Pittsburgh Video Production History: Paramount Film Exchange

Take a look into the history of our building!

Our current building has long played an active role in Pittsburgh video production. Built in 1926, our building used to belong to Paramount Pictures and was the Paramount Film Exchange!

Film exchanges were vital during the early to mid-20th century. They stored, shipped, maintained, and previewed 35mm film reels for local theaters. For over a century, filmmakers used 35mm film as the traditional format. They recorded, printed, and projected movies on this physical strip of film before the digital era. They stored, shipped, maintained, and previewed 35mm film reels for local theaters.

Essentially, companies like Paramount, Warner Bros., Fox, and MGM operated film exchanges as regional distribution centers, storing reels of highly flammable 35mm film in fireproof vaults. Local theater owners or managers would come to the exchange to pick up reels for their next scheduled screening. The industry referred to this part of the process as the ‘film rental system.’ Theaters didn’t own films, they just rented them temporarily. Many film exchanges had private screening rooms where theater owners or managers could privately watch an upcoming film to see whether or not they wanted to book it.

Other Pittsburgh Film Facts

Boulevard of the Allies was home to many other Pittsburgh video production companies as well. The Warner Bros. and Fox film exchanges were on the same street as well. But since videocassette tapes came into play in the 1970s, film exchanges have since fizzled out. After this, the Paramount Film Exchange was in a continuous battle over historic preservation in Pittsburgh. Then in 2008, 21-year-old Drew Levinson entered a YPA-sponsored video contest and took first place. He made a short film on the Paramount Film Exchange. The film had rallied so much support behind saving the Film Exchange from sale or demolition that in early 2010, The Historic Review Commission of the City of Pittsburgh granted landmark designation based on “the importance of a particular place to Pittsburgh’s heritage.” City council approved the designation in an 8-1 vote.

Since the late 19th-century, Pittsburgh surprisingly has a rich film history. The city and surrounding areas have been home to many different films such as The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Jack Reacher (2012), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), Flashdance (1983), Fences (2016), and many more.

StudioME proudly calls the historic Paramount Film Exchange building home – where movies once flowed across the region. Today, StudioME is keeping the legacy alive by keeping media, production, and creativity alive under the same roof.

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