PITTSBURGH HISTORY & LANDMARKS FOUNDAIIONoNE STATION SQUARE, SUITE 450PITTSBURGH, PA 15219 -II7 O

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Non-Profit Org.U.S. POSTÁGE

PÂIDPittsburgh, Pa.

Permit No. 598

February 1992Published for the members of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation No. 122

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Events in1992Religious Properties:Can They Be Saved?

Pittsburgh Architecture:Good Places

African-AmericanHistoric Site Survey

Pittsburgh: An Introduction

Landmarks: Our Princrples

qtI he lost two yeaß haue seen afund,amental recon-

sideration of the Pitæburgh hisøric-preseruationord,inancg a Staæ Supreme Court decision thatmay oaerthrow aII such ord,inances, arud quarrelsouer o. sizeable number af hßøric buildings, in andout of Pitæburgh, with property rights and, thefreeuercße of religion aïnng the most prominentxsues.

Thß seems a good timefor the PittsburghHßøry & Inndmarlts Foundation to uo.mine and,

state its own principles and, beliefs with regard øp res eru atio n ad,u o c acy,

Whom Landmarks ServesPeople react to their physical environments withvarying amounts of appreciation and concern.Landmarks exists for those who feel genuinely athome in a community of Allegheny County, and forwhom the appearance ofa house, a street, an openarea, a public building, a prominent engineering work,any or all, calls up a strong impression of beauty orpower, or evokes a fond sense of familiarity.Landmarks is interested in the elements that create theconceptually evasive thing called the character ofacommunity; in its architectural and scenic beauty; andin whatever gives a perspective back into its pasthistory.

Sh,adysidc ftom Squirel HilI, 1910(?). Rodef Sh.alnm remaitæto møirnain thn continuity.

Standards such as those expressed by the NationalRegister or historic-preservation ordinances tend todistort the real reasons for preservation. Surely we donot preserve a building or district for the academicreasons most commonly given, for the benef,rt ofhistorians - even architectural historians - and itwould be shaming if we did so primarily for tourism.We should be preserving things for zzs.

HistoryHistory is casually assumed to consist of 1) what hap-pened in the past, or 2) the study ofwhat happened.Until recently we at Landmarks were primarily con-cerned with places built or planned 50 years ago ormore, reacting to modern buildings, planning, anddevelopment that threatened our area's character andthe visible traces of its past. We are coming to a newsense ofhistory, however, as a continuum ofpast andfuture. We can imagine the history of a community asa cable, formed of strands of varying length, tough-ness, and prominence: each individual strand endingsomewhere along the way, every section of the cableunique, yet the cable a unity from end to end. Apreservationist, using this analogy, is one who tries toassure that the cable is not rotted or hacked at, whotries to assure that the essential quality and culture ofhis community remain, whatever changes occur.

For this reason, we feel that Landmarks should applycritical methods to proposed new bulldings and develop-ment, accepting the simple fact of change that comeswith them, but using our best judgment and effort toguide the change. V/e hope to cornment in print, as earlyas possible, on conspicuous upcoming projects, andadvise on their design where the historic character of acommunity or neighborhood is involved.

Continued on page 12

Page 2 PHI,F News February 1992

ffiNEWS

Welnom,e Neuu MembercThe Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation welcomes thefollowing new members, who recently joined Landmarks. We lookforward to their participation in our work and special events.

Thank yoü, TrusteesThe Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation thanks the following trustees

ofour organization who generously contributed to our year-end appeal.

Ms. Stella C. CafaroMs. Colleen C. DerdaRobert M. DunkerlyTom GuerrieriRay HaradinWilliam H. HennemanMs. Janey JonesMs. Julia MacleodMs. Mary Malli

Corporaæ Mernbers

The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation welcomesthe following Corporate Members.

Chubb Group of Insurance CompaniesCopperweld CorporationJohnson & HigginsPittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad CompanyStuchell & Haabestad

Malte Your Cift Count Tt'uice!You may be able to double the value of your membership oryear-end contribution to Landmarks if you or your spouse are

employed by one of the many area companies that generouslymatch employee contributions to non-profit institutions. Checkwith your employer to secure the appropriate forms; then, submitthese forms to Landmarks with your contribution. We will com-plete our section of the forms and forward them according toyour company's instructions.

We thank the following companies which matched employee

contributions to Landmarks in l99l:

American Express Mellon BankChevron Corporation PPG IndustriesConsolidated Natural Gas Co. Sony CorporationExxon Tandy CorporationFederal Express TRW

Miles McGollKevin MurphyMs. Mary R. PerryRobert SchulerMs. Alice ShapiroMs. Elizabeth A. StangMr. & Mrs. James M. StarkMs. Dina Vargo

United Parcel ServiceUSAirWestinghouse Electric

Charles C. ArensbergRoger D. BeckMark Stephen BibroMrs. Kenneth S. BoeselDonald C. BurnhamC. Dana ChalfantMrs. James H. ChildsMrs. Robert Dickey IIIRichard D. EdwardsMrs. Sarah EvosevichMrs. James A. FisherCharles E. HalfPhilip B. HallenMrs. Henry P. Hoffstot, Jr.James W. Knox

Chester LeMaistreEdward J. LewisGrant McCargoDeCourcy E. MclntoshMrs. Evelyn B. PearsonMrs. Nathan W. PearsonDaniel M. RooneyMrs. Richard SchollaertMrs. Steven J. SmithG. Whitney SnyderWilliam E. StricklandMrs. Robert WardropJames L. WinokurMrs. Alan E. WohleberArthur P. Ziegler, Jr.

Education News: Løndmark Survívors'lhe Landmark Survívorsvideo, a recent project ofoureducation department, isbeing distributed to areaschools. The 4O-minute video,intended for high school andadult audiences, highlightsthe life stories of seven surviv-ing Pittsburgh landmarks: theAllegheny County Court-house and Jail, Fort PittBlockhouse, Smithfield StreetBridge, Clayton, KennywoodPark, Fort Pitt Boulevard,and Station Square. Thevideo can be purchasedthrough Landmarks and isalso available on loan to schools Th.e Noah's Arlt at I{entqwood Parlq 1940s.

Gulf & Western IndustriesH.J. Fleinz CompanyMay Stores

through the Film Distribution Libraryof the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

In addition, the video has been pur-chased by historic preservation organi-zations across the country. The videoserves as a model for communitiesinterested in educating their school chil-dren about local history and historicpreservation efforts. Forty-two schoolsand historical organizations have pur-chased copies of Landmark Survivors.

Lqndmark Survivors was fundedthrough a grarú from the Henry C.Frick Educational Commission andcreated by the Pittsburgh History &Landmarks Foundation, in cooperationwith students in the Advanced Produc-tion Class at Fox Chapel Area HighSchool.

Pfrts,br¡rgh Hietory & I,andmarke Fìu¡ndation

GOAL SGreaterI To preservc the historic architectural fabric of

Pittsburgh¡ individual buildingso neighborhoodso historic commercial areaso parks and public sculpture

I To preserve maior artifacts that contributed to the industrialdevelopment of the regiono the Riverwalk of lndustrial Artifacts at Station Square. the Transportation Museumo the Steel Heritage Task Force

I To preserve major engineering monurnents

I To educate the public about the history architecture'and culture of the regiono educational programs for students, teachers, and familieso publications. tours, lectures, videos, and exhibits

i To contribute to the new economy of Greater Pittsburgh bydeveloping tourism based on our architectural, engineering,and industrial history, and on the development ofour historicriverfronts

I To continue a well-managed, soundly-financed membershiporganization to implement these goals on a long-range basis

PHLF News is published six limes each year.t'or the members of the Pittsburgh

History & Landmarks Foundalion. It is supported through membership dollars,

proteeds from Statíon Square, and advertising revenue.

ArthurP Ziegler,Jr. ....PresidentLouise Sturgess . . .Editor/Executive DirectorDiane C. DeNardo . . . . .. . .Director of Education & MarketingMary Lu Denny . . . . Director of Membetship Services

EricF. Dickerson...... ..AdvertisingSalesManagerWalter C. Kidney . . . ArchÌtectural HistorianStanley A. Lowe . . .Director ofthe Presetvation Fund

AlbertM.Tannler .. ...ArchivistGregPytlik ... -Designer

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available. Call Stacy at Shadyside Inn,(412\ 44t-4444

CTAYToNThe Henry Clay Frick Estate

visit The FrickArt Museum, carriage Museum, Greenhouse and Museum Shop

Tuesday - Saturday l0:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m., Sunday l2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p'm'

Guided tours of the house are avail¿ble by reservation.

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/vlork your colendars now, so you con allend the tours, leclures, educotíonal programs, conferences, ondspecíal events plonned for the members and friends of the Pittsburgh History & Londmorks Foundotion.Coll lv1ory Lu Denny at (412) 471-5808 for further ínformation.

