Category Archive: Historic Properties
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Dormont gets grant to fund pool repairs
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Post GazetteDormont has received a $250,000 matching grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to use toward pool repairs, said John Maggio, president of Friends of Dormont Pool, a fund-raising group.
He is confident fund-raising efforts will result in matching that $250,000, with $67,000 already raised. Coupled with the $312,000 the borough has set aside for the pool, the town is well on its way to the approximately $800,000 to $1.1 million needed to make all the repairs to the landmark 1920s-era pool.
The pool is open for summer.
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Frank Lloyd Wright’s Duncan House ready for visitors
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
By Patricia Lowry,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteA ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow will mark the end of one era and the beginning of another for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Duncan House, which began its life in a Chicago suburb and now is the star of Polymath Park, a new 125-acre resort in the Laurel Highlands.
Nearly a year after ground was broken in a Western Pennsylvania woodland, the prefab Usonian house will open to the public this weekend for tours and overnight accommodations.
Built in a Lisle, Ill., in 1957 for Donald and Elizabeth Duncan, the Duncan House was deconstructed in 2004 and reassembled over the past 12 months near Acme in Westmoreland County as part of Polymath Park Resort. The retreat also includes two homes by Wright apprentice Peter Berndtson — the Balter House and the Blum House, both built in the 1960s for Pittsburgh businessmen.
Thomas D. Papinchak, a Westmoreland County home builder, had been renting the Balter and Blum houses on an annual basis from their most recent previous owner, who named the grounds Polymath Park.
Now the resort’s owner and CEO, Mr. Papinchak, who declined comment before the opening, has established the Usonian Preservation Corp., with a five-member board, as the nonprofit entity that will direct the proceeds from rentals toward maintaining the houses and telling their stories through educational and civic programs. The for-profit arm of the business will draw its income from corporate and private events.
Located near Wright’s Fallingwater (15 miles away) and Kentuck Knob (30 miles), the Duncan House is one of only four Wright buildings in the country that accommodate overnight visitors.
Lodging is available in the Duncan House and Balter House, with the Blum House eventually serving as the visitor center, cafe, spa and gift shop. There’s a two-night minimum for sleepovers, priced at $325 per night for the Duncan House, which has three bedrooms and sleeps six; and $265 per night for the Balter House, which has four bedrooms and sleeps six. Those prices are for three guests; for four to six people, add $50 per person.
Hours for the Blum House Visitor Center, which is not expected to open until August, are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday through Aug. 31. Call ahead for spa and cafe reservations.
The Boulder Room, in the lower level of the Duncan House, features a stone fireplace, Cherokee red concrete floor, patio and wall of windows to the outdoors. It’s equipped for electronic presentations, music and seminars for corporate or private use, with a 120-seat capacity.
Mr. Berndtson’s 1962 master plan for the site, which he named Treetops and Mountain Circles, called for 24 houses, each set within a 300-foot circular clearing in the woods, which today are laced with about five miles of hiking trails. The land between the houses was to have held community facilities such as tennis courts, a baseball diamond, swimming ponds and orchards.
But only two houses were built: the Balter house in 1964 for James and Frances Balter and the Blum house in 1965. Harry Blum, along with brothers Max and Louis, helped build their father’s metalworking business into Blumcraft, an international company still based in Oakland. He died in 1998.
This weekend, Polymath Park will be open for tours, but as always, by reservation only. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For tours of all three buildings, admission is $22. For the Duncan House only, admission is $16. Children under 12 are admitted free but must be closely supervised by an adult. Public tours also will be offered on some Sundays and weekdays; call for information and reservations: 1-877-833-STAY (7829) or visit www.polymathpark.com.
The other Wright-designed houses available for sleepovers are the Bernard Schwartz House in Two Rivers, Wis. (1939); the Louis Penfield House in Willoughby, Ohio (1955); and the Seth Peterson Cottage on Mirror Lake in Wisconsin (1958). The rental rates at all three are in line with the Duncan House rates.
The Duncan House’s first overnight guest, on June 18, hails from Louisiana. Other future guests live in Maryland, Illinois, England and Ireland; visitors from Pittsburgh, Detroit and Australia have stayed in the Balter House, open since November.
“A lot of the people are coming to see Fallingwater and staying with us, which we suspected would be the case,” said resort spokeswoman Laura Nesmith.
Polymath Park is five miles from the Donegal exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
(Patricia Lowry can be reached at plowry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1590. )
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East Liberty development would create public plaza
By Sam Spatter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 13, 2007A proposed $40 million development would bring a second new hotel, another ethnic-style restaurant and other amenities to the city’s rebounding East Liberty neighborhood.
