Category Archive: Historic Properties
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X marks $1.1M spot for North Side theater, URA
By Bonnie Pfister
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, February 16, 2007A decade of legal battles over the Garden Theatre ended Thursday with a $1.1 million agreement between the owner of the North Side X-rated cinema and the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority.
The settlement, announced at the URA’s monthly board meeting just an hour after it was signed, comes almost two months after the state Supreme Court ruled that the city of Pittsburgh could seize the theater by eminent domain.The board unanimously approved the deal, and the city could be in possession of the theater along West North Avenue before the end of the month.
“This is a great day for the city of Pittsburgh,” said state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, a URA board member. “It certainly elevates the overall development potential of the area.”
The dispute began in the mid-1990s, when then-Mayor Tom Murphy initiated the seizure of 47 buildings along and near Federal Street west of Allegheny General Hospital as part of a redevelopment program called “Federal North.”
But theater owner George Androtsakis refused the URA’s $214,000 buyout offer, saying the city was trying to squelch his First Amendment right to show pornographic films.
“Mr. Androtsakis would have loved to have a theater showing other kinds of film, but he couldn’t attract an audience because of the demographics of that neighborhood,” said James Sargent, the attorney who argued on Androtsakis’ behalf before the court and negotiated yesterday’s deal.
“He loved the Garden Theatre because it was a remarkable edifice, a real testament to our evolution as a culture,” Sargent said. “But, in the final analysis, he agreed to this without bitterness. It’s a business decision.”
URA general counsel Don Kortlandt said he first reached out to Androtsakis soon after the Supreme Court’s ruling, but negotiations broke down in mid-January. Androtsakis reconsidered about a week later, and negotiations resumed in earnest 10 days ago, Kortlandt said.
While Androtsakis initially was asking for far more than double the price finally agreed upon, Kortlandt said, “We got to a number that we both could stand, high enough for them, low enough for us.”
Last month, the URA sent out requests for proposals for redevelopment of 10 parcels surrounding the theater, but URA officials said many expressed skepticism as long as the theater continued to show pornography. The requests now will be amended to include the 92-year-old movie house, which began showing adult films in 1972.
Bonnie Pfister can be reached at bpfister@tribweb.com or 412-320-7886.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
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Judge rules for developer in Oakland hospital plan
by Ben Semmes
Pittsburgh Business Times
February 15, 2007A judge has ruled in favor of a local developer and health care provider who hope to build an 80-bed specialty hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, the first new hospital proposed in the city in decades.
Uptown-based The Elmhurst Group, the project’s developer, and Mechanicsburg-based Select Medical Corp., the hospital’s proposed operator, had appealed a decision by the City of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission rejecting their proposal for an eight-story hospital in the parking lot of the First Baptist Church, near the intersection of Bigelow Boulevard and Bayard Street in Oakland.
The Elmhurst Group’s plan calls for Select Medical Corp. to run the hospital — to be called Schenley Place — as a long-term, acute-care center that would receive patients from the city’s trauma and tertiary care hospitals.
The six-page decision, issued by Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge Joseph James on Wednesday, is a stinging defeat for the Historic Review Commission, which twice ruled against the proposal, citing concerns about the size and height of the building.
Bill Hunt, president of The Elmhurst Group, said he is planning to proceed with a plan for an eight-story building, which was presented to and rejected by the Historic Review Commission in the beginning of October.
“Our sense is that it was the right decision,” Hunt said. “We have every intention now to move forward. It does shows that we were right from the beginning.”
The next step, Hunt said, is to bring the project before the city’s Planning Commission.
Jeffrey Ackerman, executive vice president at Downtown-based CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh and broker for Select Medical, was not immediately available for comment.
Judge James’ ruling is not his first against the Historic Review Commission’s decision to reject the project.
In July, the Historic Review Commission voted 5-2 rejecting the initial proposal for a 10-story, 140,000-square-foot building after a public hearing where some residents from the bordering historic neighborhood Schenley Farms complained about the size of the proposed building.
In response to an appeal by Elmhurst, Judge James overturned the decision and ordered a rehearing, based on a lack of documented public testimony, according to Wednesday’s ruling.At the rehearing in October, the Historic Review Commission again rejected the plan, splitting the votes 3-3, this time for an eight-story structure with a 10-foot set-back from nearby Ruskin Hall, with one member abstaining.
Opposing members said at the time they would be amenable to a six-story structure, which would match the roof-line of the First Baptist Church, and a larger set-back.