Thurs., March 5, Lecture: 6:30-8:30 p.m.Sat., March 7, Tour: 9 a.m. to 12 Noon

Exploring lhe lnteriorArrhitecture of Pitsburgh'sDowntown londmorksOffered through Pitt's Informal Program,this illustrated lecture and walking tour willfeature the most interesting interior architec-ture of downtown Pittsburgh: including,Richardson's grand stair at the AlleghenyCounty Courthouse; the newly restored ArtDeco lobby of the Koppers Building; andthe multi-dimensional use of aluminum atAlcoa's headquarters. Call Pitt's InformalProgram at648-2560 to register.

Tues., April 21, 8 p.m.

Distinquished Lecture &AworJs of MeritJames van Sweden, whose hrm is the land-scape architect for Station Square's newRiver Plaza and Riverwalk of IndustrialArtifacts, will address us on his hrm'saccomplishments nationwide, and its plansfor us. Oehme, van Sweden Associates,located in Washington, D.C., is noted fornaturalistic gardens with different beautiesthe year around. Landmarks will also recog-nize individuals and organizations who havelurthered the cause ol historic preservationin its annual 'Award of Merit" program.

Free to Landmarks members,52 for non-members

Sat., April 25, May 2,9, 16, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Exploring Your NeighborhoodThis two-credit teacher in-service course isoffered by Landmarks through the Alle-gheny Intermediate Unit (AIU). Teacherswill learn how to use their school's neigh-borhood as a "classroom." Teachers will beintroduced to research techniques using ar-tifacts, architecture, historic photographs,newspapers, city directories, interviews, andthe landscape itself to investigate the historyof their local community. Call the AIU at394-5761 to register.

Ikd., April 29, 6 to I p.m.

Mt. Lebonon Wqlking TourArchitectural historian Elaine Wertheim ofMt. Lebanon and Landmarks'archivist AlTannler will guide us through the novelresidential development of Mission Hills,where neat houses of contrasting styles bor-der tree-shaded streets. Following the tour,the group can adjourn to a local restaurantfor a Dutch-treat dinner.

Tour fare: 52 for Landmarks members$5 for non-members and guests

Fri., May 15, Reception: 5:30 to I p.m.Sat., May 16, Conference: 8:30 a.m. to4:30 p.m.

Religious Properties ConferenceThis conference, held at Calvary UnitedMethodist Church and sponsored by theAllegheny Historic Preservation Society, theCity of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commis-sion, Preservation Pittsburgh, and Land-marks, will inform the public of religious-building preservation problems in the Pitts-burgh area; initiate a constructive dialogueamong preservationists, religious propertyowners, clergy and public officials; and offerpractical advice regarding religious propertyrestoration, maintenance, financing, andcommunity service.

Reception: $30 Patron; $50 BenefactorConference: $15 per person, including lunch

Sat., May 23, I0 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Antique Auto & Engine FestivqlThe Station Square TransportationMuseum's seventh annual festival featuresthe first public display of seven cars made inPittsburgh, and more than 100 antique andvintage automobiles, engines, motorcycles,bicycles, and toys. Come listen to thecaliope, and learn the secret of riding a bicy-cle from the 1890s.

Suggested admission donation: $2 foradults; children admitted for free

Sun., May 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Neville House Antiques ShowTwenty antique dealers from the tri-statearea will display and sell quality antique fur-niture, prints, china, glassware, jewelry, andfabrics. The historic Neville House of 1785

in Collier Township will be open for tours.

Suggested admission donation: $3, includinga house tour

Wed., June 3, 6 to 8 p.m.

Lqwrenceville Wolking TourThis pìcturesque old neighborhood, once atown, was developed by Stephen Foster'sfather. Its steep streets have attracted feweroutsiders than the South Side, but peopleare slowly discovering its beauties. ButlerStreet, at the base ofLawrenceville, is busyand commercial but a block or two away,the somewhat narrow residential streets arecalm and solid, and thoroughly Victorian.Members of the Lawrenceville HistoricalSociety will join Landmarks in leading thistour.

Tour fare: $2 for Landmarks members55 for non-members and guests

Thurs., June 4, Lecture: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.Sat., June 6, Tour: 9 a.m. to 12 Noon

The Ooklond Civic Cenler ondSchenley FormsOlfered through Pitt's Informal Program,this illustrated lecture and walking tour willintroduce participants to the City Beautifulmovement and the architecture of the Oak-land Civic District and Schenley Farms. Thetour will leature a variety of architecturalstyles in these Pittsburgh showcases. CallPitt's Inlormal Program at 648-2560 toregister.

Sun., June 7, 2 to 5 p.m.

Ihe Romontic londscope ofAllegheny CemeteryThis 300-acre sanctuary ol trees, lawns, andmonuments is a world of its own, a Vic-torian dream of peace. To explore it is one ofPittsburgh's great experiences. Wear yourwalking shoes and meet Jennie O'Donnell ofthe cemetery administration and WalterKidney of Landmarks at the Butler StreetGatehouse for a delightful afternoon strollover shaded hillsides.

Tour fare: $2 for Landmarks members$5 for non-members and guests

Summer (dates to be announced)

Honds-On History lnstituteThis three-credit teacher in-service courseoffered by Landmarks helps teachersdevelop the skills of a "detective" so theycan explore the local community with theirstudents and use the community as aresource for enriching traditional classroomcurricula. The institute combines lectures byPittsburgh scholars and educators, hands-onworkshops, and field trips in an excitingfive-day exploration. Call the AIU at394-5761 to register.

Summer (dates to be announced)

Pinsburgh HeritogeTeachers will spend eight summer daysexploring Pittsburgh's past through itsarchitecture in order to enrich their class-room curricula. They will attend workshops,participate in art activities, treasure hunts,incline and Gateway Clipper rides, and tourStation Square, the Mexican War Streets,the Golden Trianglg and the ethnicchurches of McKees Rocks. Pittsburgh Heri-tage is a three-credit teacher in-servicecourse offered by Landmarks. Call the AIUat 394-5761 to register.

Summer (dates to be announced)

Pifrsburgh Heritoge llIn response to teacher requests, Landmarksis introducing Pittsburgh Heritage II, afive-day, two-credit in-service. This course is forteachers who have completed PíttsburghHeritage. A study oflocal history throughthe built environment will be done on-site atthe following locations: Mt. Washington,Sewickley, the Strip District, Squirrel Hill,and Oakland. Call the AIU at 394-5161.

Iled., July 15, 6 to I p.m.

Troy HillWolking TourMary Wohleber, Landmarks trustee andnative of Troy Hill, will lead Landmarks'tour of this German neighborhood 200 feetup. The climax will be a tour of St. Anthony'sChapel, with its thousands of religious relicsFollowing the walking tour, the group is in-vited to the old Eberhardt & Ober Breweryat the foot of Troy Hill for a Dutch-treatdinner at the Allegheny Brewery & Pub.

Tour fare: $2 Landmarks members$5 non-members and guests

l4red., Sept. 30, 6 to I p.m.

DormontWolking TourAl Tannler of Landmarks will lead usthrough the streets of Dormont, especiallyalong West Liberty Avenue. This is theSouth Hills trolley suburb at its finest, stillflourishing after eight decades. We will endwith a Dutch-treat dinner.

Tour fare: 52 Landmarks members$5 non-members and guests

Fall 92 (dates to be announced)

Exploring Your CityTeachers gain a first-hand understanding ofPittsburgh's architectural and historicaldevelopment through a Downtown walkingtour, historical slide shows, and instructionin research techniques and architecturalstyles. This is a one-credit teacher in-servicecourse oflered by Landmarks. Call the AIUat 394-57 6l to register.

Fall 92 ( dates to be announced)

Exploring Pittsburgh'sArchitecturul TleosurcsArt Deco, Romanesque, Moderne . . Canyou classify your favorite building? Thisillustrated lecture and walking tour offers anintroduction to the architectural styles ofPittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.Walter Kidney and Diane DeNardo ofLandmarks will lead the walking tour, whichwill concentrate on the architecture ofFourth Avenue and Grant Street. Call Pitt'sInformal Program at648-2560 to register.

Wed., Oct. 14, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Thornburg Wolking TourPittsburgh's Shingle Style/Arts and Craftssuburb has been a wooded hillside place ofescape from the city for nearly a century.Landmarks'guides Walter Kidney and AlTannler will lead us through this spectacularwestern suburb in the Chartiers Valley.

Tour fare: $2 Landmarks members$5 non-members and guests

18, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Albert Gollqtin's Friendship HillThis bus tour to Friendship Hill, the 1789home of Albert Gallatin near Uniontown,will take us behind the scenes of the newly-completed restoration project with MarilynParis, superintendent of Friendship Hill.Tour fare: $15 Landmarks members

$25 non-members and guests

Thurs., Nov. 12, 5 to 8:30 p.m.

Antiques Show Prcview PortyFri., Sat., and Sun., Nov. 13, 14 & 15

Fri. & Sat.: ll a.m. to 9 p.m.Sun.: II a.m. to 6 p.m.

Fifteenrh Annuol Antiques ShowThirty-one prestigious antique dealers from14 states will display and sell quality lSth-and l9th-century furniture, paintings, prints,china, glassware, jewelry earpets, andfabrics in the grand ballroom ofthe StationSquare Sheraton.

