Kenyon family.

The Kenyon family was closely associated with Pittsburgh theater for twenty years (1909-29), maintaining some involvement with local theater for years afterwards, and through Elmer Kenyon, the eldest brother, an association with national theater as well.

Thomas Kenyon, the father, emigrated from Ireland. He settled in Allegheny, Pa. (now the North Side of Pittsburgh) and operated a dry goods store. In 1909 he built the first "high class" North Side theater, the Kenyon Theatre. In 1912 he opened the Kenyon Opera House, also a vaudeville theater, in downtown Pittsburgh. Labor problems and illness forced him to withdraw from active participation; in 1919 he sold his interests. The Kenyon Theatre was razed to build Allegheny Center. The Kenyon Opera House achieved a decade of splendor as the Pitt Theatre after the Shuberts bought it. Known as the Barry, its auditorium was torn down in 1951 and the facade in 1963.

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