Arts & Culture

Arts and Culture. . Mt. Pleasant Institute Building , Although primarily known for its industrial history, Mt. Pleasant was a center for the arts for many years starting around the turn of the 20th Century. Music and theatre were major components of the town's culture. In the late 19th Century, citizens could watch a play, musical, or Vaudeville act at the Grand Opera House which stood at the current site of the Standard Bank parking lot. From 1913 through 1922, the Mt. Pleasant Music School operated out of the former Mt. Pleasant Institute building on South Church Street where Frick Hospital now stands. Several individuals in town also taught music out of their homes. In 1907 a new era of entertainment began as the Nickelodeon, the town's first theatre devoted especially to motion pictures, was opened on West Main Street. The Cox Theatre, later known as the Penn Theatre, opened on East Main Street in the 1910s. The admission prices for movies ranged from 25 to 75 cents. The Grand Opera House became a motion picture theatre in the 1930s and was re-named "The Grand Theatre.” Both the Penn and the Grand Theatres entertained and captivated the citizens of Mt. Pleasant for many years during the 20th Century., Photo courtesy of Jim Davis