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Built in 1928 as the Stanley Theatre, a $3 million movie palace financed by theatre tycoon James Bly Clark, the building at 237 7th Street in Pittsburgh's Cultural District reopened on 25 September 1987 as the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts following a $43 million restoration. Named for the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, which provided the lead gift toward the renovation, the 2,800-seat theatre is one of the most utilised performing arts venues in the United States and has been called "Number One Auditorium in the U.S." by Billboard on multiple occasions. The restoration, overseen by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as its inaugural project after the Trust's founding in 1984, faithfully returned the interior to its 1928 opening-night grandeur while modernising the backstage, fly tower, and orchestra pit. The stage is one of the largest in the country at over 7,000 square feet, and a two-section adjustable orchestra pit accommodates up to 85 musicians. Touring Broadway companies regularly cite the Benedum as a favourite venue to play for the sheer luxury of space. The Benedum serves as the home stage for the Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and hosts PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh touring productions and the annual First Night Pittsburgh celebration. Before the 1987 restoration, the building's concert years under DiCesare Engler Productions (1977-1982) saw performances by Prince (who kicked off his Controversy Tour here in 1981), the Grateful Dead (1979), and Bob Marley and The Wailers (whose 1980 show at the Stanley was the reggae legend's final concert performance). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Benedum is operated by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust as a centrepiece of the Cultural District alongside the Byham Theater, Harris Theater, and other Trust venues. The box office is accessible through TrustArts.org and by phone. Parking is available in nearby Cultural District garages.