Montrose Exchange, a mixed-use project proposed by Morgan Development Group, will be centered on a new public plaza called Kirkwood Square at North Highland Avenue and Broad Street, according to plans presented to the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority last week.
“We will be seeking about $12 million in funding through the URA, both in low-interest loans and grants,” said Nigel Parkinson, managing partner at Morgan, a firm with offices in Washington and Pittsburgh.
He hopes to begin construction early next year on the project, which will be located in an area bounded by Highland Avenue and Broad, Kirkwood and Whitfield streets.
The Montrose project comprises new construction and renovation of nine properties on three blocks along Broad and Highland. All properties are owned by his firm, Parkinson said.
Designed by architect Andrew Moss, of Moss Architects in East Liberty, the development will build on other projects already under way and planned in the East Liberty neighborhood.
It will tie into three blocks on Broad being improved with new sidewalks, street trees, pedestrian lighting and parking.
The 135-room hotel, named Hotel Indigo, is planned at a site at 129-131 N. Highland. Two vacant buildings there are to be demolished, Parkinson said.
The restaurant, Latin Concepts, would be across the street from the hotel, at the site of the former American Legion Post building.
Hotel Indigo will include a lobby that will tie into the 126 N. Whitfield building and the historic Kirkwood (Governor’s) Hotel building that is to be renovated. Hotel Indigo will incorporate a garden area that will provide a semi-public green space for outdoor dining and special events, Moss said.
Latin Concepts will bring three new establishments to East Liberty. They are the Chi Cha Lounge, offering Modern Andean Cuisine; Agua, with items originating from Peru and Ecuador’s Andean grains, fruits and seafood; and Menta, a planned dance destination.
“If the Montrose development comes to fruition, it will have a tremendous impact on revitalizing the community and serve as the heartbeat of East Liberty,” said Paul Brecht, executive director of East Liberty Quarter Chamber of Commerce.
Already planned for East Liberty is a $20 million Marriott SpringHill Suites to be developed by Kratsa Properties of Harmar at the corner of Highland and Centre avenues. That proposed hotel is adjacent to the Highland Building, which the Pittsburgh-based Zambrano Corp. plans to retrofit into residential units, either condominiums or apartments.
Sam Spatter can be reached at sspatter@tribweb.com or 412-320-7843.
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Grant may get Dormont residents in the pool
By Rick Wills
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 13, 2007The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is giving Dormont $250,000 to boost efforts to restore the borough’s 87-year old pool.
The borough must match the grant. If that happens, the amount raised will be $812,000, the bulk of the $1 million needed to fully upgrade the pool, said John Maggio, president of Friends of Dormont Pool and a Democratic candidate for borough council.
“I am confident we can match the grant,” Maggio said. “We have been able to match other grants we have gotten.”
The state money will pay for rebuilding the pool tank and filtration system, deck paving and landscaping — most of the needed repairs.
“This is the biggest gift we have had so far, and a grant of that magnitude goes a long way toward the pool’s renovation and future,” said Dormont Mayor Thomas Lloyd.
The landmark art-deco pool, which opened in 1920, is believed to be the largest public pool in the state. Other than the addition of a community recreation room in 1996, the facility has undergone little renovation.
“It’s important to our borough, and we certainly want to maintain it,” Lloyd said.
State Rep. Tom Petrone, who helped secure the state money, said the pool is one of the region’s most popular attractions.
“The pool is a real selling point for the borough. It’s really a recreational facility for the whole area, and the quality of life in the South Hills would be affected without it,” said Jon Castelli, research analyst for the House Urban Affairs Committee, which Petrone chairs.
In the past 18 months, plans for the pool and surrounding Dormont Park have generated controversy, sparking a grassroots effort to save the pool as some borough officials discussed closing it.
In January, many residents protested after learning that some council members met with private developers interested in commercially developing parts of the park in exchange for building facilities there.
Last month, three Dormont council members, including the council’s president, were ousted in the Democratic primary.
Rick Wills can be reached at rwills@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7123.
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Grant may get Dormont residents in the pool
By Rick Wills
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 13, 2007The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is giving Dormont $250,000 to boost efforts to restore the borough’s 87-year old pool.
The borough must match the grant. If that happens, the amount raised will be $812,000, the bulk of the $1 million needed to fully upgrade the pool, said John Maggio, president of Friends of Dormont Pool and a Democratic candidate for borough council.“I am confident we can match the grant,” Maggio said. “We have been able to match other grants we have gotten.”
The state money will pay for rebuilding the pool tank and filtration system, deck paving and landscaping — most of the needed repairs.
“This is the biggest gift we have had so far, and a grant of that magnitude goes a long way toward the pool’s renovation and future,” said Dormont Mayor Thomas Lloyd.