Preview party: $37.50 per personSuggested admission donation: $4 per person

Sat., Dec.5, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Holidoy Bus Tour to BrcokvilleCelebrate the holidays by joining us on a

bus tour to the Brookville Victorian Christ-mas Celebration in Jefferson County. Wewill tour the Main Street Project, an award-winning national model for successful

Tour fare: to be announced

I\EU/AT THE

CORNERSTOI\EThe Book and Gift Shop of the

Pittsburgh History & LandmarksFor¡ndation

Members receive a IOo/o discount.

AutographsAutographs are the new, hot collectibles

- at least according to recent featurearticles in Newsweek and Connoisseurmagazines. The Cornerstone has recent-ly acquired at auction a very unusualand valuable collection of autographs.Among the items we are offering forsale: a deed signed by FrederickDouglass; autographed photos of SatchelPaige, Ira Gershwin, Conrad Hilton,and, ofspecial interest to Pittsburghers,Rachel Carson. Also at The Cornerstoneare four mint-condition Nixon Theaterprograms from the late '30s and early40s: two autographed by KatharineHepburn (both l93Z one signed in pen-cil, one in ink); one autographed byHelen Hayes (1937); and one auto-graphed by Irving Berlin (1942). Pricesrange from $15.00 to $350.00.

Pitæburgh Videos1991 was the year for Pittsburgh videos.The best of these are WQED produc-tions, at f,rrst broadcast on televisionthen later released on VHS video. Wecarry all of the WQED videos at TheCornerstone. A recent addition to theWQED roster is the 3O-minute docu-mentary House on the Waterfall, the sto-ry of the creation of Frank LloydWright's Fallingwater ($19.95). Alsonew, from an independent producer, is avideo entitled West View Park; Redß-cover the Excitement ($21.95). This well-documented, engaging account willprove invaluable to those interested inreliving the glory days of one of Pitts-burgh's amusement parks.

Mr¡sical RecordingsThe Cornerstone is happy toannounce that it will be carrying themusical recordings of one of Pitts-burgh's most creative musical ensem-bles, the Dear Friends. Associated withthe Stephen Foster Memorial, thisgroup recreates and performs l9th-century popular vocal music. Their fourtitles, available on cassette tape ($10.98each), include: Dear Friends and GentleH e ar t s, an enthusiastically-performedcollection of Stephen Foster melodies;The Blues and the Grays, a collection ofCivil War tunes; ,Sweel Emerald Isle, acollection of Irish melodies; andChristmas in the Parlour, a collection ofVictorian Christmas music.

The CornerstoneThe Shops at Station SquareBalcony Iævel (412) 765-1042

Tgn SocIETY FoR

THE PRESERVATION OF

DUoUE$rft ilrclil{tDedicated to the preservation ofthatwhich cannot be replaced

For a membershipplease phone 381-1665TT

Page 4 PHI,F News February 1992

Rpuclous PnopEnrrEs: CnN THEy Br S¡n¡ED?

Ï.r. is usuatty a place of worshipwithin sight in any long-settled commu-nity, a punctuation to the street scene,breaking up the uniform accumulationsof houses and stores, creating drama ona skyline or on a river plain seen fromabove. Such consecrated buildings arequite often ofno great architecturalimport. Yet they are extensions of homefor the faithful who go there, and placesof unthreatening if not fully-knownritual for their neighbors. And some-times, of course, they are works of finearchitecture, ofconcern to anyone whocares about the beauty ofthecommunity.

Neither the beauty nor the historiccharacter ofSt. Peter's EpiscopalChurch in Oakland was enough to saveit two years ago. The parish was tiny,discouraged, and without resources, theDiocese had other and pressing uses forthe money that might have given it alonger existence, and developers weremaking offers for the site. What hap-pened to St. Peter's could happen to anumber of other architecturally valua-ble religious buildings. Devoid of thesizeable congregations they were builtfor, religious buildings lack meaningexcept as works ofthe architect's artcast in a religious format. They mayalso be struggling with physical deterio-ration and endowments inadequate formaintenance, Iet alone restoration.

How to treat them? Consolidate con-gregations in one surviving edifice -the best architecturally, we may hope?Recruit new members? Adapt the build-ings fully or partly to community, com-mercial, or residential use? Despair andlet the buildings go?

Not the last, we hope. And as instru-ments ofsuch a hope, several organiza-tions have come into being in the lastfew years. They include, for instance,Partners for Sacred Places in Philadel-phia and Inspired Partnerships inChicago. The Philadelphia HistoricPreservation Corporation's HistoricReligious Properties Program publishesInspired, a quarterly ofadvice andexamples, and Historic Boston Incorpo-rated published Religious Proper tiesPreservation: A Boston Casebook, thatincludes 29 religious buildings whosefutures are secured or hopeful.

Rnucrous PRopEnrrnsCoNFERENCE

Preserving religious properties is acritical issue nationwide. On May 1Çthe Allegheny Historic PreservationSociety (AHPS), Historic Review Com-mission, Preservation Pittsburgh, andPittsburgh History & Landmarks Foun-dation are sponsoring a conference tofocus local attention on this criticalissue. The conference will be held atCalvary United Methodist Church,Allegheny and Beech Avenues, inAllegheny Vy'est on the North Side.There will also be an opening receptionon Friday evening, May 15, in thehandsomely-restored Victorian home ofBen and Joedda Sampson at 939Western Avenue.

The purpose of the conference is toinform the public of religious-buildingpreservation problems in the Pittsburgharea; initiate a constructive dialogueamong preservationists, religious prop-erty building owners, clergy, and publicofficials; and offer practical adviceregarding religious property restoration,maintenance, f,rnancing, and communityservice.

Adam Schneider from Partners forSacred Places in Philadelphia and a lo-cal architect will address the issues ofmaintaining a religious property;implementing a restoratiorlmain-tenance prograrg; budgeting; and

becoming an integral part of the com-munity.

Knowledgeable and experiencedspeakers will address such questions as:How do you raise restoration or preser-vation money from non-members of acongregation, or from foundation andgovernmental sources that ordinarily donot give to religious groups? Is it feasi-ble to raise a maintenance, as opposedto a restoration fund? Can a majorrestoration/preservation fund be createdthat would be available for any worthyreligious building? How can we deviseeffective adaptive uses for properties nolonger in religious use?

To conclude the conference, SusanBrandt, executive director of the AHPS,will moderate a discussion withrepresentatives from Pittsburgh-areachurches and synagogues who have hadexperience in, or are in the midst of,preserving religious properties.

The Friday evening reception andSaturday conference are open to anyoneinterested in preserving religiousproperties. Admissions to the receptionare $30 (patron) and $50 (benefactor).The Saturday registration fee is $15 perperson and includes lunch. For furtherinformation, call Mary Lu Denny atLandmarks (412) 471-5808.

Carv¿.Ry UNrTEDMETHODIST CHURCH

The host church for the religiousproperties conference is Calvary lJnitedMethodist on Pittsburgh's North Side.It is a religious building of historicaland architectural significance, facing ahost of restoration and preservationproblems today. It is a literally out-standing work of architecture, with agreat dark spire visible for miles, and itsFrench Gothic design is handsomelyand elaborately ornamented. The inter-ior ofthe church as first decorated wasa national treasure, one ofthe few in-teriors planned as an integrated wholeby Louis Comfort Tiffany. Tiffany hasbeen hailed as our first industrialdesigner, and as the best practitioner ofthe Art Nouveau period. The youngman was at the peak of his career whenPittsburghers Charles Scaife, JosephHorne, and Charles Shea commissionedhim for the interior of the new churchplanned at the corner of Allegheny andBeech Avenues in what was then stillAllegheny City. Tiffany and Associateshad just decorated the White House forthe sophisticated bachelor in residenceChester Arthur; the home of MarkTwain, the most famous author of thetime; and countless New York institu-tions and homes. He was one of Ameri-ca's first artists to be lauded in Paris.

Money was no problem in the early1890s; it was a time of exuberant displayofwealth and success. A young ar-chitect from Sewickley, Thomas B.Wolfe (1860-1923), was sent to Europeto study the great cathedrals. Hereturned to design Calvary UnitedMethodist Church as a Gothic churchwith mix-matched spires and leeringgargoyles. The young scion ofthe houseof Tiffany on Fifth Avenue had alsostudied abroad. It was his expressedgoal to bring the beauty of the old artforms to the people using the new tech-niques of the industúal age.

Tiffany made the glass for his win-dows in his own factory, constantlyexperimenting for new effects. Thedrapery folds of the clothing of thefìgures in the Calvary windows aremade with draped glass which was thencut to fit the designs. The shadow linesare in the glass itself. Chunks of glassare used to simulate jewels, and theroses at the feet of the women in thewindow glow with a rare radiance.

It is likely that a young associatedesigned the figures of the windowsbecause they are especially well drawnand Tiffany himself was not adept atdrawing the human form. The Romansoldiers are young and strong, not over-ly sentimental as too often was the casein this period.