According to Wednesday’s ruling, the Historic Review Commission’s second decision was overturned because, Judge James wrote, “the height and set-back of structures is specifically governed by the Zoning Code of Pittsburgh” not the Historic Review Commission.
Edward Kabala, a vocal opponent of the project and resident of Schenley Farms, was not immediately available for comment.
Cleda Klingensmith, a representative of the Historic Review Commission, did not immediately return a call requesting comment.
bsemmes@bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3829
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Fallingwater, courthouse make Architects’ cut
By Joe Napsha
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, February 8, 2007Fallingwater, the famous Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in Fayette County, and the Allegheny County Courthouse, Downtown, were rated as two of America’s 150 favorite pieces of architecture, in a list announced Wednesday.
“There is no question these are the two most uniquely architecturally significant structures (in the region). People come from throughout the world to see them,” said Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.Ziegler, whose organization is involved in preserving historic and architecturally significant properties in the region, said he was not surprised that Fallingwater and the Allegheny County Courthouse made the list.
The Empire State Building in New York City, followed by the White House in Washington, were at the top of the American Institute of Architects’ list of 150 favorite pieces of American architecture. The list was developed in conjunction with the association’s 150th anniversary.
Fallingwater, which Wright designed in the 1936 for Edgar J. Kaufmann, owner of the former Kaufmann’s department store in Pittsburgh, might be one of Wright’s most innovative works, Ziegler said.
“There really is no other house like it, yet,” Ziegler said, calling it “an extraordinary design in an extra ordinary site.”
The house at Mill Run, which Wright placed over a waterfall on Bear Run, is so popular that it attracts 130,000 visitors annually, said Clinton Piper, museums program assistant at Fallingwater.
“It’s something that continues to speak to people at all levels of education. People can come here without any prior knowledge of this and can find something inspiring. I think that’s part of its enduring appeal,” Piper said.
The Allegheny County Courthouse on Grant Street, which was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and finished in 1886, “is a timeless piece of architecture and represents a real quantum leap in terms of American style,” said Thomas Briney, immediate past president of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
“Richardson had a singular kind of style and that’s what set it apart,” said Briney, an architect with Perkins Eastman, Downtown.
Richardson considered the courthouse “the culmination of his career,” Ziegler said.
To the late James Van Trump, the landmarks foundation’s co-founder, the courthouse was “the architectural lion of Pittsburgh,” Ziegler said.
Two buildings in Western Pennsylvania were ranked in the top 35 of the American Institute of Architects’ 150 favorite pieces of American architecture.
1. Empire State Building, New York City
2. The White House, Washington
3. Washington National Cathedral, Washington
4. Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Washington
5. Golden State Bridge, San Francisco
6. U.S. Capitol, Washington
7. Lincoln Memorial, Washington
8. Biltmore Estate (Vanderbilt residence), Asheville, N.C.
9. Chrysler Building, New York City
10. Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington
29. Fallingwater (Kaufmann family residence), Mill Run, Fayette County
35. Allegheny County Courthouse, Pittsburgh
Joe Napsha can be reached at jnapsha@tribweb.com or (412)-320-7993.
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Group seeks designation for former city stable
By Bobby Kerlik
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, January 29, 2007Erected 112 years ago, a three-story building on West North Avenue on the North Side once stabled horses for the Allegheny City public works department.
A local historic group wants to designate the building — now used as a private garage — as a historic structure.“There are very few municipally owned buildings left from the city of Allegheny,” said Timothy Zinn, 43, of the Allegheny West historic group. “The Department of Public Works had several stables at one point. This appears to be the only one left — from Pittsburgh or Allegheny.”
Built in 1895 for $12,260, the stable housed horses used for everyday tasks such as hauling water tanks to clean the streets, Zinn said.
After Pittsburgh swallowed Allegheny City in a forced annexation in 1907, Pittsburgh continued using the building as a public works stable until horses were phased out. The stable then was used as a garage, said Michael D. Eversmeyer, chairman of city’s Historical Review Commission.
“In 1928 the city of Pittsburgh still used 300 horses in various departments,” said Eversmeyer, chairman of city’s Historical Review Commission.Pittsburgh sold the building in 1969.
The commission will consider the proposal Feb. 7, although City Council will have the final say on the designation. Once a building is designated as historic, the owner must get approval from the commission before doing work on the exterior.
Building owner Jim Rutledge could not be reached for comment.
Tenant Al Land, of Spring Hill, rents the building from Rutledge to work on cars. He said historical buffs have asked to film or take pictures of the building in the past.