The landmark art-deco pool, which opened in 1920, is believed to be the largest public pool in the state. Other than the addition of a community recreation room in 1996, the facility has undergone little renovation.“It’s important to our borough, and we certainly want to maintain it,” Lloyd said.
State Rep. Tom Petrone, who helped secure the state money, said the pool is one of the region’s most popular attractions.
“The pool is a real selling point for the borough. It’s really a recreational facility for the whole area, and the quality of life in the South Hills would be affected without it,” said Jon Castelli, research analyst for the House Urban Affairs Committee, which Petrone chairs.
In the past 18 months, plans for the pool and surrounding Dormont Park have generated controversy, sparking a grassroots effort to save the pool as some borough officials discussed closing it.
In January, many residents protested after learning that some council members met with private developers interested in commercially developing parts of the park in exchange for building facilities there.
Last month, three Dormont council members, including the council’s president, were ousted in the Democratic primary.
Rick Wills can be reached at rwills@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7123.
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Former X-rated Garden Theatre set for a porn-free play
By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 11, 2007The infamous Garden Theatre on the North Side will have its first post-porn performance this week.
Quantum Theatre, a group noted for its offbeat choice of venues, will produce a new play, “The Collected Works of Billy the Kid,” from Thursday through July 1 in the space at 12 W. North Ave. that until March was an X-rated movie theater.The city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority acquired the 93-year-old theater, capping a decade-long legal battle with the Garden’s New York-based former owner. The URA purchased the building — long seen as a major barrier to redevelopment of the North Side — for $1.1 million.
Quantum Theatre is best known for staging its productions in distinctly nontraditional spaces, such as a midnight performance in Allegheny Cemetery or in an empty swimming pool in Braddock.
The play, based on a book by Booker Prize-winning writer Michael Ondaatje, specifically calls for an abandoned theater space, Quantum director Karla Boos said. The sudden availability of the Garden was a felicitous piece of timing, she said.
“The community is not really going to see a renovated theater,” Boos said. “But I hope that they’re going to feel, as we do, that there is a lot that should be preserved about the building.”
Quantum has built a massive platform of seating over the heavily stained vinyl folding seats. “It made sense from both a hygienic standpoint and an artistic standpoint,” Boos said, laughing.
Despite grimy carpets, a peeling black ceiling and red walls, URA director Jerry Dettore described the space as “surprisingly intact.”
“It’s an interesting old theater,” he said. “I hope it can play a role in the arts and theater scene on the North Side, which is pretty cool when you think about it. The art museums, the Children’s Theater, the New Hazlett. It could be part of that chain, the linkage between all those institutions.”
The URA received 11 proposals to redevelop the Garden Theatre and surrounding block and will discuss plans with community groups in the next month, Dettore said. His staff plans to present proposals for a URA board vote this fall.
Among those submitting bids was Aaron Stubna, owner of the Lincoln Barber Shop in Bellevue and an independent filmmaker. Stubna, 36, said he has partnered with theater contractor Bill Porco to plan a refurbished space seating about 300, to regularly show independent and foreign films, as well as concerts and locally made movies. He proposed a wine bar and art gallery.
Stubna said he expects the URA to “mix and match and patch people together” who have plans for the Garden’s future.
Another bidder is The Rubinoff Co., developer of the North Side’s Alcoa Business Services Center, Washington’s Landing and Summerset at Frick Park. Rubinoff Principal Craig Dunham said the company has tapped Eve Picker’s No Wall Productions as well as artistic managers from the New Hazlett and Pittsburgh Filmmakers for advice on a plan.
“We are working with a team …. to figure out how to first refurbish, reuse and rejuvenate it as an anchor for the block,” Dunham said. “Our whole proposal is figuring that out.”
Other development under way in the North Side includes a branch of the Carnegie Library on Federal Avenue; a branch near the Children’s Museum closed in April 2006 after being struck by lightning. Library spokeswoman Suzanne Thinnes said a fall groundbreaking is planned.
At its meeting Thursday, the URA board is to consider the final design and financing of Federal Hill, a 60-unit mixed income housing development nearby.
Bonnie Pfister can be reached at bpfister@tribweb.com or 412-320-7886.
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URA marks milestone in facade program
Friday, June 08, 2007
By Diana Nelson Jones,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority celebrated a milestone in commercial facade renovation yesterday on Broad Street in East Liberty, one of 32 neighborhoods that has benefited from the authority’s Streetface loan-to-grant program.
Ed Lesoon’s three-story yellow-brick building at 6022-24 is the 1,200th facade to have been spruced up with help from the URA, according to records that date to 1983. But his own investment in the neighborhood goes back to the 1970s and has figured in the millions.