The large window at the back of thechoir loft is the most spectacular, andshould be viewed as the afternoon sunshines through. The crowns of theelders gleam L1ke 24-carut gold and thewhole window shimmers with a specialgolden light. It is almost an etherealexperience, and its title the'Apoca-lypse" is made very real.

The original interior must have beenbreathtaking. The glorious woodwork,brass, and glass shone against wallspainted green with gold medallions andred stone colonettes. An enormousbrass chandelier hung from the ceilingjust before the altar. Tufted velvetcushions ofpale lilac and green coveredthe benches. A photograph gives aglimpse of the sanctuary as it once ap-peared.

p

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a

Onc of Calaary's great Tíffany utind,ows

Th¿ last da,ys of St. Petcr's

February 1992 PHLF Nats Page 5

Thc ela.boraæ Gothfufront of Cah:øry Unitcd, Method.ßt Church

Th.e intcrior of Calaary whennew

Tragically, the worst damage to thechurch was in 1941, at the height of itsaffluence when the membership totaledover 700. Tiffany's brilliant but subtlecolor scheme was dealt a heavy blow bythe congregation during World War IIwhen, in a burst of patriotic enthusiasmparishioners literally knocked out themiddle tier of amber colored windowsand replaced them with garish red,white, and blue glass windows. Theglorious chandelier was melted downfor the war effort. Furthermore, age be-gan to catch up with the church, even asits congregation diminished to a frac-tion of its former size. The sandstonecarving began to crumble, the fancyroof arrangement began to leak, andthe large Tiffany windows, glass held inthin cames of lead, to buckle.

Efforts to save the church, a citylandmark as much as the oversizedhome of a small congregation, have ledto the formation of the AlleghenyHistoric Preservation Society. SusanBrandt, a trustee of Landmarks, is lead-ing the campaign to restore the churchand secure its future, together with twoprestigious Methodist ministers, Rever-end Robert Richards and Dr. DavidHarris. There is a sense of plan and pur-pose to the action at Calvary. Theministry publishes a charming newslet-

teq and Susan Brandt has conducted afeasibility study to plan new uses for thecommunity treasure. The chapel behindthe sanctuary is equally beautiful andwould lend itself well to concerts andreceptions. It is Susan's hope that thechurch can be restored to its originalsplendor.

Landmarks thanks Professor Alice Grellerof the Community College of AlleghenyCounty for contributing to the article onCalvary United Methodist Church. AliceGreller also is a trustee ofthe PittsburghHistory & Landmarks Foundation.

A converted churchserving award-winning cuisine.

Reservations call 682-1879

CATHOLIC CHURCH RnoRcRNTzAf,IoN

Late in the fall of 1991., the PittsburghCatholic Diocese announced that,because of problems affecting someparishes, the number of parishes and"worship sitel' would be reduced insome long-settled communities, prob-ably with some closings. Among thechurches that could be affected are:

Holy Rosøry, Homnoood. This is achurch of 1928 by Ralph Adams Cram,a la¡ge and elegant example of his loveaffair with Spanish Gothic thoughother national elements appear aswell. The limestone exterior has veryfancy cawing in places while theinterior is severe and simple, depen-dent on good proportion and colorfulstained glass.

St. Anthony, Homesteød. Here is a lit-tle gem of a church by Lamont Buttor¡built in the early 1940s and just a littletoo new for Landmarks' official cog-nizance in the past. It looks a littlesuburban for Homestead, but it showshow effective a simpledesþ can be ifproportions and materials are justright

St. Mnry Magdalme, Homestead.Therefining hand of Lamont Buttonpassed over this Fred Sauer work aftera disastrous fire in the 1930s. The frontdoorways of sandstone are Sauey's, butalmost all the other detailing and thewhole interior, are by Button. The redbrick and terra cotta of the 1"930s aregolgeous in color and vivid in contrastwith the original yellowbrick.

St. Adølbert, South Side. This is yourbasic big Romanesque church of.1889,more robust than many and dramati-cally sited, looming ovär Mary Streetabove two intervening blocks ofhousetops.

St. Casimir South Side, The gravelyClassical church at 21st and SarahStreets is one of the most conspicuousof the South Side.

St. Michael Archangel, South Side.TheL86L church built for the PassionistFathers was desþedby Charles Bart-beqger. It stands halfway up the Slopeson Pius Street, not only a handsomework in the Mid-Victorian, pre-Richardsonian, Romanesque but thecenter of a remarkably picturesquegroup of Victorian religious buildings.

St. losøphøt, South Side. ]ohn T.Comel work of 1916is also haJfwayup the Slopes, about a half-mile east ofSt. Michael. It is a slightþ strange butbeautiful church, with a massiveconcrete Romanesque porch fronting atower and aisles of red brick withcream-colored surface patternings thatremove almost any feeling of mass.Above all this is a Baroque-lookingtower roof of fine shape andproportion.

Nothing will be decided about theseand the churches of some 60 otherparishes of the Diocese for somemonthg but there is a chance thatsome notable works of local architec-ture will be left without a pupose.

Holy Rosøry

St. Anthony

St. Mary Magdalene

St. Casimir

St. Michael Archangel

Page6 PHLFNans February 1992

PITTS B T] RGH ARCHITECTT]RE:Walter C. Kitlr"y

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Wt: In 1936, Fred. S. Beckerthoughtwell ercu6h of hßneu Mount Lebannn hometo get it prínted, on a post-card. Such ø freesutnd,ingcusnm- de signe d haus e, andthe life u:ithin that iæ OldWorld style implied, foatse dthe actiaities of many;attaining and kceping suchø hnme was the supreûrcgoal. The briclt and half-timbering are probøbly bothueneers on hollow tile orb ølloon framírg, * illworyas the Merri.e Englßh loolt.In the Depression years, thehnuse's air of assured

prosperíty may haue seemedillusory íæelf.

appiness is not subject tocontrivance, yet certain places seem toanticipate that the experiences withinthem will be extraordinarily superiorones, that life as lived there will havean integrity and certainty not foundelsewhere. Elsewhere the laughter isnervous, the grace under pressure isthreadbare,life is an accumulation offragments, meaningless. But these fewgood places invite your best thoughts.In the home you furnished with in-spired improvisation you can be your-self, and there is a special resonancebetween you and all that you see. Insome public places, a concert, aspeech, a ceremony, or the mere factof being there can create a feeling ofcommunity with others; the place andthe occasion have a classic quality,harmonious and solid, the basis ofgood, shared memories.

Residence of Fred S. Becker, Beverly Heights, Mt. Lebanon,

Rþht: "þndhu¡st" stood atthe northernend of Beechwood Bouleuard until about1940. Harry Thaus's boyhood hame uas agloomy-Iooltíng edifice as ori6írwlly con-strttcted' but in the time of thn banlærErníl Winær, remodeling and landscapinggøue it cL nl,ore graciotn and hedonßtintane. Such contriued, parad,ßes looked asif thq might la,stforeuer, but afewdecades sau¡ the uthole sparæ of æisænce

þr most of them.

The South Hills Counny Club, inVhiæhall, mþhtøl¡nost be a hnrnefor one of iæ mernbers, uith only thcnll bals of a public room to imply anything else. AJohn O'Hara mþhtfi.nd. disconænt and cracked. socialoeneer in wch a place, but the archiæct ønd the buil.d-ing comrnittce antk:ipated, qui.et, happ dars and euen-ings, the matter of rcsnþía to conrc.

February 1992 PHLFNews Page7

C,ood, Plnces

*r¡-läk;:

Th.e neu: d.ining room of McCreery's depørtrnent store

appeu,red. thß møy around, f908. Here usas paradße at a

price, a place to relax and' be pampered, and' uas enioyed

os suchfor three decades. Then sotneone thougþt to gla'mor-

ize thc room with parrots tha't ha,ppened ø be cørrying

psítta.cosis. The resulting d'eaths closed the dininq room and'

the store.

The Oa,klønd Ciaic Cenær can be seen in ntso d,ffirent uøys. Publin clccess aarles

from buildirry ø build.ing, and only a certa,infeu) can enjoy some of thc sta,tely inær-

iors a,nd, th.e actitsities they accommodaæ. On the other hønd., the ør.æriorc of th'e

build.ínçs are therefor public enjoyment, uhether seen índ.íaidtnlly or as htrtnoni-

ouß groups around. three greatløu:rx. Anyone can Uthe pleasure ín the oaried yet

unified eræemble, ønd' priÅe in th'e community that has creaæd such a dßplay'

625ALLEGHENYcouNTY:ol?l¿Isiltosrtr-9ns1M:MoRlALiscHENLiYDrsrRlcr'PrrrsluRcH'PÀ'

Thß liaety scenc a.t tlæ entrarr,ce n the Hþhlnnd, Pa.rlt Zoo døæs ftom a'round 1900.

If one canigwre thefeelings of the ønirnals ønd shrug offthe pløcing of the 7no øgenera,te streetcar trøffin, one sees this as a hap¡ry pløce, a pløceforfømily outin'6s,

d,emocratic ønd wid.ely accessible.

