Category Archive: Historic Properties
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Postal Service staying in Carnegie, but not in old post office
Thursday, July 12, 2007
By Carole Gilbert Brown
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe bad news for Carnegie is that the U.S. Postal Service is not interested in continuing ownership of its landmark post office building on East Main Street in the heart of the borough.
But the really good news is that the Postal Service intends to remain in the borough and relocate into leased space at the corner of Broadway and East Main streets, just a few blocks away.
No time frame for the relocation has been announced.
The developments were announced following a special meeting Monday afternoon at the Carnegie Municipal Building attended by U. S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, a team of USPS officials from the Pittsburgh District Post Office and representatives from Carnegie, Collier, Moon and Robinson.
“They don’t want to own buildings anymore is what they said,” reported Carnegie Council member Dorothy Kelly, who attended the private meeting.
She went on to say that she made a case for the federal government to turn over the 1916 Beaux Arts style building to the borough, arguing that, as a government building, it has not had to pay taxes on the structure and that it has failed to keep up with routine maintenance.
The roof leaks and some sections of the building, which was designed and built to be a post office, need to be painted.
Because of its age, architecture and history, the building would qualify for listings in national and state historic landmark registries.
Mrs. Kelly said she did not receive a specific response to her suggestion, though postal officials said future uses for the building would be handled by its assets management department.
Authorities indicated the USPS has suffered financially because of competition from private mail delivery services like UPS and FedEx. Last November, USPS spokesman Tad Kelley said, “What’s important to us is that we have a delivery [method] for people in the Carnegie ZIP code and that we have retail space.”
The Carnegie 15106 ZIP code serves Carnegie, Rosslyn Farms, Heidelberg and portions of Scott and Collier.
He added that USPS is trying to keep costs in line with services and comply with Americans With Disabilities Act requirements.
The new location would have access to parking in front of the Family Dollar store, as well as maneuvering ease to a loading dock.
Monday’s session also addressed concerns from surrounding, growing communities that would like to have their own ZIP codes. Moon shares its 15108 ZIP code with Coraopolis, but five ZIP codes service Robinson and four are used in Collier.
Mr. Kelley said last year that municipalities often attach their identities to ZIP codes, which the USPS views as simply numerical paths for sorting mail, much of which is done by automation.
Municipal representatives interested in obtaining single ZIP codes for their communities were given procedural information and contact numbers.
(Carole Gilbert Brown is a freelance writer. )
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Mt. Lebanon celebrates 100-year history of oldest Municipal Golf Course
Thursday, July 12, 2007
By Laura Pace,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAmid the lush green fairways dotted with golf carts, 150 people Saturday evening toasted the 100th anniversary of the Mt. Lebanon Public Golf Course on Pine Avenue during a daylong fete that culminated in the unveiling of the Historic Landmark plaque honoring the oldest municipal course in the state.
Hackers and duffers basked in the setting sun, still clad in their saddle shoes, resplendent in plaid pants, shorts and polos. With a birds-eye view of the nine-hole course and the surrounding homes of Mt. Lebanon and Castle Shannon, they regrouped under a huge white tent, swaying to the music of Uptown Rhythm and Brass band, as they tilted back cups of wine, beer and soda and munched on local fare from a line of chafing dishes.
The most saluted couple of the evening was George C. Smith, and his wife, Margaret, who met in physics class at Mt. Lebanon High School in 1944. Mr. Smith’s forefathers bought the 197 acres that later became the golf course.
“I think they made a good investment,” he said.
Also basking in the family connection was Templeton Smith Jr., whose great-grandfather, Richard L. Smith, was George Smith’s father’s brother, on Templeton’s mother’s side, no less. And yes, they had a cheat sheet on all of this to keep it straight.
Templeton Smith Jr. recalled his childhood when Mt. Lebanon staffers used to ice the hill just off the No. 7 tee and rent toboggans in winter. His wife, Lea Anderson, clad in a striking black and white halter and with red peep-toe shoes, also beamed at the memories.
