Places Around Pittsburgh: Exactly Enough

“Shingle Style” is a label invented by Vincent Scully, and the New England and Philadelphia examples he chose for his book of that name tend to be bold and sculptural, the shingles giving texture and sparkle to towers and other sweeping, curved forms. But a house at 328 Morewood Avenue shows a rather boxy form whose quiet modifications have their own artistry. Both shingles and brickwork have been painted elephant gray, as was fashionable in the 1960s, and a basement garage has eliminated the original entrance steps: but undo these things in your mind and see how the shingles have been laid, especially over the second and third floor window heads in the manner of string courses, and the presence or absence of reveal in the various openings, and you have a sense of artistry through means neither too lavish nor too meager: exactly enough.