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Page 8 PHLF Nens February 1992

Preservation Scene

PCRG Summary, and ItsThanks to LandmarksThe Pittsburgh Community ReinvestmentGroup (PCRG) has just published Summaryof Neighborhood Lending in the City oJ PÌtts-burgh, an analysis oflending by Integra,Dollaq Mellon, and Pittsburgh NationalBanks in 1900. The text begins with generalbackground and history ol the PCRG, thencites the means used in the analyses that fol-low, which are made by lending institution,geographical area, race and income, andamounts lent and numbers of loans madeper area. Appendices give names, addresses,and telephone numbers lor PCRG membergroups, and the PCRG and lending-institution memberships of a number ofcommunity-development advisory commit-tees. Persons interested in the Summaryshould ask their neighborhood organizations.

In December, the 26 neighborhood organ-izations olthe Pittsburgh Community Rein-vestment Group wrote Landmarks a letterof thanks lor administering the IntegraBankÆCRG/Landmarks loan program,which has leveraged over $425 million inneighborhood reinvestment. -[he Summaryof Neighborhood Lending, the letteracknowledges, also was funded by Land-marks. The letter was signed by representa-tives olAllegheny West Civìc CouncilBloomheld-Garfi eld CorporationBreachmenders, Inc.Calbride Place Citizens CouncilCentral Northside Neighborhood CouncilCharles Street Area CouncilEast Allegheny Community CouncilEast Liberty Development, Inc.Eastside AllianceFineview Citizens CouncilFriendship Development AssociatesGarheld Jubilee AssociationHill Community Development CorporationHill District Ministries, Inc.Homewood-Brushton Revitalization and

Development CorporationLawrenceville Citizens CouncilLincoln-Lemington-Larimer-Belmar

Citizens Revitalization and DevelopmentCorporation

Manchester Citizens CorporationNorthside Civic Development CouncilNorthside ConferenceNorthside Tenants ReorganizationObservatory HillOakland Planning and Development

CorporationSouth Side Local Development CompanySpring Garden Neighborhood CouncilTroy Hill Citizens, Inc.

L.A. PreserYationist Impressedloe Ryan of West Adams Heritage Associationin Los AngeLes toured, Pittsburgh in Nouember1991 with Stanley Inwe, d,irector of lnnd,-marlts' Preseruation Fund. Mr Ryan came toPíttsburgh afier hearing Stanley Inwe's lectureat the NationaL Tíust Conference on the impactof land,marlæ' Preseruation Fund, and, the Pitts-burgh Comrnunity Reinaestn'Lent Group. Afierhiß Pittsburgh nu6 Mr Ryan wrote thefolLow-ing Letter ø a colLeague in Miami:

We met at the National Trust Conference inSan Francisco at the semìnar "Real Estate isthe Name of the Game." We both followedspeaker Stanley Lowe into the hall to askquestions. As I'm sure you will recall, hesaid that he couldn't really explain the wholePittsburgh process to us but that we shouldcome out to Pittsburgh to see the process inoperation.

Well, I took him up on his offer and havejust returned from four days with Stanley,and it is absolutely true - you can't believewhat is going on in Pittsburgh!

I sat in on four meetings with four differ-ent bank presidents and appropriate vicepresidents, each committing hundreds of mil-lions of dollars to Pittsburgh neighborhoodstargeted by Stanley and his coalition ofneighborhood groups. The level ofexpertiseand business acumen that each of the neigh-borhood groups possess is unlike anythingthat I have seen to date, truly inspirational.

Individual preservation, building bybuilding, is not going to be enough. We arelosing our neighborhoods a little every day,and the pace is speeding up. At best we canhope to create a few historic districts, buteven these are not safe from political whimand the pressure from development. Unlesswe take a proactive role now, in 25 years wewill have lost a major portion of our historicstock. Los Angeles, not unlike Miami, isunder tremendous pressure to provideaffordable housing to the rapidly expandingHispanic population. Why not turn thisproblem into a process that not onlyaddresses the situation but also providesstewardship of our neighborhoods and theirlandmarks?

Stanley is doing just that, it is extraordi-nary. I highly recommend that you contacthim: (412) 322-6053, or (412) 471-5808.

Prexy-PresbyLandmarks' president, Arthur Ziegler, willserve as a member of Presbyterian Univer-sity Health System's Architectural ReviewCommittee, advising on the form of futuredevelopment.

Preservation PittsburghThis organization ol preservationist organi-zations and individuals emerged at the endof last summer lrom the Committee to Savethe Syria Mosque. It is to serve South-western Pennsylvania's preservationists as anadvocate and as a coordinator ofactionsand information in ways that are beyond thepowers of any existing group. It hopes tolearn early of threats to preservation and toreact quickly when necessary, but also tourge creation of inventories of historic build-ings, structures and geographical features inSouthwestern Pennsylvania whose preserva-tion is of major importance. Landmarks is amember. For information: 681-991 3.

History Center Building PurchasedIn mid-December, 1991, the HistoricalSociety of Western Pennsylvania announcedthe purchase of the old Chatauqua Lake Ice(or Adelman Lumber) Company building inthe Strip District. The handsome 1900-period brick building will give 160,000square feet of accommodation for the Pitts-burgh Regional History Center. 53.1 millionwas paid for the property, with help fromthe County and the City of Pittsburgh. Anarchitect was to be chosen around the end ofJanuary, though some Historical Societystaff are already in the building. Completeconversion and occupancy are expected inabout three years.

Pitt s bur gh A rchite cfure :A Gaide to ResearchThis 24-page booklet is a concentrated guideto resources valuable in researching thearchitectural history of this area. Not onlyare libraries and other archives listed withtheir kinds of holdings, but so are surveys,periodicals, articles, and books of majorimportance. The booklet concludes with alist of the principal collections of Architec-ture Archives, the publisher. The bookletcan be ordered for $5.00 shipping included,from: Architecture Archives, UniversityLibraries, Carnegie-Mellon University, FrewStreet, Pittsburgh, PA. 15213-3890;or from Landmarks'Cornerstone shop inThe Shops at Station Square (412)765-1042.

Heritage TrailIt started as a dream of North Side StateRepresentative Tom Murphy: to convert themiles of Pittsburgh's riverfront property intoa continuous nature/heritage trail. Access tothe rivers, formerly commanded by indus-trial plants and railways for over 100 years,is now being transformed into more thanjust a dream. The Three Rivers HeritageTrail, a proposed ll.5-mile walking/running/biking trail, will become a reality within thenext four years.

Friends of the Riverfront, a grass-rootsorganization formed out of Tom Murphy'sgrand design in the summer of 1990 includesthe Sierra Club, The Carnegie, the Univer-sity of Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Rowing As-sociation, Pittsburgh Wheelmen cyclingclub, the Pittsburgh History & LandmarksFoundation. and other communily groupsalong the riverfronts. Its goal is to work withvarious community groups, private land-owners, and large corporations, as well aswith city and county governments, to makethe Heritage Trail possible. The proposedtrail will extend from Herr's Island(Washington's Landing) on the AlleghenyRiver, past Three Rivers Stadium, across theWest End Bridge, through Station Square, toSandcastle Waterpark in West Homestead.

Currently, Station Square is the headquar-ters for Friends of the Riverfront. A mainofhce has been established in the ExpressHouse, adjacent to Bessemer Court, to pro-vide information about the trail. StationSquare's contribution to the Heritage Trailwill be its Riverwalk of Industrial Artifacts:huge artifacts and plaques describing histor-ic events and places at Station Square will bedisplayed along a mile-and-a-half riverwalk.

Finally, Pittsburgh will join other river-lront projects, such as those in Baltimore,Seattle, New York, and Cincinnati, whichhave boosted their image and become attrac-tive to tourists and residents alike.

Transportation MuseumImprovementsThe present Station Square TransportationMuseum is undergoing major improve-ments. The old Ritter's Diner is being remo-deled to serve as a new entrance withhandicapped access, as well as having spacefor transportation-related sales objects andfor model displays. The present museumspace is to receive a large new window facingwestward, toward the center lot. On occa-sion, an older vehicle will be displayed lorsale- Tbe space will receive new vehicles, andthe beacon from the Allegheny County Air-port, donated to Landmarks nearly a yearago, will be prominently mounted. Finally,at the rear facing the Monongahela River,one of the Skybuses that at one time seemedto be destined as Pittsburgh's rapid-transitmode into the South Hills will be stationed.Fully restored and seating 30, it will be anorientation center for the Riverwalk ofIndustrial Artifacts. There, films and videoswill be shown, as well as films and videosrelated to transportation. The skybus alsowill be available for rent as a meeting placefor outside groups.

Steel Industry Heritage Task ForceThe Steel Industry Heritage Task Force, ofwhich Landmarks was a co-founder in 198&continues its work. Recent meetings haveestablished four "visions," five priority mat-ters for action, and three levels ofaction.The visions are described thus:

o Vision l. America's Second Industrial Revo-lution Heritage Area - "Looking at OurHeritage."