Broad Street, between Highland and Sheridan avenues, is heavily traveled, with diagonal head-in parking on one side and a cropped curb on the other. Its facades are largely stale, but that is changing.
Yesterday, a day after Washington, D.C. developer Nigel Parkinson announced plans for a $40 million renovation and a construction complex involving half of that block, the URA saluted the investment Mr. Lesoon has made on much of the other half.
The property that drew about 50 people yesterday — including Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park — once was a furniture store. It was caving in and needed a new parapet wall when Mr. Lesoon bought it in 2000. Besides having sustained fire damage, the building was bricked up except for two little windows in front.
After a complete gutting, it is massive and airy. Each 5,000-square-foot floor has a large bank of windows and elevator access. The interior reconstruction created tie-ins to both upstairs floors of the building beside it, which fronts on Sheridan Avenue and houses a Family Dollar store.
Mr. Lesoon said he wants to rent the first floor of the old furniture store as restaurant or retail space and the upstairs as offices.
Working with architect Cherie Moshier, he and his crews have converted four of seven properties on the block.
They gutted the former Veterans of Foreign Wars club at 6020 Broad and added a partial second-floor overlook that suggests a bistro or club.
Next door is the former Walsh’s Lounge & Bar, which Mr. Lesoon bought last year.
“We removed 500 gallons of grease and dirt out of there,” he said yesterday, adding that he plans to remove the glass-block front and open up the facade.
All told, Mr. Lesoon has restored and renovated 20 of 23 buildings in East Liberty with $208,825 in Streetface grants, said URA spokesman Julie Deseyn.
The facade money, even when it’s a relatively small portion of some of his facade costs, “is such a good incentive that I have been doing this for 20 years,” Mr. Lesoon said. “But I get hooked on buildings. I think of them as my Eliza Doolittles.”
Building owners in qualifying commercial corridors can get 40 percent of the project cost, up to $30,000, said Anita Stec, business development specialist at the URA. The money starts as a loan, but for each of five years that the property is maintained as approved, the URA converts 20 percent of the loan to a grant, she said.
In 25 years, the URA’s $13 million investment in facades has leveraged an additional $50 million in investments by private interests, said Jerome Dettore, executive director of the URA.
Mr. Lesoon said he and his father were inspired by Ward Olander and his company, Real Estate Enterprises, which has been investing in East Liberty properties since 1970. Today, Mr. Lesoon and his son develop properties as the Wedgwood Group.
(Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626. )
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Old glass made new again-Greensburg man restoring stained glass ceiling
Thursday, June 07, 2007
By Karamagi Rujumba,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteTerry Bengel has always been fascinated by light. As a young boy, he often wandered the train tracks of his native Greensburg, picking up glittering shards of glass.
The way light filtered through glass enchanted him enough to pursue a career designing, building and restoring stained glass panels.
Mr. Bengel, 57, who over 38 years has fitted stained glass windows in churches and schools all over Western Pennsylvania, is restoring the stained glass panel ceiling that once covered the atrium ceiling of the Fayette County courthouse in Uniontown.
But unlike many of the projects he has worked on since he opened the Greensburg-based Terry Bengel Stained Glass Studio in 1976, he is restoring a stained glass frame without any reference to what the arrangement once looked like.
That is because the stained glass panel ceiling, which was designed and installed in the 1890s, was taken down and put in storage in 1914.
Since then, the 20 panels, three of which were damaged in storage, were not touched and were considered useless until Fayette County officials approached Mr. Bengel last year, hoping he could restore them.
Mr. Bengel, who said that the stained glass panels were removed from the courthouse ceiling because of a leak in the building’s skylight, represented the Beaux Arts style of the 1890s when they were installed.
“It’s what we call a carpet window because it resembles the layout of an oriental rug,” he said.
“When I first took a look at the panels, they were completely covered in coal soot,” Mr. Bengel recalled. ” I couldn’t even see their color or patterns.”
And so his first step was to clean the panels thoroughly and photograph them. Then he used a computer program to re-create an image of what the original ceiling might have looked like.
To rebuild the three destroyed panels, Mr. Bengel traced all the windows that were intact to extract the design of the windows that had to be reproduced.
“I was able to trace the good stuff to a full-sized drawing that I could reverse their mirror image and then re-create the images of the destroyed pieces,” he said.
But re-creating the design wasn’t as hard as re-creating some of the original paint and color schemes.
“Those enamel colors are very hard to re-create because they are a powder form that has to be ground thoroughly and then mixed with water, which evaporates,” he said. “The whole thing is very time consuming.”
Mr. Bengel expects to have the reconstruction project completed next week.
“The installation is very simple,” he said. “The panels will simply be fit into place in the atrium.”
(Karamagi Rujumba can be reached at krujumba@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1719 )