If you get to Pittsburgh do make a trip to the Monroeville Mall where George A Romero’s Dawn of the Dead was filmed. The mall is largely the same as it was 1978, though the stores have changed and the ice rink is gone.
Anchoring the mall is the Living Dead Museum, a museum with artifacts from various Romero films. Yes, it had Dawn of the Dead material, but also Night of the Living Dead, Knightriders, Creepshow and others. The museum also has the shack from Evil Dead in it as well as other props from other zombie films. It’s a stunning collection of cool stuff, made all the more amazing in that almost everything there is home grown.
The Museum is run by Dave who has been out front every time we stop by. He is a font of information on all the Romero films. If you want to know about Romero and the films, this is the guy to ask. He also has a wicked sense of humor.
The museum is just the pivot point for Romero related events. Its the place that hosts Living Dead Weekened Monroeville which happens every June. It also is the place to find out about the Evans City Living Dead Weekend (that one is in the location where Night of the Living Dead was filmed)
The problem at the moment is that the mall is slated to close by April 2027 and be replaced by a Walmart Super Center and Sam’s Club to replace the one that is two minutes away. (To be honest the whole sale is hinky with the mall being sold to a straw bidder who bought it on behalf of Walmart , who I’m told was told they could not buy the property because of their plans.) Where the Museum is going to go is still up in the air.
I’m told that the museum is a genuine tourist destination with its inclusion on the mall property being responsible for a bump up in Mall traffic.
I absolutely love Dave, the museum and the mall so every trip to Pittsburgh results in a trip just to stop by and pay our respects.
Go see it soon before the evil Walmart forces it to move.
For information on the museum and gift shop go here.
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