Tickets to the morning tournament were $200 for a foursome and $400 for a foursome for the afternoon tourney. All players were invited to the evening gala, but tickets to just the gala were $50. While the total amount raised and the final cost was not yet available, officials said proceeds probably more than covered the bill, as many of the items and services were given free or at cost.
The goal of the event was to raise the profile of the course and spark awareness.
“I can tell you that we did it on a total shoestring,” said public information officer Susan Fleming Morgans.
Buckets of golf balls anchored Mylar balloons floating along the cart paths and tables wore breezy linens in a honeydew and cantaloupe plaid.
Celebrating the event were commissioners Keith Mulvihill, Barbara Logan, John Daley and Dale Colby, along with Castle Shannon Mayor Don Baumgarten, who was thrilled to live so close to the facility.
“To have a course like this in the middle of a residential area is great,” he said. He also played the links earlier that day, as did 148 other golfers in two sold-out tourneys.
He wouldn’t cough up his score.
Other Lebo notables included Municipal Manager Stephen Feller and Assistant Manager Marcia Taylor, municipal engineer Dan Deiseroth and Fire Chief Nick Sohyda, Public Information Officer and Mt. Lebanon Magazine Editor Susan Fleming Morgans, Recreation Director David Donnellan and Golf Pro Matt Kluck, who gave clinics earlier in the day and wore an ear-to-ear grin throughout the event.
Also lauded were golf committee members Tom Butcher, Chris Kemerer, Sandy Loughren, Michael Meerhoff, Anne Noland, Paul Prisco and Johann Smit.
Helping to run the show were community chairpersons Steve and Amelia Dean and honorary chairs Rocky and Jan Bleier, along with host Alby Oxenreiter.
“I took a seven on No. 7 today, just to celebrate,” Mr. Oxenreiter said, noting Saturday’s date of 7/7/07.
Mr. Bleier, a Mt. Lebanon resident, toasted the quality of the course and the humor of golfing with Mr. Oxenreiter.
“It only took us 3-1/2 hours to play because after every hole, Alby would tell another story,” said the great former Steelers running back and Vietnam veteran.
“It’s wonderful,” he said of the course, which has seen more than a million rounds of golf since it began as a three-hole club in 1907. “It will be here for a lifetime.”
Its storied past included a stint as a zoological garden in the 1870s, reported Steve Dean. And when it finally became a golf course, it was only the second in the country to allow women to play — and join — years before women even earned the right to vote.
Mt. Lebanon purchased the George Ormiston-built course in 1948. It is currently in the midst of a five-year renovation plan, which has included more than $330,000 worth of improvements on the way to a major overhaul, which could include a new clubhouse and practice range.
The daylong celebration included two sold-out tournaments that led up to the evening gala. A silent auction of rare sports memorabilia featured such items as an Arnold Palmer-signed commemorative poster and autographed Tiger Woods photo. Looking thrilled with her auction score, Mt. Lebanon Public Library Director Cynthia Richey toted away a signed Hank Aaron photo and Lance Armstrong photo, both large and impressively framed.
No one won the coveted $10,000 putt-off, which would have required a 50-foot putt on the sixth green, nor did anyone take home the $20,000 for a hole-in one.
But the four-person Mt. Lebanon team of Frank Nappi, Mark Cuddy, Paul Lackner and Steve Magdsick reveled in their 155-point victory in the afternoon tournament, with Mr. Nappi saluting course superintendent David Ames for making everything so green and perfect.
“It was fun,” Mr. Nappi said. The foursome took home $25 each for their victory.
Louise Sturgess, executive director of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and a Mt. Lebanon resident, told the crowd the foundation has awarded 525 plaques since it began the program in 1968.
“I don’t know of any other group who deserves this more,” she said of the committee that nominated the course. She said it’s the first time the foundation received a nomination bound as a book and filled with color photos and documenting the course’s players, including members of the Mellon family.
The scorecard
Winners of the Mt. Lebanon 100th anniversary golf tournament on Saturday were:Longest drive (women): Nicole Donellan.
Longest drive (men): Bob Zanone.
Closest to the pin (men): Ed Kuenzig.
Closest to the pin (women): Janet Kluck.
