• Source: Syria Mosque

Syria Mosque was a 3,700-seat performance venue located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1911 and dedicated on October 26, 1916, the building was originally built as a "mystical" shrine for the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (the Shriners) and designed by Huehl, Schmidt & Holmes architectural firm of Chicago. It was recognized as one of the best examples of Exotic Revival architecture.
Located at 4400 Bigelow Boulevard, it held numerous events over the years, mainly highlighted by concerts of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and numerous internationally recognized music performers, as well as comedians and political rallies and speeches. In addition to the main theater, events also took place in the building's smaller "Syria Mosque Ballroom" space.
The Medinah Temple in Chicago (constructed one year after this building by the same firm) is a similar building still in existence (though now converted to retail space).
Despite community efforts to have Syria Mosque designated a historic landmark, the building was demolished August 27, 1991.




History


Pakistani-Canadian architect Gulzar Haider described the appearance of the building circa 1960:As we turned onto a minor street on the University of Pittsburgh campus, [my host] pointed to a vertical neon sign that said in no uncertain terms “Syria Mosque.” Parking the car, we approached the building. I was fascinated, albeit with some premonition. I was riveted by the cursive Arabic calligraphy on the building: la ghalib il-Allah, “There is no victor but Allah,” the well-known refrain [inscribed on the walls of] Granada’s Alhambra. Horseshoe arches, horizontal bands of different colored bricks, decorative terra-cotta—all were devices to invoke a Moorish memory. Excitedly, I took a youthful step towards the lobby, when my host turned around and said, "This is not the kind of mosque in which you bend up and down facing Mecca. This is a meeting hall–theater built by Shriners, a nice bunch of people who build hospitals for [disabled] children and raise money through parades and circuses."




= Birthplace of network television

=
On January 11, 1949, from 8:30 pm to 11 pm EST, KDKA-TV (then WDTV and part of the DuMont Television Network) began its initial broadcast on its "network" centered in Pittsburgh. The program began with a one-hour local show broadcast from Syria Mosque, then finished with 90 minutes from ABC, CBS, NBC, and DuMont, featuring stars such as Arthur Godfrey, Milton Berle, DuMont host Ted Steele, and many other celebrities. The station also represented a milestone in the television industry, providing the first "network" of a coaxial cable feed that included Pittsburgh and 13 other cities from Boston to St. Louis.




= Demolition

=
Despite community efforts to have the building designated a historic landmark, the Syria Mosque was torn down on August 27, 1991. The site serves as a parking lot for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Plans were announced that University of Pittsburgh would acquire it from the medical center in 2016.




List of concert events


Among the concert events:

February 28, 1920: Enrico Caruso performs just 18 months before his death.
October 5, 1924: John Philip Sousa
Benny Goodman (1938, 1941)
Sergei Rachmaninoff with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1931, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941)
January 28, 1944: Symphony No. 1 by Leonard Bernstein had its premiere at the center.
February 1 and 3, 1946: Carol Brice with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Fritz Reiner
Louis Armstrong (three appearances, beginning in 1949)
October 11, 1950: Billy Eckstine, George Shearing and Miles Davis
Charlie Parker (1950)
February 27, 1951: Nat King Cole Trio and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, featuring vocalists Frances Irvin and Johnny Amoroso
November 24–30, 1952: Pittsburgh International Contemporary Music Festival, featuring performances of 14 commissioned works, such as Vincent Persichetti's Concerto for Piano, Four Hands. Performing ensembles included the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the West Point Band.
January 9, 1953: World Premiere of the Heitor Villa-Lobos composition Piano Concerto no. 4, with Bernardo Segall and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conducted by Villa-Lobos.
Duke Ellington (in 1954)
April 28, 1955: Horace Heidt performs at Syria Mosque and MC's a talent competition, all for charity.
Art Blakey (several occasions, in 1955 with the Jazz Messengers)
Miles Davis (1955)
Bill Haley and the Comets with Bo Diddley and the Drifters (1955)
Buddy Holly (four times in 1957-1958)
Sam Cooke
Ahmad Jamal in 1959
Benny Goodman in 1959
Dionne Warwick and Solomon Burke in 1963.
Peter, Paul, and Mary on November 21, 1965 [1]
Bob Dylan in 1966 and again in 1990
The Who in 1969
The Band in 1970 and on September 21, 1976, the concert "Next to Last Waltz". On Thanksgiving night, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, they played their final concert. It became the Martin Scorsese documentary film The Last Waltz.
The two-year-old Pittsburgh Ballet Theater opened its first season as a professional organization in 1970.
Mickey Newbury in 1971
The Allman Brothers Band in 1971 (turned into an album in 2022)
Matthews Southern Comfort, Deep Purple and Faces July 16, 1971
Yes on December 16, 1971 on their Fragile Tour
Carly Simon in 1972
Pink Floyd in 1971 and 1972
The Kinks September 1, 1972 and April 13, 1974
Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band on October 15, 1972
Bette Midler in 1973, accompanied by, a then unknown, Barry Manilow.
Jim Croce on February 23, 1973. Croce was scheduled to return to the Syria Mosque on October 27 that year, but he died in a plane crash on September 20.
The New York Dolls on October 18, 1973
Barbara Mandrell October 26, 1973
The Doobie Brothers on November 15, 1973
The Beach Boys on August 31, 1973
David Bowie in 1974
The Carpenters in 1974
ZZ Top in 1974
The Eagles in 1974
Jesse Colin Young in 1974
Joni Mitchell on February 14, 1974. Accompanied by Tom Scott and the L.A. Express, who also performed as the opening act.
Genesis on May 3, 1974 (Selling England by the Pound Tour), 1975
Helen Reddy and Robert Klein on April 2, 1976
Genesis (band) on 30 November 1974 (The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour) and April 13, 1976 (A Trick of the Tail Tour); a recording of the April 13, 1976 show has since been widely bootlegged.
Frank Zappa on November 6, 1974, on November 17, 1984 and on February 25, 1988 / March 8, 1988
Van Morrison on May 21, 1974
Miles Davis on March 17, 1975
Lynyrd Skynyrd on May 27, 1975; guitarist Ed King’s last concert with the original band
Bruce Springsteen on August 9, 1975.
Stephen Stills on October 25, 1975
George Benson (1976, 1977 and 1986)
James Brown (1976 and 1986)
James Taylor on July 25, 1976
Kansas on October 30, 1976, in a show that was recorded and later broadcast by 102.5 WDVE-FM
Bob Marley (1977)
Beatlemania (musical) in 1981, shortly after the death of John Lennon
June 14, 1982: The inaugural Mellon Jazz Festival (among other venues)
Gallagher (Comedian), October 1982.
Men at Work (opening act INXS), August 1983.
August 4, 1983: Count Basie's final public concert performance.
Dio in 1983
Lou Reed on October 4, 1984
Dire Straits in 1985.
Tears for Fears on June 15, 1985
Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force on July 9, 1985
Black Sabbath in 1986
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble in 1986
The Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1986 billed as "The Thunderbirds"
R.E.M. in 1985 and 1986
The Bangles in a MTV broadcast concert 1986
The Cult on April 4, 1986
New Order in 1986
Robin Williams in 1986
Hüsker Dü on March 10, 1987
The Cure, Whitesnake and Quiet Riot in 1987
Fishbone on October 18, 1988
Schoolly D (opening for Fishbone) on October 18, 1988
Jimmy Page in 1988
The Ramones in 1987 and on September 21, 1988
Jane's Addiction (opening for The Ramones) on September 21, 1988
Midnight Oil on May 4, 1988
Anthrax, Exodus and Helloween in 1989 (as part of the MTV's Headbangers Ball Tour)
Love and Rockets (band) on August 31, 1989
Pixies (band) (opening for Love and Rockets) on August 31, 1989
Winger in 1989
Jimmy Buffett on December 7, 1989
Manhattan Transfer on December 27, 1989
Public Enemy, Queen Latifah and Biz Markie on February 1, 1990
the B-52's on February 2, 1990
XYZ on March 10, 1990
Vanilla Ice on January 18, 1991
Benefit for Porky Chedwick on February 22, 1991
Deep Purple on April 22, 1991
L.L. Cool J on May 5th, 1991




List of political events


Among the political events:

October 24, 1923: David Lloyd George.
January 2, 1944: Harry S Truman
November 2, 1944: Harry S Truman, Orson Welles, Gifford Pinchot and Kermit Roosevelt
November 10, 1947: Henry A. Wallace announced he was a candidate for president.
June 6, 1950: Ronald Reagan
October 8, 1952: Richard Nixon addressing a crowd of 3,900.
October 22, 1952: Harry S Truman
November 1, 1956: Richard Nixon & Pat Nixon
October 27, 1958: Dwight D. Eisenhower
October 10, 1960: John F. Kennedy
October 24, 1960: Richard Nixon
November 4, 1966: The last public appearance by longtime mayor, governor and boss David L. Lawrence.




References






External links



Picture Album
Pittsburgh Music History -Lost Temple of Music
Resurrecting the Syria Mosque
Pittsburgh Post Gazette retrospective

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