Category Archive: Historic Properties
-
Foundation grant to help restore Homestead firehouse
Wednesday, July 18, 2001
By Jim Hosek, Tri-State Sports & News Service
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation has announced that Hillman Foundation Inc. has agreed to contribute $75,000 toward restoring Homestead’s firehouse and former municipal building.
But borough council President Dorothy Kelly refused comment beyond saying the History & Landmarks news release about the decaying building at the corner of Amity Street and East Ninth Avenue was premature.
Mayor Betty Esper, who said she is never invited to any firehouse committee meetings but should be, added, “I don’t know anything about the grant. If that’s true, that $75,000 is a start. But we’re looking at at least $600,000 in renovations for that building.”
She said renovations are badly needed. The building, infamous for its many electrical and plumbing problems, is occupied only by the volunteer fire company. The police department is in an Allegheny County-owned building across from the firehouse. Municipal offices are a number of blocks away at a building owned by the Steel Valley Council of Governments.
Once renovated, the municipal offices and firehouse would all be in the same building again.
The History & Landmarks news release said that besides the Hillman Foundation grant, other commitments for the renovation project have come from state Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills; the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Pennsylvania Heritage Parks Program; the RSMIS Foundation; Homestead Borough; and the Homestead Volunteer Fire Department.
The release said Continental Real Estate Companies, the developer of The Waterfront, has donated engineering services toward the project.
“The restoration of this building is a central part of our continuing program to assist in the restoration of the significant buildings in this historic town,” Landmarks President Arthur Ziegler said in the release. He could not be reached for additional comment.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette
-
2 Lawrence buildings start falling
Convention center, paint factory demolition begin
Tuesday, June 12, 2001
By Tom Barnes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
It was a bad day for Pittsburgh buildings named Lawrence.
Demolition began yesterday on the original David L. Lawrence Convention Center — a youngster only 20 years old — as it was slammed by a machine called a Komatsu Excavator nicknamed “Bad Boy.”
Most of that building at Penn Avenue and 10th Street will be demolished by conventional methods, although a small implosion will be used this summer to take down a section of the roof.
The building, which opened in 1981, had only 131,000 square feet of exhibit space, which is considered tiny by today’s convention center standards. Demolition is to be completed by mid-August so that phase two of construction of the new convention center can proceed. The first phase of the new building is well under way on the western side of 10th Street.
Tom Kennedy, project manager for the Sports & Exhibition Authority, said the old convention center had to be razed “because the design wasn’t compatible” with the new $328 million center, which was designed by architect Rafael Vinoly of New York City.
Six events planned for the latter half of 2001 had to be moved to other venues in the area or rescheduled because the old convention center is being demolished. The first phase of the new, larger building will open in January in time for public events such as the annual boat and auto shows.
While the convention center was being razed Downtown, demolition cranes were also whacking into a brick wall at the 99-year-old Lawrence Paint Co. building on the south side of the Ohio River. It’s just west of Station Square and faces the Point fountain across the river.
That industrial structure was built in 1902 and has been closed for more than 30 years. Much of the roof has withered away over the years, allowing rain and bird droppings to get inside and damage the interior. Demolition is expected to take 60 to 90 days.
Some historic preservationists had looked at the building in recent years as a possible site for high-end apartments or condominiums, but the extensive interior damage and the narrow site — squeezed in between railroad tracks and Carson Street, a state road — made reuse of the structure prohibitively expensive.
A master plan for the entire 50-acre Station Square site, which had been done in 1992 by Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation when it owned the property, called for the preservation and renovation of Lawrence Paint.
But after the prime riverfront property was sold in 1994 to Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland and Tennessee-based Promus hotels and casinos, approval was obtained from the city to demolish the old paint building.
Forest City later bought out Promus, but Promus still holds an option on the land until 2007 in case Pennsylvania should legalize floating or land-based casinos.
At least until the option held by Promus expires, the Lawrence Paint building will be replaced by a small park with industrial artifacts.
“We regret that the master plan, which PHLF submitted to the city in 1992 and which required preservation of Lawrence Paint, is not being followed,” said History & Landmarks spokeswoman .
Even after the property was sold by Landmarks in 1994, “we assumed the approved master plan would be followed,” she said.
She acknowledged that Forest City, in the late 1990s, went to the city planning commission to obtain approval to demolish the building, saying it had become too damaged to be renovated.
