The Fulton Theater’s evolution

In November 1990, Carol Brown, then head of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, wore a witch’s hat to a news conference where she announced plans to restore the Fulton Theater. (Tony Tye/Post-Gazette)

In 1991, Dan Schreiner, left, and Fred Shatzer of Advance Sign Company replaced 550 bulbs in the Fulton Theater marquee. (Robin Rombach/The Pittsburgh Press)

This 1991 photo shows Charles Becker hanging by a harness and working on the fire curtain above the main stage of the Byham Theater. (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)

During renovations in 1991, workman Bill Pyle installed a ceiling frame under the balcony of the Fulton Theater, which became the Byham Theater.

This 1991 image shows the interior of the restored Fulton Theater, which reopened in 1991 and was renamed the Byham Theater in 1995.

This 1957 image shows young moviegoers lining up at 7:30 a.m. outside the Fulton Theater to see a movie called “Bernardine.” (Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph)

A crowd gathers outside the Byahm Theater in 2007. (Alyssa Cwanger/Post-Gazette)

In July 1955, the Fulton’s 25-year-old marquee was removed and replaced with a new one. (W.F. Mahon/Sun-Telegraph)

Actors play many parts and sometimes, theaters have many lives.

A good example is Pittsburgh’s Byham Theater, a Downtown landmark at 101 Sixth Street.

It opened as the Gayety on Halloween in 1904. The Gayety offered its patrons a mix of full-length plays and satirical sketches plus musical revues that often featured a chorus line made up of attractive women with shapely legs.

The Gayety once showcased a group of international women wrestlers who offered any local woman $100 if she could stay standing for 10 minutes while on stage with the troupe.

Starting in the 1930s, the theater was renamed the Fulton and became a mecca for moviegoers. But by the mid-1980s, the carpeting was threadbare and dotted with pieces of old chewing gum, requiring patrons to step carefully. The ceiling leaked so some seats were roped off. But people still came to see movies, such as “Mommie Dearest.”

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust bought the 1,300-seat theater in 1988, restored it  and reopened it in 1991. The theater was renamed in honor of generous donors William C. and Carolyn M. Byham. Today, the theater hosts concerts, dance, musicals, films and the well-known storytelling event, “The Moth.”