¡ Vision 2. Three Rivers Steel Heritage Recre-ations Area -

"Looking at Our Resources."r Vision 3. Steel-on-Wheels -

"Looking atOur Communities."

. Vision 4. Regional Heritage EconomicDevelopment Program - "LookingForward."

The Task Force sees, as priority matters,doing the following:

¡ Act immediately to select, acquire, and stab!lize the three most important remnants ofindustrial history fabric in the region. Initi-ate planning eflort to determine public rolesfor conservation, management, and funding.

¡ Work toward conservation, development,and management of the Homestead/Carriesite as a Regional Industrial HeritageInterpretive Center with an emphasis on thesteel industry.

o Undertake oral histories; continue photo-graphic inventory and archiving ol extanthistoric cultural resources- -

o Authorize an entity for oversight of the Her-itage Area development within the region.

o Work toward implementing a "Living Steel"tour at the Edgar Thomson Works.

Three levels of action will be established.At Level 1, the interpretive centers will havehve visitor contact points in the GreaterPittsburgh area: Scottdale, Brownsville, theStrip District, New Kensington, and Ali-quippa. Thematic zones will be established,highlighting several different industries suchas coal, coke, steel, and iron. Transportationsystems will have to be developed (water andrailways, including historic rail stations) andexisting ones used more frequently (road-ways) to provide quick and efficient accessto the interpretive centers and other historicsites of interest. Scenic and recreationaltrails will provide continuous linkages withother heritage areas in Southwestern Penn-sylvania and beyond.

Level2 will give communities an opportu-nity to associate with the interpretivecenters. Living industry access will beencouraged so people can learn lrom active,living industries. Visitor interpretive pro-grams will be developed.

At Level 3, scenic, recreational, and cul-tural resources will be identihed, preserved,and used. Already, the Monongahela andYoughiogheny corridors have been identifiedas potential scenic areas, although theAllegheny River corridor should be includedas well. This plan will build upon existingresources and cultural celebrations andfestivals.

ROCKWAYCoNsrnuCTIoN INC.

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600 Greentree RoadPittsburgh, P A 1 5220-521 1

(412) 921-2722(412) 921-2299FAX (412) 921-0678

February 1992 PHLF Nals Page 9

Two Houses LostAt the end olNovember, 1991, suddenthreats to two historic area houses wererealized, despite neighborhood anger, accu-sations, and hastily-mounted attempts atrescue.

The Jones hntse, before and durirg demalitinn

In Edgeworth, the B.F. Jones III househad stood at 203 Creek Drive since 1929.ltwas a work of Brandon Smith, a fashionablearchitect ol large houses, designed in aGeorgian style whose two-story portico andcrowning balustrade gave it something of aSouthern leeling.

Snryder-Boclæøce harsg Mt. Lebannn

The Snyder-Bockstoce house in MountLebanon was much smaller, built around1835 and added to and remodeled since. Adeveloper had bought the original site ofthehouse, but the Municipality imposed thecondition that the house be moved toanother lot owned by the developer. Themove created structural damage, and thehouse stood in a forlorn condition when ademolition permit was issued November 25.

Homestead Centennial LaborCommittee1992 will be an important year for laborindustry in the Pittsburgh area. The Home-stead 1892 Centennial Labor Committee isplanning a three-day symposium in July,1992to commemorate the Homestead Strikeof 1892. The 1892 Committee, formed in thespring of 1989, is a collaborative effort bythe United Steelworkers of America, theSteel Industry Heritage Task Force, SteelValley Authority, and many othersorganized out of the need to honor andremember the triumphs and tribulations ofthe working women and men in the Pitts-burgh area.

The Symposium, "Reflections and Les-sons," is planned lor July t I and 7. It willeducate the public about the past and dis-cuss what people have learned from the 1892

strike, and the whole experience of mill workand life over the last l0 decades. It willinclude addresses by labor historians Dr.David Montgomery of Yale University;Professor David Brody of the University ofSouthern California; USWA President LynnWilliams; John Hoerr, atthor of And TheWolf FÌnally Came; and many other histor-ians and commentators from local universi-ties and organizations around the nation.

For more information, call RussellGibbons, secretary-treasurer and conferencecoordinato¡ at the Philip Murray Instituteof Labor Studies, (412) 237 -4554.

City TheatreThe lormer Bingham Street MethodistChurch reopened as the City Theatre inNovember, 1991, to praise from the press fora good adaptive use ol a historic building.L.P. Perfido Associates have been praisedlor their tactful juxtaposition of new andold, and for that matter the very location ofthe building, with regard to street safety,parking. and proximity of restaurants is con-sidered greatly superior to that ofthe oldtheatre in Oakland.

Modern ClassicsThe closing ol Le Petit Cafe, at Walnut andCopeland Streets, at the end of Novemberwas a sad occasion, among other thingsbecause of its clean and spacious design.There was very little about the place thatcould be called decorative, yet its simplicityhad a first-classness about it, a solidity andtaste that required no embellishment. It waspeculiarly refreshing to walk on a boardf7oor, not a carpet lor once, with a nice hrmfeel to it. The openness to the street and thecorridor, moderated by heavy steel sash,enclosed you, defined your space, yet gaveyou a big outlook on the usually-quiet worldjust beyond.

We remember the Cafe Stephen B olsomeyears ago, at Ellsworth Avenue and CollegeStreet. All the qualities mentioned abovewere present here as well - a simple, dis-criminating Modernism ol the sort thatHenry-Russell Hitchcock described asaristocratic, not puritanical

- though glassblock walls facing southward made for asunlit interior which distorted cars outsideso that they seemed to swim like exotic fish.Both restaurants affirmed, not so much thatless is more, but rather that a little that isexactly right may be enough.

At Petit Cafle's closing Lime. one reporthad it that a new restaurant was moving in,though the help was unaware ofany suchthing. There was some chance, at least, thatthis very handsome interior would notbe lost.

Count Your BlessingsResearch for a book on Henry Hornbosteltook Walter Kidney in the fall of 1991 toWilmington, Delaware. The Public Buildingthere, the Wilmington city hall and NewCastle County courthouse, is a joint work ofJohn Dockery Thompson, Jr. and Palmer,Hornbostel & Jones; the latter ofïice col-laborated on, and was probably the realdesigner of, our own City-County Building.

The exterior is a massive work in granitewith a Corinthian colonnade betweenpedimented twin entrances, with a fewdecorative flourishes of Hornbostelian verve.The inside is a shock. Two stair rotundascontain plaster-finished versions of theGuastavino tile stair found at Baker Hall,C.M.U., though with ornamental cast-ironbalusters; above the stair wells are narrowoval skylights ofleaded glass; and at thestairheads are doorframes ofcarved stone.Otherwise, every trace of the l9l4 interiorshas been eliminated, as if in a spirit ofhatred, for dead-white, absolutely undetailedand undecorated surfaces wìth narrow blacksteel frames for the openings. Any decora-tive painting in the stair rotundas has beenobliterated. The interior of this magnificentbuilding is nothing but a cheap remodelingjob ofperhaps 1970.

Furthermore, nightmarish too, there isone accessible entrance, controlled by aguard post and metal detectors, and thehalls are full of police. New Castle County isprepared for terrorism, if not outright revo-lution. The central city generally, apart fromthe Classical square on which the PublicBuilding faces, is the sort of urban renewalthat stimulated the founding oforganizations such as Landmarks.

African-American Historic Site Survey

Two oíews dm:n Wylie Aaenue at th.e conter of Crau:ford, Street in the HíII District: top, c.7945; aboue, c. 1960. This entire l¡nter HíIl Dßtrict was cleøred in thc late 1950s.þr apresti,ginus døselapment tha.t u¡r;ls neuer completed,, ahhaugh thc great d.omed Ciaic Arena(shown h.ere und.er constnntion) uas inføa cotætructed.

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r merican Blacks have held claim to aI rich and diverse history in the Pitts-

-ô. uurgtr area for ou., j00 years. YetAfro-American history is also one of themost neglected, forgotten, and ever-fadinghistories ofthis region. Recently, severalpublications and films ha',e focused onBlacks in Pittsburgh, with the 1990 PBStelevision special Wylie Avenue Days andnumerous articles, theses, and books in printon Black Pittsburgh.

But the story of the African-Americanexperience in Western Pennsylvania is farfrom complete. The Pittsburgh History &Landmarks Foundation is assisting Land-marks Design Associates, Architects (LDA)in a county-wide survey to identify sitesimportant to the development and functionof the Afro-American community. This sur-vey project grew out ofan LDA historicaVarchaeological review of the Crawford-Roberts project in the Lower Hill Districtfor the Urban Redevelopment Authority ofPittsburgh in the Spring of 1990.

Eliza Brown, director of marketing andresearch at LDA, is the director of the sur-vey project. She is being assisted by DanielHolland of Landmarks. Brown has assem-bled an advisory committee to guide thescope and implementation of the survey.Advisory committee members include Pitthistory professor Laurence Glasco; arch-aeologist Ronald Carlisle; Frank Bolden, aBlack Pittsburgh resident and former cityeditor ofthe old Pittsburgh Courier; andWalter Worthington, also a Hill Districtnative.

