Thank you to everyone who made Pittsburgh 2025 a Great Success!
With more than 420 attendees from across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, LHAT's SOLD OUT 2025 National Conference was the largest in LHAT's 49 year history and an overwhelming success! Represented were more than 300 historic theatre owners, operators, volunteers and aficionados, along with 115 service providers and suppliers who are experts in our field.
In the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the League offered four days of professional development, networking, theatre tours and more. More than 40 hours of Tools & Techniques Sessions highlighted best practices in historic theatre operations, film programming, fundraising, marketing, renovation, restoration, and accessibility. An additional two hours were devoted to facilitated networking sessions which were broken into groups based on theatre types and budgets, plus different topics attendees said were top of mind at their theatres.
One hundred attendees kicked off the conference on the ever-popular Pre-Conference Historic Theatre Ramble, visiting four theatres -- the Casino in Vandergrift, the Palace in Greensburg, the Westinghouse Arts Academy in Wilmerding, and the Row House - Hollywood in Dormont. During the conference, attendees were treated to tours of Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts, thanks to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and, thanks to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT), the Harris Theater, the Benedum Center for Performing Arts, and the Byham Theater. We topped off the event with a Closing Party at the Greer Cabaret Theater, hosted by PCT and DLR Group.
Attendees celebrated excellence in the field at the 2025 Awards Ceremony and 43 exhibitors shared their products, services and expertise at the annual Meet the Services Providers EXPO. Attendees also met, mingled and networked during multiple networking and social events.
Congratulations to the recipients of two $5,000 grants made available through a generous donation from Mills + Schnoering Architects to be used for members theatres to support ADA improvements in their venues. The winners were announced during the Welcome Dinner:
- Theatre Budget Under $1 Million: Paramount Heritage Foundation, Anderson, IN, to expand their accessible seating by installing 14 accessible seat spaces with 12 companion seats.
- Theatre Budget Over $1 Million: Thalian Hall, Wilmington, NC, for improvements/upgrades to their assisted listening system.
Special thanks to all of our National Partners and 2025 Conference Sponsors, plus our theatre tour and other local hosts. Because of their generous support, the LHAT National Conference continues to be the largest and most important gathering specifically designed for historic theatre professionals in the nation!