Longest putt: Mary Meerhoff.
Sponsors tournament (18 holes) winners:
First place, score of 155: Frank Nappi, Mark Cuddy. Paul Lackner, Steve Magdsick.
Second place, score of 158: Bill, Ken, Tom and William Zanone.
Third place, score of 161: Jim and Tyler Noland; John Nichols and Colin Gray.
Friends and Family Event (nine holes) winners, all scored 89, first-place team won with a seven on the second hole of a scorecard playoff:
First place: Ken Kierzkowski, Paul and Mary Ann Fitzgerald, Paul Ciaverella.
Second place: Ken Szefi, Erich Stabenow, Jim Simmons and Paul Cullen.
Third place: Randall Stewart, Joe Gioffre, Mike Lewarchik and Dennis Scarsella.
(Laura Pace can be reached at lpace@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1867. )
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Oliver Miller homestead site of Whiskey Rebellion drama
Thursday, July 12, 2007
By Margaret Smykla
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteWhen the tax collector comes calling in South Park on Sunday, Phil Haines will be waiting for him.
Smartly attired in a gray waistcoat and pants, made in the fashion that was worn in the 1790s, Mr. Haines, playing the part of pioneer William Miller, will plead his case until tempers flare, rifles are fired, and the rest, as they say, is history.
It will all take place during re-enactments at 2 and 3 p.m. Sunday at the historic Oliver Miller Homestead, where the first shots of the Whiskey Rebellion were fired on July 15, 1794.
The anniversary celebration will also feature, just as it does each Sunday from late April through early December, volunteer associates in period clothing demonstrating pioneer crafts, such as spinning, weaving, quilting, and open-hearth cooking, and conducting tours of the property’s four buildings and grounds.
The homestead is open from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., with the last admittance at 4 p.m. Admission is $1.
Associate and tour director Paula Bowman, of Jefferson Hills, estimated that in 2006 more than 1,000 visitors took a scheduled tour of the site, and more than 3,000 people visited on Sundays.
“It’s important for people to see what happened back then; we’re here today because of [pioneers] like them,” said Mr. Haines, of Bethel Park, a homestead board member.
The Whiskey Rebellion was an organized rebellion among farmers over a federal law that levied a tax of 7 cents per gallon of whiskey. The main money crop of frontier farmers, whiskey was used for medical purposes, as a beverage, and as a medium of exchange.
On July 15, 1794, officers attempted to serve a writ on William Miller, son of Oliver Miller, imposing a fine for failure to register his still, and for not paying taxes based on an estimate of how much whiskey he would produce that year.
When nearby farmers heard the arguing, they fired shots in the air to scare away the officers.
Regarded by President George Washington as an early challenge to the new federal government, the insurrection was quickly suppressed. The whiskey tax, which went largely uncollected, was repealed in 1803.
Because of the family’s involvement in the Whiskey Rebellion, the homestead’s stone house has been declared a National Historic Landmark.
For more information on the Oliver Miller Homestead, located on Stone Manse Drive, and upcoming events there, or to schedule a tour, call 412-835-1554, or visit www.15122.com/OliverMiller .
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Ceiling collapse at Schenley High clouds building’s future
Wednesday, July 11, 2007By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Public Schools officials will check ceilings throughout Schenley High School after a collapse in a second-floor stairwell yesterday forced the relocation of summer school for about 900 students.
The incident may rekindle debate about the future of the triangle-shaped Oakland landmark, which architects have said would need $55.7 million to $86.9 million in renovations to remove asbestos and address other problems.
A custodian found the fallen ceiling after arriving at work early yesterday.
The district canceled summer school for high school students yesterday and later announced it was relocating the classes to Peabody High School in East Liberty for the duration of the term, which expires July 30.
Schenley hosted summer classes for students from all 10 district high schools.
Classes will operate on the usual schedule. The district today will begin providing shuttle buses at dismissal time to help students get from Peabody to their regular Port Authority bus stops.
District spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said she did not know whether the ceiling collapse released asbestos into the air.