Currently, efforts are underway to estab-lish a historical context for the survey andorganrze community input and participationin the identification of hard-to-find loca-tions. The historical background has beensubdivided into ten themes to provide acontext for the site survey: Patterns ofSettle-ment and Housing; the Church as a Focusof Community Organrzatton, Power, andPride; Earning a Living: A History of Work;Slavery, Abolitionism, and the UndergroundRailroad; the Rise of Blacks as a Political

Power; Educational and Social Institutionsand Achievements; Sports, Recreation, andLeisure Activities; Cultural Achievements;Businesses; and Women. Each theme willhelp describe the various aspects ol Blackhistory in Allegheny County from 1760 tor960.

Since much Afro-American history is oraland unrecorded, Brown is conductìng inter-views in Black communities to draw uponthe memories of neighborhood residents inareas such as the Hill District, Homewood-Brushton, Manchester, Homestead, Rankin,and Carnegie. "We can't see things of im-portance the way the community can,"Brown points out. Four or five residents willbe selected in each neighborhood to helpidentify and justily signifìcant sites in theirrespective communities not discernedthrough pure archival research. Each inter-view will be recorded on video and audiotape, and will be catalogued as a special oralhistory collection at the Pittsburgh History& Landmarks Foundation.

Much Black history is fading fast. Manyof the residents are old, and their vivid andvaluable memories need to be captured assoon as possible. With large-scale develop-ment schemes continuing, such as the CivicArena construction and the Crawford-Roberts project, much of the Hill's historycontinues to disappear. Walter Worthingtonexplains that 43 different nationalities usedto be naturally integrated in the Lower Hill,an area now disrupted by demolish-and-rebuild projects. More importantly, manyBlacks were displaced unjustly from theirneighborhood, and many Black historiclandmarks were lost.

When completed in July, 1992, fheAfrican-American Historic Site Survey ofAllegheny County will form a basis for fur-ther in-depth studies, preservation projects,historic marker programs, and continueddocumentation of a rich Afro-American his-tory in the Pittsburgh area. We will continueto feature this survey project in subsequentissues of P-ÉIIF News-

Page l0 PHLF Nats February 1992

Pittsburgh: An IntroductionWa,her C. Kid*y

Thß hßørical portrait was writænþr ønbl,oid dßtribuæd by the InæmationalFestiaal Association to ußiøn. We feltthat it miglx be of irxerest ø the Pitts-burgh Hßtory & Innd,mørþ"s Found,ationm.embership as well.

Up to a point, any city can claim thatits geography creates part ofits destiny,but this is particularly true of this cityof rivers among hills: for the rivers arenavigable westward, and the hills con-tain coal. Because ofthe rivers, this areawas worth a fight between the Frenchand the British; when the British wonthe contest in 175& the village of Pitts-burgh was named and born. Soon, thecoal came to light, and the village grew.With the pacificatiou of the Indians inthe 1790s and the purchase ofthe Loui-siana Territory in 1803 from Napoleon,the rivers became the route to a new lifefor tens ofthousands ofsettlers.Because of the coal, Pittsburgh wasready to supply these emigrants withwindow glass, bottles, brassware, andironware as well as build the flatboats

- and after l8ll, steamboats - inwhich they traveled westward andsouthward.

ntil some 40 years ago, the his-tory of Pittsburgh was more technologi-cal than cultural or civic. Steam, smoke,and fire dominated the local conscious-ness, or rather it was dominated by theindustries these things so vividlyrepresented. Nature and industryentered into that long battle that saw, atfirst, hillsides stripped ofvegetation byfurnace fumes, and recently, the fur-naces themselves invaded by weeds andeven trees. Man settled close to work ifhe had to, away from the industrial riverplains if he could.

In time, there seemed to evolve twodistinct Pittsburghs. One was thatknown to the world, that of the riverplains: steam engines before 1810, roll-ing mills by 1820; Pittsburgh-based,coke-fired blast furnaces from 1859;

high-tonnage steel from 1875; petroleumfrom 1850; the various Westinghouseenterprises from 1870; aluminum from1888;commercial radio from 1920.

Industry taking hold, often originatinghere, finding new markets, breedinglesser industries to serve it, enrichingthe bankers.

In this Pittsburgh, you could go up ariver valley 20 miles and never be out ofsight of an industrial plant; one steelplant was 7 miles long. The simple earlyforges and foundries, supplied by ironmade in charcoal furnaces in the woods,became by 1920 gigantic, self-sufficient

The Strip, on a'oclear" surnrner afærnnon ín 1906.

places that had their own coal mines,made their own coke, heated air stovesand boilers with gases from the cokeovens and blast furnaces, charged thefurnaces with ore from their own minescarried in their own ships, made theirown tools, and were in brief littleempires.

That other Pittsburgh, which evolvedas industry did, was more escapìst andshared ideals common to other Ameri-can cities. Between the rivers, east of theoriginal city downtown, the land rose toform a great hill, and beyond this hill itwas possible to escape the sight, thenoise, and some of the fumes of indus-try. Flight to such places, some 200 feetor 70 meters above river level and wellinland, began around 1840, and thebeginning of train service out this wayin 1851 encouraged the development oftrue suburbs and exurbs. A contem-porary development of this same naturewas taking place in the Ohio Valley,west of the city, and by 1900 a townmansion, packed close to its neighbors,was obsolescen| even if still within thecity limits, a house of any consequencehad its big yard, its flowers and trees, as

a setting for its often picturesque

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architecture. Pittsburgh architecture it-self, by this time, had changed from aharsh and uncreative affair of sand-stone, red brick, and wooden siding intosomething lighter in hue, more sophisti-cated in the choice and handling ofmaterials, more coordinated and well-proportioned in composition. Early inthis century, again, the Pittsburgh areawas the scene of a remarkable bridge-building campaign that created hand-some and progressive structures still inuse.

Regardless of the good neighbor-hoods, the mansions, the nice middle-class houses, the parks and institutions,there were grave misgivings about thePittsburgh way of life. A survey under-taken in 1907 found Pittsburghers irra-tionally committed to hard work, theirhousing on the average wretched, theirgovernmental and social institutions inchaos. A biting but plausible magazinearticle of 1930 suggested that even therich knew the art of being miserable:hard work, Presbyterian respectability,meanness of outlook. There was evenless indulgence among these austeremasters for the working class; the work-place and working conditions were to

be under absolute management control,and this had been so in the steel indus-try since the Homestead Strike, up theriver from Pittsburgh, in 1892.

At the same time, there was a tradi-tion of philanthropy whose scale couldbe incredibly massive. Andrew Carne-gie's benefactions are legend. The Car-negie Institute - main library, concerthall, art museum, and natural historymuseum - had four acres under roofby 1907. Carnegie Libraries in Brad-dock, Munhall, and Duquesne servedhis workers as libraries, concert halls,athletic clubs, and public baths. Therewere other Carnegie Libraries, purelylibraries, in and near Pittsburgh, andeventually a total of 2,811 in variousparts of the world. The libraries aremerely the best-known of his gifts. Hispartner Henry Phipps donated a verylarge conservatory to Schenley Park,itselfa 300-acre donation of 1889 by theexpatriate landowner Mary Schenley.The second generation of bankers in theMellon family have been spectaculargivers. Richard Beatty Mellon and hiswife donated the cathedral-sized EastLiberty Presbyterian Church, at a costof three million of the dollars of 60

February 1992 PHLF Nats Page ll

years ago. The Mellon Institute of thissame period cost $10 million, thanks inpart to showy nonfunctional colon-nades with 62 42-loot monolithiccolumns of limestone. Andrew Vy'.

Mellon gave the University of Pitts-burgh 14 acres ofvery desirable land forits campus, and paid for the NationalGallery in Washington, 516 million, outof his own pocket. Less demonstrative-ly, the Buhl Foundation, funded bydepartment-store profits, built ChathamVillage, a model neighborhood -which still remains a desirable residencefor many - to demonstrate the profita-bility of high-quality moderate-incomehousing. The Foundation also financedthe first architectural survey of WesternPennsylvania.

Around 1940, the city had one of itsoccasional campaigns to do somethingabout its state of being, weary anddepressed in many parts. This waspromptly delayed by war, but the late1940s found the abatement of industrialand domestic smoke in force, river pol-lution getting under control, and Pitts-burgh businessmen traveling in searchof capital. It is interesting to note that aconscious resolution of social differ-ences allowed this. While many peopleare to be credited, it might have beenimpossible without the collaboration ofthe Democrat Catholic David LeoLawrence, the mayor who was born apoor boy, and the Republican Pres-byterian Richard King Mellon, a bank-er born extremely rich. The visible Pitts-burgh Renaissance began in 1950 withneighborhood demolitions and recon-structions that were to continue forsome 20 years.