“I used to work here as a kid when it was a delivery company,” Land said. “I like the building. I hope they don’t kick me out. I don’t know what I would do with these cars.”
Zinn admitted the building is in poor condition. Windows on the first floor have been filled in with concrete bricks, and many of the windows on the second and third floors are broken or have been boarded up.
A faded sign, proclaiming “DPW Bureau of Highways and Sewers 8th Div.,” still hangs outside the building.
Inside the building, dim lighting reveals crumbling arched ceilings with ornate exposed beams and chipped paint.
Carole Malakoff, a member of the Allegheny West historical committee, said the building could be repaired and saved. She said the building was rumored to be targeted for demolition by a prospective buyer.
“We thought we ought to hurry up and do something,” Malakoff said. “It’s probably the last stable left in the city, and it can be developed. It’s important to reflect the history of Pittsburgh. People want to live in neighborhoods that have character.”
Bobby Kerlik can be reached at bkerlik@tribweb.com or 412-391-0927.
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Turtle Creek Mayor to School District: Redistrict; don’t consolidate junior highs
By ADAM R. FORGIE
Mayor, Turtle Creek
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Pittsburgh Post GazetteThis letter is in response to the comments made by Colleen Filiak, of the Woodland Hills school board, who, at the Jan. 10 board meeting, said the students of East Junior High in Turtle Creek were not receiving the same level of education as a student at West Junior High in Swissvale.
As an alumnus of Woodland Hills School District who spent my junior high years at East Junior High, as a social studies teacher of six years at East Junior High, and as the mayor of Turtle Creek, I believe I am highly qualified to voice my opinion and express my disappointment in Mrs. Filiak’s comments.
The children of East Junior High have had and will continue to have an excellent education, which is being taught by a very professional and highly qualified staff. The opportunities and curricula being taught are the same as what is being taught by my outstanding colleagues at West Junior High. If anything, the learning environment at East is much more conducive to learning because it is a smaller and more controllable student body. Consolidating junior highs will create a chaotic atmosphere that will lower PSSA scores and promote a horrible educational atmosphere.
I believe the solution is to redistrict 150 students from West to East. This will lighten the load on both the West staff and the borough of Swissvale and, furthermore, equalize the student populations in both schools. Turtle Creek and its citizens also will get to keep their historic, treasured and beautiful high school operational.
Mrs. Filiak makes me wonder, if I had not gone to East, would I still have ended up just a teacher and mayor? Her comments suggest that if I had gone to West, that I would be a superintendent and our governor.
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Prestigious award may park in Mellon Square
By Allison M. Heinrichs
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, January 20, 2007An unassuming, peaceful piece of green in the heart of Downtown has support from a national historic landscape expert to be honored as a landmark, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has announced.
Mellon Square — a block of green dotted with fountains and sculptures near the Mellon Bank Building — should be given National Historic Landmark status as the oldest-surviving park above a parking garage, said Charles Birnbaum, founder of the Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington.
“Think about the green roof movement in America. This came before that,” Birnbaum said. “Think about the American fascination with the automobile in post-war America. This fed off that.
“Think about the civic-minded vision that the Mellons had: This is part of the city’s civic philanthropy.”
On Feb. 1, Birnbaum will be at The Pittsburgh Golf Club in Squirrel Hill to discuss Mellon Square’s eligibility for the national designation. His visit is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, which is considering to sponsor Mellon Square for National Historic Landmark status.
“We feel the space is very elegant,” said Meg Cheever, president of the conservancy. “Sometimes we take for granted what is in our own backyard.”
Mellon Square was designed by landscape architect John Ormsbee Simonds, of Kilbuck, who died in 2005. He also designed Equitable Plaza and Crawford Square — all in Western Pennsylvania — and the Chicago Botanical Gardens.
Work on the park started in 1948 and was finished in 1951.
Birnbaum said he is optimistic about Mellon Square’s chances of getting National Historic Landmark status because very little has been changed there.
Simonds directed the park’s restoration in the early 1990s — staying true to his original vision for the park, which he described as “a platform, a structure, an island, a space, a focal center, a civic monument, a gathering place and an oasis,” according to Birnbaum.
John Scholl, a senior principal at Environmental Planning & Design — a Downtown firm that Simonds founded — said Simonds would have appreciated Mellon Square getting landmark status.
“I think it’s very much appropriate, and I’m sure John would be delighted,” Scholl said.
