Pittsburgh Film Trails Acts as a Digital Tour Guide to the City’s Cinematic History

A MURAL BY BARRY SPTHALER IN EVANS CITY / PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Pittsburgh’s been a celebrity long before the NFL Draft came to town.

Since the mid-90s, more than 250 movie and TV projects have used the city and surrounding areas as a backdrop. The Pittsburgh Film Office just released a free, family-friendly digital guide to exploring Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Hollywood history.

Pittsburgh Film Trails features 60 filming sites from blockbusters such as “The Silence of the Lambs,” “Jack Reacher,” “The Dark Knight Rises” and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” to the HBO series “Mindhunter.”

Stay tuned, cinephiles — more stops dahn memory lane will be added this summer.

The project is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and is embedded in the PastFinders app on Google Play and Apple App Store.

Downloads of the interactive app, developed in Pittsburgh by a host of local history lovers, including Pittsburgh Magazine contributor Virginia Montanez, spiked when NFL fans converged on the city.

Users learn fun facts and behind-the-scenes stories from past productions and discover how the film industry continues to fuel the local economy by employing thousands.

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS HOUSE IN PERRYOPOLIS / PHOTO COURTESY OF KRISTY GRAVER

In addition to the app, PFO and IATSE 389 have installed a mini-museum at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Wood Street. Window spaces donated by Victrix LLC showcase props, costumes and other memorabilia from fan favorites such as “Night of the Living Dead,” “Flashdance,” “Wonder Boys” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

The installation is part of the Vibrancy Initiative led by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership.

PDP President and CEO Jeremy Waldrup was named Pittsburgh Magazine’s Pittsburgher of the Year for 2025. In 1990, when the Pittsburgh Film Office debuted, “Night of the Living Dead” director George Romero earned the title.