The city, in the Renaissance years,experienced a certain doubt as to how itwanted to enter the future. The officialline, trumpeted in the newspapers, envi-sioned office buildings and housingprojects sweeping in scale and uncom-promisingly modern in design, withindustry very much downplayed. In thecity, however, vast new industrial con-struction was in fact taking place. Fur-thermore, conservative persons weretaking alarm at the destruction of famil-iar buildings and street scenes, fearingrootlessness, homelessness, loss of posi-tivç beauty in the massive replacementof such things. In the end, the Renais-

sance did not carry out all its intentions,but it did in fact impress the world as aspectacle of economic recovery.

In the last 15 years, Pittsburgh indus-try has declined dramatically, and thedestruction of industrial plants thatlooked as if they would last forever leftthe region rather stunned. The regionstill has some heavy industry, but willprobably never be heavily industrialagain. We have become, in general, amore business-oriented, more hedonis-tic, and perhaps more cosmopolitancity, and certainly we have become onethat increasing numbers of people wantto come and visit.

tTrT

Ioday you see a place much cleanerthan in the past, with tall buildings thatreveal a variety of recent architecturalmannerisms and more in the way ofgood restaurants and similar amenitiesthan ever before. And yet Pittsburgh re-tains an old casual, homely, picturesqueidentity, a sort of amiable personalitybeneath the attempted cosmopolitan-ism. The hills that rise 400 or 500 feet

The Mellnn Insúmæ of Inùutriøl Research,en dowed by Andrew Mellon in mcmnry ofhß fath.en This, iæ second. buil.ding, has 62manalithi,c limestnne columns, 42 feet hþh,purelyþr shnn.

above the river plains are heavilywooded in many parts or scattered withlittle wooden houses on narrow andsometimes uncannily-sloping streets.Pittsburgh architecture, building bybuilding, tends to be drab, yet the ter-rain is such that this is often a wildlyromantic city, a place of skylines, plung-ing views, and long perspectives. It is acity full of trees, hedges, flowers, lawnskept more or less neat. It has a popula-tion density ofabout 10 people per acre,a little over a fifteenth the averagedensity of New York City in all itsboroughs.

Against the official claims, thepromotional material, the guidebook

A South Sid.e street,

matteq then, must be set the attractive-ness in many places of an older city, ofneighborhoods where not much has hadreason to change since 1900 or 1920;neighborhoods created by the trolley,older and grander neighborhoods creat-ed by the railroad, workers'neighbor-hoods older still, such as the South Sidewith its irregular and beautifully-scaledstreets.

The city, then, is apt to reveal curiouscorners, splendid architectural episodes

- and sinisteç dead flat places whereindustry used to be. In these last, it canbe as if the wrath foretold by a prophethad left silence and nothingness. Whatthe industry created, architecture andneighborhoods, remains, and it is ourconcern to carry the best ofit intoour future.

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T'læ cleøred Lower HïII, with the Ciaic Arena.. A showcose Center for th.e Arts, plonned,for anadjacent siq was qui,etly øbandoned around 1970.

Thn Co.rnegi.e Library at Duquesne, but more thnn a library. You could. afiend, concerts, pløT bíIliards, or talæ abathh.ere"

Page 12 PHLF Nats Februarv 1992

Landmarks: Our Principles (continuedfrom page r)

Pure monument: the Westinghantse Memorial in Sch.enleyPark.

What to Preserve - SpecificallyLandmarks is less disposed than some preservationgroups toward freezing structures and places in time. Wewish to be sure that whatever is so rigorously preservedwill have significance for the community in the future,and will justify whatever sacrifices it requires. Amongsuch may be:

o Pure monuments, built to commemorate people orevents, and to be works ofart.Working monuments, such as the Soldiers' andSailors' Memorial or any of a number of churches,built as publicly-significant gathering places and as

works of public art.

Works of architecture whose artistry of compositionfrees them to some extent from ordinarv utilitarianconsiderations.

Open areas of visual beauty or power.

. Neighborhoods: not perhaps to be preserved in everydetail, but to be subjected to controls, more or less

stringent, to maintain visual consistency.. Structures that, regardless of matters of visual

artistry, have strong associations for a communityand are integral to its perception ofitself.

¡ El"il'li--c on¡l nfhar nlanpc that .o.all tho nacf nf ot/¡úevJ !¡rsr

community so vividly as to be useful for museumpurposes.

LandscapeLandmarks has concentrated on buildings anddistricts as places to preserve, but let us not forget toprotect the very geography ofour region. Preserva-tionists should look to the terrain, the most primitiveas well as that in the parks, and prepare to defend itsbeauty and power: skylines, hillsides and valleys, withthe great spaces they form and the greenery theycontain.

Why So Mach Preservation?Landmarks suspects that the historic-preservatronmovement today is in an inflated state, attempting topreserve more than should, if we lived in an idealworld, be preserved: this, because the architecture,planning, and development of the last 50 years havelargely failed us. True, at times they have cleared awayold squalor but their new constructions have starvedthe eye and, despite the intellectual pretensions ofarchitects, have made our streets stupid and mute. Somuch of what has been built retains the look of acardboard model or a rendering, forever one step ormore away from reality.

So we look toward the old-fashioned moldings andtextures, ways of reducing big surlaces to comprehen-sible areas, giving solidity to volumes, accenting edges;color that receives the sunlight movingly and contrastswell with other colors; proportional systems that giveeach element its seemingly-natural place among theothers; ornament that has its own beauty of form andassures you that humanity was in the thoughts of thedesigner; and a scale that relates to the human being,and also to the thoughts and actions appropriate tothe place and the occasion.

We preservationists everywhere have thus attemptedto monumenl,alize, Ío freeze in time, many buildingsreally of mediocre design but with qualities to whichwe respond, ones that are not often found in modernconstruction and planning, and are rooted in our past.We have fought, the nation over, for buildings neithervery good or bad, but old at least and with a fewdecorative touches. An abnormal response to abnor-mal times: 1f only we could be as conhdent of ouroncoming architecture as people of 1920 were, at leastas regards expensive and conspicuous buildings, then"historic" preservation could shrink back to caringfor the few indispensable places ofgreat beauty, andthose where the past is vividly recalled.

SurprisesIn l99l especially, owners and developers surprisedpreservationists by admitting intentions soon todemolish "historic" buildings; and themselves pro-fessed surprise at preservationists' hasty rallying tosave the buildings. The City of Pittsburgh is now com-piling a list of potential "landmarks," which it mightput under the protection of its revised landmarkordinance; every cornmunity with such an ordinance,and every preservationist group, should be doing thesame: listing the properties it would defend with legaldesignation, or would expend effort and sacrifice tosave. Such lists would put owners on notice thatproperties of theirs were taken seriously by thecommunity as cultural assets.

On the other hand, preservationists should bemade aware as soon as possible of potential land-marks that are running into trouble: structural deteri-oration, inconvenient plans, loss ofpurpose, or loca-tion on temptingly saleable land. Early notification byowners - or informers from within - might lead tothe landmark's future being secured.

For the tíme beíng: cornmercíøl buil.d.ings in thn Penn-LibertyDßtrict.

Property RightsLandmarks believes that the people of a neighbor-hood have a legitimate interest in the beauty and char-acter of the neighborhood, and that the citizens of acommunity have a legitimate interest in the beautyand character ofplaces visible to or often visited bypeople from all over the community. Some public con-trol over demolition and construction to promoteamenity and culture in such places seems fair. On theother hand, some preservationists act as if the worldowes them whatever they want to keep, the mere prop-erty owner being an unpaid curator who has to bekept up to the mark. Landmarks has no such attitude,and will seek increasingly to bring preservationists andowners into a relationship of trust and respect thatmakes possible a joint search that may result in a typeof preservation satisfactory to both.

Compulsory landmarking, as an extension of legalzoning, by communities may prove to be constitu-tional in some or every form. Yet preservationists,Landmarks believes, should use any legal powers witha light touch. Otherwise property owners. especiallyinstitutions and businesses, may find it prudent toabandon pride and settle the landmarking question inadvance by putting up new edifices of guaranteedarchitectural worthlessness. "Preserving the past"would bring with it the penalty of defacing the future.

Adnpth:e t;æe: schnol inta o,po,rtmenÌs

Adaptive Use and RemodelingIt often is the case that a building is mediocre as a

work of art and has an obscure place in the commu-nity's history and traditions, yet is good enough -especially in view of any likely replacement - to beworth some thought over adapting it to new uses. Itmay not be necessary to replace it, and a mixture ofimagination and calculation may show as much.

In the above statement there is nothing new,but we are perhaps more lenient than usual aboutremodeling. A building design may be improvedbyremodeling, and remodeling may make the differencebetween a building that is affordable and workable,and one that is not. The quality of the remodeling'sdesign and workmanship may be of greater culturalimportance than full integrity of the original structure.It is prevalence of bad remodeling that keeps usunaware of this.

How We See OurselvesLandmarks wishes to be known as a fair and rationalorganization, an authoritative voice on matters affect-ing historic preservation: trusted as devoted topreserving what is essential, considerate ofpropertyrights, imaginative in its general vision and in seekingsolutions to individual problems.

The Jøil mtst be læpt, and a useþr itþund.

Worltirry nlonunteni: C alaøry Episcopal Church, Sha$rid.e.