Stakeholders urge Pittsburgh to reopen Marshall Building as community arts center

Dozens of stakeholders and residents used the public‑comment period at the June 9 Pittsburgh City Council meeting to press the city to reopen the Marshall Building at Fifth and Shady as an active community arts center.

"Opening the Marshall Building to community use can be accomplished tomorrow if there is the will to do it," said Cindy Berer, president of Friends of Mellon Park and a member of the Marshall Building Stakeholders Group. Berer told the council that the building was recently renovated using about $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and is currently being used largely for parks storage and city offices rather than public programming.

The appeals were echoed by a range of artists, cultural organizations and longtime local residents. "The Marshall building must be reopened to the community," said Kyle Hower, executive director of the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media, who described the site as suitable for a mix of performance, exhibition and education uses. Filmmaker Elizabeth Semons and Collia executive director Allison Bonavia said their organizations have used and programmed space in the building for years and offered to help with operations, fundraising and event planning.

Why it matters: speakers said the building has cultural and civic value that is not being realized. Caroline Carson, a retired urban studies professor and past Fiber Arts Guild president, said closing the space reduced opportunities for juried exhibitions and international‑level shows that previously drew wider audiences and supported local artists.

What they're asking for: Stakeholders asked council to press Parks and Recreation, the mayor's office and other city staff to create a collaborative management plan that would allow nonprofit partners to program and fundraise for the site while retaining necessary city uses (for example, storage or offices). Many speakers emphasized they did not want to displace parks employees but asked that storage not dominate gallery and performance spaces.

Clarifying details from the meeting: Cindy Berer said roughly $1,000,000 in ARPA funding was used for recent renovations; several speakers said the Marshall Building was last fully open to the public in 2019. Stakeholders named multiple neighborhood groups and nonprofits participating in the Marshall Building Stakeholders Group and described quarterly meetings with Parks and Recreation and council members over the past three years to pursue reopening plans.

Council response and next steps: Councilmembers did not take a formal vote on the Marshall Building during the meeting. Speakers requested a meeting with the mayor and with city parks officials; they also asked for staff-level commitments to a timeline or a charrette to define roles, funding and programming. The meeting ended without formal council action on the Marshall Building, and stakeholders said they would continue coordinating with the city to seek concrete next steps.