages 4-18.
The full slate of 2025-2026 shows at the outdoor West End Canopy and inside, at the Gargaro, will go on during the renovations, which have been underway since May 26, 2025.
“We have 250 kids in the building for summer camp right now,” said PMT executive director Colleen Doyno, wearing a hard hat that is mandatory on the under-construction lower levels of the building. “They are here from 8:15 to 5:15 every day, and they’re loving watching all this. Their parents are loving it, too.”
Construction has been going on since May. Doyno said that demolition of walls and steps and levels was like watching “men and women with Tonka Toys.”
She was excitedly showing off where the former prop room will house a new bank of restrooms, including a family restroom, accessible for all, with a hallway adjacent to an elevator landing.
From that level, you currently can look down at work on a giant hole – “the elevator pit” – in the previously unused basement. “RAD gave us an elevator,” Doyno said of contributions from the Allegheny Regional Asset District, among many partners in bringing PMT’s first phase from concept to reality.
when it undergoes a multimillion transformation.
When construction is complete, the levels will match up for a completely different view – which will be the case throughout the transformed interior. For example, the new public spaces will have windows to the West End neighborhood.
Repurposing a century-old building has come with years of consideration. PMT first announced plans for renovations in October 2019.
“I feel like we’ve been fundraising for so long, and we’ve been talking about it for so long, and then people start to think you’re never really going to do this,” Doyno said. “But we always kept pushing forward. And the day the [construction crew] came in, it was the day after we closed Waitress [on May 26], it was probably one of the most exciting and also scary days, because now there’s no turning back. There’s no, ‘Oh, let’s get another million, and let’s put this off.’ ”
the future of PMT’s West End building. (Image: Sharon Eberson)
Top right & bottom left: The official “wall-breaking” for the $8 million first phase
of PMT’s transformation, with Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Sara Innamorato, and with a lineup of dignitaries. (Images: Matt Polk)
The current 18-month phase of renovations includes a two-story, multifunctional lobby, with a piano-shaped staircase as a focal point in the redesign by the Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, working with Jendoco Construction Corporation.
Facade and entrance improvements are meant to create “visual impact that adequately represents PMT’s anchor location and impact for the historic West End.”
Along with improvements the public can see are those out of view, but aimed at sustainability. New mechanical and electrical systems are meant to “achieve meaningful reductions in PMT’s carbon footprint, while honoring the character and integrity of a deeply valued building.”
“It’s really happening and there’s something great about that,” Doyno said, standing with PMT director of development Allison Hannon amid apparent construction chaos.
At every point in the process, however, are renderings of what the future will look like to visitors and West End neighbors.
Looking out the window at the vacated Village Tavern, across Main Street, Doyno noted that one of the elements missing is a nearby eatery to dine out before or gather after a show. (The Village Tavern property has been sold, but no plans have been announced by the new owners.)
At the “wall-breaking” ceremony, hearing speakers from throughout the region talk about PMT’s impact on the West End was particularly heartening. Having “always felt the weight and joy of being the anchor here,” she is hoping that PMT’s enhancements can be a boost to the neighborhood that includes Cafe 412 (breakfast-lunch), the James Street Gallery, Artifacts and other West End Village destinations.
“It’s truly going to be a fantastic space,” Doyno said of the PMT of the near future. “It really is going to fit our ultimate goal, which is that everybody that walks in feels valued and has the same experience.”
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Congrats!!!