Officials with the National Park Service would evaluate Mellon Square, based on its significance to national history and how much of its original design still exists, said national parks historian Caridad de la Vega. Usually landmarks must be at least 50 years old to get the designation.
“It’s an involved process; there are a lot of steps. You can’t just say: ‘I want to be a landmark,’ and become one,” de la Vega said.
The process usually takes about two years. If Mellon Square gets the designation, it would be among a select few.
“National historic landmarks number about 2,600 or so in America, and it is the highest honor in the U.S.,” Birnbaum said. “Of that, only 50 or so have significance in landscape architecture — so you’re talking about a very elite group.”
Allison M. Heinrichs can be reached at aheinrichs@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5607.
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Parents worried about historic school buildings
By Karamagi Rujumba,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, January 11, 2007After celebrating a quarter century of growth in Woodland Hills schools, district officials are worried about the next 25 years.
That’s what lead Superintendent Roslynne Wilson to propose a building consolidation plan that she had hoped would save the district nearly $2.5 million a year.
The school board last night, though, voted down that proposal as well as a last-minute plan pitched by board member Colleen Filiak that targeted the same three schools — Shaffer Primary, Rankin Intermediate and East Junior High schools.
Their votes were in reaction to district taxpayers’ concerns with the closings.
In Turtle Creek, school board members and about 40 people from the community met last Thursday night at Palmieri Restaurant to discuss what the school district’s plan would mean to the community.
Some parents said the superintendent’s plan, in particular, would have lead to the closing and eventual abandonment of historic school buildings in some communities.
The key question for many district parents and others at the meeting was what the school district would do with buildings such as East Junior High School when it is closed. East Junior formerly was historic Turtle Creek High School, and a group has been working for about two years to prevent it from being razed or having its facade renovated.
“That building is very important to many of us,” said Robert Mock, of Turtle Creek, who has been trying to save the school.
“We believe that, if the building is closed, it should be repurposed. What we don’t want to happen is to have the building abandoned,” Mr. Mock said.
Dr. Wilson told the group that the next quarter century would see a much smaller school district, noting that a number of factors such as Act 72 and Act 1 restrictions, declining enrollment and potential teacher retirements would force the district to trim its size, especially the number of buildings it can maintain in tight budgetary times.
“This makes an opportune time to consolidate our buildings,” Dr. Wilson said .
That is why the school district has proposed a three-year building consolidation plan, which would see the closing of three schools in three years: Shaffer, Rankin Intermediate and East Junior High School .
Dr. Wilson said the district’s plan ultimately would save the district about $2.5 million from a reduction in property, personnel and benefits expenses. Without the implementation of the plan or some other cost-saving steps, the district will be faced with some very hard decisions, including possible teacher layoffs, the superintendent said.
School board President Cynthia Lowery said she supported the building consolidation plan because, if it is not implemented, the district would have to consider making cuts somewhere else in its $80 million budget.
“We have to stop deficit spending,” Ms. Lowery said. “We have tried to listen to the community about what they want to see, but there will never be a consensus on this issue.”
(Karamagi Rujumba can be reached at: krujumba@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1719. )
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State agency to begin survey of region’s historic farms
By Don Hopey,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, November 23, 2006Dozens of historic buildings and farms have fallen through the cracks in the southwestern Pennsylvania coalfields, but a planned survey may help the state produce a much-needed safety net.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has received a $75,000 federal grant from Preserve America to conduct a two-year survey of more than 2,800 farms and other properties in Washington and Greene counties.
While some historic buildings, like the Ernest Thralls House near Spraggs in Greene County, have been damaged by longwall mine subsidence because the state did little to save them, others have been lost because not even the agencies that are supposed to protect them knew they were there, tucked along the back roads in the rolling hills of the mostly rural counties.
Carol Lee, the commission’s National Register of Historic Places coordinator, said the state’s official history agency is limited by staffing and funding, and doesn’t know how many historic properties have been damaged by longwall mining or even how many listed or eligible properties still exist.
“We have listed and eligible historic properties in each county, but we would have to survey or get reports from local groups to know what is happening to them,” Ms. Lee said.
That lack of information can be a problem because the commission is supposed to provide the state Department of Environmental Protection, which issues mining permits, with pre-mining advisory opinions about whether subsidence caused by longwall operations will damage those properties.
The commission lists 92 properties in Washington County on the National Register of Historic Places and another 197 sites eligible for listing, and 41 properties in Greene County, with another 23 judged eligible. But some historians say there are many more.
The commission will plan the historical farm survey this winter and begin field survey work next spring.