She said tests determined there was no air-quality problem immediately outside the stairwell. But she said no test yet had been performed inside the stairwell, which was enclosed after the ceiling collapse.
Ms. Pugh wasn’t able to say whether Schenley will hold its orientation program for incoming freshmen next month. Each high school is scheduled to hold the orientation, a new program, before the 2007-08 year begins.
The fate of the building, which is more than 90 years old and on the National Register of Historic Places, has been in limbo since November 2005. That’s when school Superintendent Mark Roosevelt, citing the high renovation costs, proposed closing the building and moving Schenley High School to the former Reizenstein Middle School building in Shadyside.
He pulled the proposal for further study after students and parents objected, citing Schenley’s storied history and high achievement. Supporters said the school’s location in vibrant Oakland had helped to make its international studies program a success.
Since then, officials have discussed possible financing methods but made no decision, even though they’ve lamented the district’s growing capital costs and the related strain on the operating budget. The recently launched project on districtwide high school improvement could help to determine the building’s future.
(Joe Smydo can be reached at jsmydo@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1548. )
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More condos proposed for Strip District
By Mark Belko,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wednesday, July 11, 2007Yet another condo project is in the works not far from Downtown.
Solara Venture IV, LLC is seeking a loan of up to $390,000 from the city Urban Redevelopment Authority to help finance acquisition and pre-development costs for a proposed 60-unit condominium development in the Strip District.
The company is planning to convert the Otto Milk Building on Smallman Street between 24th and 25th streets into condos, with smaller units starting at $180,000, according to the URA. The development also would include two floors of retail and office space, plus 75 parking stalls.
URA board members are expected to consider a Pittsburgh Development Fund loan of up to $390,000 at their meeting this week.
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Iconic Heinz sign could paint Strip District neon-red
By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, July 11, 2007H.J. Heinz Co.’s iconic neon ketchup bottle could start pouring over Pittsburgh again with a new home in the Strip District.
The sign appears headed for the east side of the Senator John Heinz History Center, pending approval by the city Planning Commission. Members heard about the plan Tuesday and could vote on it in two weeks.
“We’re certainly very excited to have it continue as part of the Pittsburgh skyline,” said Michael Mullen, the ketchup-maker’s spokesman.
Heinz has its world headquarters in the U.S. Steel Tower, Downtown, and is paying an undisclosed amount to refurbish the sign and display it on the history museum.
Although it looks old, the sign went up on the North Side in 1995 to mark the company’s 125th anniversary. It came down in April.
Heinz spun off its North Side factory and several businesses to Del Monte Foods in 2002, with an agreement to keep the sign up four years. The company had been looking for a new place to hang the 42.5-foot-high sign since the lease expired.
The history center has established itself enough so most people should not get too mixed up over seeing the ketchup bottle on the museum, said Andy Masich, the history center’s CEO.
The center is named for the great-grandson of Henry J. Heinz, who founded the food company in 1869. Sen. H. John Heinz III died in a 1991 plane crash.
“There might be some confusion from people out of town thinking it’s the Heinz plant,” Masich said.
Heinz employs 1,200 people in Pittsburgh, but makes ketchup for North America in Fremont, Ohio. The ketchup sign appears to empty out and refill itself every 30 seconds — or 1,051,200 refills a year.
Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7835.
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Planners review North Side stable development
By Mike Wereschagin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, July 9, 2007A North Side building being considered for historic designation by City Council could someday give new meaning to the phrase “stable living arrangements.”
The Allegheny Stables, built by Allegheny City leaders as a place to house their Department of Public Works horses, appears poised for designation as a historic structure. If City Council approves the designation at its July 17 meeting, the building would be saved from possible demolition, clearing the way for developers to turn it into condominiums.
“It is one of the last vestiges of the City of Allegheny’s history,” said Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference.
The building, in the 800 block of West North Avenue in the neighborhood of Allegheny West, is owned by Rutledge Equipment Co., according to Allegheny County real estate records. Menzock Scrap Inc., which owns a tiny scrap yard behind the former stables, wanted to buy and raze the building so the yard could be expanded, Fatla said.
