Work began on the $36 million August Wilson Center for African American Culture with a groundbreaking ceremony.
The performing arts, exhibition and educational center will be located in the city's cultural district.
Construction on the 65,000 square foot facility starts next month. It is expected to open in early 2008. It will contain a 500-seat theater, a 4,000 square foot gallery, a gift shop, a cafe, and educational and office spaces.
A Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning playwright, Wilson was from Pittsburgh. He died Oct. 2, 2005.
"He wrote about this town in the most eloquent way. He brought Pittsburgh really to the world," said Neil Barclay, the center's president and chief executive officer, at Wednesday's ceremony.
Officials have already raised more than $27 million for the center, mostly from government, local corporations and foundations. With the groundbreaking, they will also begin public fundraising.