{"id":146,"date":"2014-10-20T01:10:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-20T01:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=146"},"modified":"2015-01-09T16:56:48","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:56:48","slug":"life-and-death-of-the-syria-mosque","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/20\/life-and-death-of-the-syria-mosque\/","title":{"rendered":"Life and death of the Syria Mosque"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Syria <\/a>
Syria Mosque in the 1950s. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Children <\/a>
Children gather in the Mosque during opening festivities in 1916. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Symphony <\/a>
Symphony concert crowd during World War II. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rusted <\/a>
Rusted Root performed at a rally to help save the partially demolished Mosque in 1991. (Joyce Mendelsohn\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Heavy <\/a>
Heavy equipment brings down the concert hall. (Randy Olson\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"View <\/a>
View of the demolition from above. (John Beale\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Demolition <\/a>
Demolition crews at work in 1991. (John Heller\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

For today\u2019s post, you can thank the Monday blues.<\/p>\n

We had \u2018em, so we googled our second favorite Monday song (the first is by the Mamas and the Papas). We found it on YouTube \u2014 a live version of \u201cManic Monday\u201d<\/a> by the Bangles, filmed at the Syria Mosque in 1986.<\/p>\n

Ah, the Syria Mosque. Thus began another search. We found on the web several live performances at the Mosque \u2014 Genesis (1976), \u00a0the Band (\u201870), James Taylor (\u201876), Allman Brothers Band (\u201871), Edgar Winter Group (\u201872). Most are just audio files, but a few contain video of performances in what was once the city\u2019s prime concert venue.<\/p>\n

The Syria Mosque was a colorfully regal presence on Bigelow Boulevard, across from Soldiers & Sailors Hall. Most people today may remember the 3,750-seat hall for the rock and roll shows it hosted. But in its 75-year life, the Mosque was home to much more.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh\u2019s chapter of the Shriners celebrated the Mosque\u2019s opening in 1916 with a week of festivities, one of which was captured in a picture published in The Pittsburgh Press on October 29 of that year. The image shows the hall crowded with hundreds of children, many holding American flags and wearing Shriner hats. The caption says \u201cmoving pictures and a luncheon\u201d kept the children entertained.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the Mosque was home to the \u00a0Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Opera and the National Negro Opera Company.<\/p>\n

Then there was jazz. The list of performers includes:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Louis Armstrong (three appearances, beginning in 1949)
\n\u2014 Duke Ellington (in \u201854, he shared a bill with Armstrong and Billy Eckstine)
\n\u2014 Count Basie
\n\u2014 Benny Goodman (\u201841)
\n\u2014 Miles Davis (\u201855)
\n\u2014 Charlie Parker (\u201850)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Art Blakey (on a number of occasions, including a concert in 1955 with the Jazz Messengers)
\n\u2014 George Benson (\u201876, \u201877 and \u201886)<\/em><\/p>\n

We could go on, but you get the point. The Pittsburgh Music History website<\/a> offers more detail than we can provide here.<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s talk rock:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Bill Haley and the Comets (in \u201855, with Bo Diddley and the Drifters; tickets ranged in price from $1.75 to $3.75)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Buddy Holly (four performances \u201958, the last in October, four months before his death)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Bob Dylan (in February \u201866, six months after going electric at Newport; also played in \u201864 and \u201890)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Bette Midler (forgive us for lumping her with rockers, but she had a great quote in her \u201873 show: \u201cWe\u2019re on a tour of the tackiest cities in the world, of which Pittsburgh is without a doubt No. 1\u201d)
\n\u2014 The Who (in \u201869, the year of the rock opera \u201cTommy,\u201d and \u201890)
\n\u2014 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (\u201874)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Bruce Springsteen (in \u201875 and \u201876; h<\/em>is manager Jon Landau called the Mosque \u201cone of the finest theaters he has ever played in\u201d)
\n\u2014 Linda Ronstadt (\u201875)
\n\u2014 Bob Marley (\u201877)
\n\u2014 James Brown (\u201876 and \u201886)
\n\u2014 Ramones (\u201888)
\n\u2014 R.E.M. (\u201885 and \u201886)
\n\u2014 Bon Jovi (\u201884)<\/em><\/p>\n

Can\u2019t forget the comedy:<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0<\/strong>Robin Williams (\u201886)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Richard Pryor (At the height of his career, in \u201878)<\/em>
\n\u2014 George Carlin (\u201884)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Bill Cosby (\u201871)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Jack Benny (\u201850 and \u201863)<\/em>
\n\u2014 Bob Hope (\u201850)<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, these are just partial lists.<\/p>\n

Time was up for the Mosque in 1991. UPMC, then known as Presbyterian University Health System, bought the building for $10 million. What followed was one of the most intense preservation battles in the city\u2019s history. It ended with a handful of protesters, including then City Councilman Jim Ferlo, getting arrested in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the bulldozers from advancing on the Mosque.<\/p>\n

Today the site is a surface parking lot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Syria Mosque was a colorfully regal presence on Bigelow Boulevard.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesLife and death of the Syria Mosque<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[945],"tags":[986,989,1006,1183,1046],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_ndngzx6rOt1rr5swxo5_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C860&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1174,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/11\/29\/pittsburghs-thanksgiving-snowstorm\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":0},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s Thanksgiving snowstorm","date":"November 29, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Although a half-dozen of its musicians were snowbound, the Pittsburgh Symphony went ahead with its Friday night subscription concert in Oakland\u2019s Syria Mosque.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/tumblr_mwwaxnSTk51rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=936%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2322,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/05\/the-parade-to-end-all-parades-in-pittsburgh\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":1},"title":"The parade to end all parades in Pittsburgh","date":"November 5, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"We at the Digs have witnessed some astonishing parades in our city.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/tumblr_mctxowhcmk1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C910&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":999,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/02\/03\/thousands-gather-to-see-pittsburghs-revved-up-human-dynamo\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":2},"title":"Thousands gather to see Pittsburgh\u2019s \u2018revved-up human dynamo\u2019","date":"February 3, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Sidewalks outside the Syria Mosque were packed hours before an appearance by\u00a0Kathryn Kuhlman.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/tumblr_n0adxxKF4h1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=936%2C736&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2518,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/09\/14\/oct-27-1952-ikes-balloon-grounded-general\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":3},"title":"Ike\u2019s balloon grounded in Pittsburgh","date":"September 14, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"\"Members of the Citizens for Eisenhower Committee said their silver-colored gas bag ordinarily is flown at 500 feet.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/tumblr_ma9gdziEdx1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C978&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7240,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/02\/16\/become-a-part-of-the-digs-add-your-story-to-pittsburghs-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":4},"title":"Become a part of the Digs — add your story to Pittsburgh’s history","date":"February 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We're seeking pictures from Pittsburgh's past, and you may have what we're looking for.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/DigsNew002.jpg?fit=1200%2C783&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6215,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/12\/23\/color-aerial-photos-of-pittsburgh-from-1974\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":5},"title":"Color aerial photos of Pittsburgh from 1974","date":"December 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Spectacular views from the blimp Mayflower show a city in transition","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/WEBDigs.Blimp009.jpg?fit=1200%2C727&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3819,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions\/3819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}