Neither Rutledge Equipment nor Menzock Scrap could be reached for comment.
The former stables are surrounded by Victorian-era industrial buildings. Companies today prefer one-story, open floor plans to the old style of thin, multi-floor designs of the other buildings on the street. As a result, they’ve sat vacant for years, said Jim Wallace, chairman of the Allegheny West Civic Council’s Housing and Planning Committee.
But the old, detailed style of architecture common to the street and its proximity to Downtown, Heinz Field and PNC Park make the area ripe for loft-style apartments and condominiums, Fatla said.
That is, if neighborhood advocates can keep the buildings from being knocked down.
Preservationists and community leaders ultimately want the area designated as a historic neighborhood, which they said would preserve its unique architecture. Since the Allegheny Stables were in danger of being demolished first, the group started there — and got the blessing of the city’s planning and historic preservation commissions.
“People have returned to these neighborhoods for something they can’t get anywhere else,” Fatla said. “More and more homes are getting restored.”
The next step is organizing development of the entire block. Otherwise, once one condominium is finished, the first residents would have only abandoned industrial buildings as neighbors.
Should no one be keen on living in a former stable, Timothy G. Zinn, a co-author of the proposal for the building’s historic designation, urged them to consider this: It was a really nice stable.
“This would have been like a horse palace, almost,” said Zinn, 43, a historic preservationist with the Michael Baker Corp. architectural firm. “This had to be the most well-appointed of all the stable buildings. There’s nice architectural detailing and wonderful brickwork.”
Zinn said state records indicate 15 stables were built throughout Allegheny City, which became part of Pittsburgh after a controversial annexation in 1907.
The rest of the stables “were not like this,” Zinn said. “This was certainly the most grand structure.”
Mike Wereschagin can be reached at mwereschagin@tribweb.com or (412) 391-0927.
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New owner is restoring the 80-year-old George Washington Hotel – Builder falls in love with Washington historic treasure
Sunday, July 08, 2007By Gretchen McKay,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAs a builder who specializes in high-end period restorations, Kyrk Pyros is something of a sucker for historic structures.
When it comes to deciding which long-forgotten buildings are worth bringing back from the dead, though, the Thornburg resident and president of KP Builders in Robinson is usually pretty good at following the No. 1 rule of commercial real estate: Keep your emotions out of it.
Fall in love with a building, Mr. Pyros cautions, and you might end up basing a decision to buy on how the property looks and makes you feel instead of whether it makes sense from a financial or functional standpoint. And that, he says, “is a bad thing.”
So what was he thinking, buying the 200-room George Washington Hotel in downtown Washington? Abandoned by a series of owners who followed what Mr. Pyros calls the “deferred maintenance plan,” the 80-year-old landmark was pretty much uninhabitable by the time he spied it for sale four years ago in the classified section of Preservation, a magazine put out by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. And it was in Washington County, of all places, not in Washington, D.C., as he’d assumed when he first read the ad.
“I couldn’t believe it, to be honest with you,” Mr. Pyros, 40, recalls with a laugh. “It was like, you mean the Washington 30 miles south of Pittsburgh?”
Yet a historic treasure is still a historic treasure, no matter what its location, and Mr. Pyros, who also owns Allegheny Crane Rental in Richland, was well acquainted with the building’s past. Designed by renowned architect William Lee Stoddart, the George Washington Hotel for much of its history counted famous actors, politicians, athletes and even rock stars among its guests.
John F. Kennedy gave a speech to supporters from the marble steps of its Oval Room when he was campaigning for the presidency, and baseball great Lou Gehrig and car maker Henry Ford also checked in. So did the Beatles when they finally made it to Pittsburgh in September 1964 for a long-awaited show at the Civic Arena.
But who could blame them? The hotel was modeled after the famous Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., where President and Mrs. Lincoln lived before they moved into the White House in 1861. The 10-story building boasted a two-story, balconied grand ballroom with hardwood floors and crystal chandeliers and a grand entrance on West Cherry Avenue that delivered guests into an exquisite marbled lobby. It also featured an equally elegant dining room that told the story of the Whiskey Rebellion in the early 1790s via a series of murals by Washington artist Malcolm Parcell (1896-1987).
So, even though the hotel — which at the time was being used for Section 8 housing — was close to being condemned, Mr. Pyros followed his heart instead of his head and put in a bid. Many of the small towns he’d stayed in over the years had wonderful boutique hotels; just look at the Inn at Little Washington in the Shenandoah Valley or the Buhl Mansion in Sharon, Mercer County. With Washington on the upswing, he reasoned, perhaps the time was ripe for one there, too.
“I thought it was great,” he said, recalling how he sped to the site within 30 minutes of making the call on a Friday night. “I could see the potential.”
Four years into a projected five- to seven-year project, Mr. Pyros is well on his way to accomplishing that goal. With all of its 72 apartments renovated and the facility’s banquet and restaurant businesses flourishing, he’s about to embark on the final stage of this labor of love: construction of the first 16 of 32 hotel rooms on the third and fourth floors. They should be open by the end of September, says Mr. Pyros, with the final 16 being completed by Christmas.
At the same time, a work crew will renovate the spacious lobby so it’s the image of what existed when the hotel opened in 1923.
In addition to refurbishing all the intricate plaster work on the main and mezzanine levels and restoring the inlaid mosaic marble floor, they’ll add the same kind of giant wood registration desk that distinguishes the Willard. Cushy furniture and a giant Oriental rug are also planned.
“We pay attention to detail,” says Mr. Pyros. “We want it crisp and perfect. Our motto is to be the best.”
To help establish the hotel’s boutique character, each room will be named after a famous person who stayed there, and have its own unique theme. For example, there will be Kennedy and Ford rooms, along with one that pays homage to the Beatles. All will be priced from about $135 on weekdays and from $195 on weekends.
Mr. Pyros concedes that in a city where many consider a half-hour drive from home a day’s trip — and the Point is just 30 minutes from downtown Washington — it may be difficult to attract those first guests. But he’s confident once they see it as a destination, that will change.
Already, he notes, the hotel is booking banquets and weddings in its two ballrooms for guests from as far away as Greensburg, Westmoreland County, and Weirton, W.Va. In addition, one of his first projects after purchasing the hotel — turning a boarded-up storeroom on the ground level into the casual Cherry Blossom Bistro — is pulling in regular crowds.
So is Bradford’s, an old hair salon-turned neighborhood bar that serves upscale wines to the white-collar crowd. It’s named after Whiskey Rebellion leader David Bradford, whose 1788 house just a few blocks away on South Main Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“We’re at the crossroad of the U.S., on the National Road,” he says. “Interstates “79, 70 and [Route] 19 all intersect here. So I believe it will be successful.”
Patrons will certainly have someplace nice to while away the evening, in the renovated Pioneer Grill. Previous owners boarded up those famous Parcell paintings in this old-fashioned, formal dining room. But under Mr. Pyros’ ownership, the murals, which are valued at $3.8 million, once again set the stage for diners who stop by to enjoy chef Renee Gordon’s upscale menu.
Since February, Ms. Gordon has also offered “white glove” dinners one weekend a month in the renovated Oval Room. Priced between $60 and $80 per couple, the five-course meals include everything from appetizers and dessert to such gourmet entrees as Mediterranean Halibut in Parchment. This month’s dinner, offered on July 13-14, will feature all Italian dishes.
“Every weekend is busier and busier,” says manager Ron DeVerse, who also is the administrator of the Cherry Tree Assisted Living facility on the sixth floor.
Taking the old hotel where he wants it to go, Mr. Pyros readily concedes, hasn’t been easy. One small setback, for example, was an electrical fire Oct. 15 that destroyed two entire floors. Because the building was built out of cast-in-place concrete, it didn’t do any structural damage.
And it hasn’t been cheap; when the project is finished, he expects to have sunk about $8 million into it.
“When you have a vision and believe in something, you have to go all the way,” says Mr. Pyros. “Once I start something, I don’t quit.”
(Gretchen McKay can be reached at gmckay@post-gazette.com or 412-761-4670. )