McCollom said History & Landmarks “will work with Forest City on a commemorative industrial display” to go where the building has long stood. The display will include some artifacts from the building, she said.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette
-
Carson home gets environmentally friendly makeover-PPG uses project to test new products; unions donate labor
By Pete Bishop
TRIBUNE-REVIEW 02/15/2001
Thanks to donations of time, effort and expertise, the girlhood home of one of America’s most famous environmentalists is getting an environmentally friendly face-lift.
The Rachel Carson Homestead in Springdale Borough already sports new stainless steel gutters and a new roof of asphalt shingles that are configured to look like weathered cedar, said Danelle Ardell, Rachel Carson Homestead Association board president.
Interior painting is under way and exterior painting is scheduled, and both are “special because we’re using a paint formulated by PPG that has no volatile organic compounds,” she said.
“It’s good for the environment so that sensitive people are not accosted by the fumes of paint, and it’s also good for the workers.”
PPG Industries and Air Products, one of its resin suppliers, donated the paint, roofing materials and gutters.
District Council 57 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, United Union of Roofers Local 37, Sheet Metal Workers International Local 12 and the Carpenters Regional District Council of Western Pennsylvania contributed the labor.
Ardell said Arthur P. Ziegler Jr., president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and Ellis Schmidlapp of Landmark Design Associates helped assure that the materials used maintained the historic authenticity of the Marion Avenue building in which Carson was born in 1907.
After graduating from Pennsylvania College for Women, now Chatham College, Carson wrote natural history articles for the Baltimore Sun and later became editor-in-chief of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publications.
Her book “Silent Spring,” published in 1962 and warning of the long-term effects of misusing pesticides, ranked fifth among the Modern Library’s 100 best nonfiction books of the 20th century published in English.
Carson’s other books were “The Sense of Wonder,” “Under the Sea Wind,” “The Sea Around Us” and “The Edge of the Sea.” She died of breast cancer in 1964 at the age of 56.
PPG donated the materials because “we’re kind of attached to this historical landmark right here in Springdale” and because it welcomed the chance to “help out with the restoration of that facility,” said Bill Boberski, director of technology for architectural coatings at the plant there.
“Also, we always have products in development, and in this case we had some products that are very environmentally friendly. We were kind of anxious to take the opportunity to work with those products in that facility, which is linked to environmental issues, to find out how well they work and demonstrate their performance.”
Similarly, having supervised apprentices work on the homestead “gives us the opportunity to demonstrate the work we’re able to perform,” said Lee Libert, assistant educational coordinator of the carpenters’ council.
Furthermore, “it’s a nonprofit situation they’re in, and we see worthwhile projects as a responsibility,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
Bill Ellenberger, apprenticeship and health and safety program director, said Council 57 tries to expand its apprenticeship program annually “into the community doing some worthwhile projects. These are ways we can get our apprentices acquainted with the community and get them to accept some responsibility.”
Ardell said work should be done by April, at which time some furnishings will be changed “with the goal of making it look more like it did when Rachel Carson lived there.” The Carsons took all their furniture with them when they moved after Rachel’s college graduation.
The homestead is closed to the public until renovations are completed. The free Wild Creatures Nature Trail, with seven learning stations teaching nature lessons with signs and letting visitors know what Carson might have experienced at each spot, is open daily during daylight hours.
– Pete Bishop can be reached at pbishop `Silent Spring: Alarums and Excursions.’
Where: Henry Heymann Theatre in the lower level of the Stephen Foster Memorial, Forbes Avenue, Oakland.
When: Continues through March 4. Curtain times are 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Ticket information: (412) 624-7529.
Recepition: On Feb. 24, the Rachel Carson Homestead Association and Chatham College’s Rachel Carson Institute will have a post-show reception at the theater. Proceeds will benefit a project that distributes educational book covers about Carson. Tickets cost $45. For details, call Lisa Elliott at (724) 274-5459
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. © Tribune Review
-
South Side church converting to condos
Wednesday, February 14, 2001
By Jan Ackerman, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
While retaining its historic character, one of the South Side’s most beloved old Catholic churches and its rectory will be converted into high-end, residential condominiums.
St. Michael Church on Pius Street on the South Side Slopes, was closed in 1992 as part of a reorganization by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. At that time, the diocese “desanctified” the church, removing the altar and other religious items from inside.
“The interior is completely gutted,” said Jennifer McCarthy, an architect with Hanson Design Group Ltd., the South Side firm that is designing the proposed condominiums for Thomas Tripoli, a South Side developer.
She said some residents have stopped by to see what is going on at the old church and expressed concern that the church they attended for so many years was being measured and studied for possible renovation.
McCarthy said most of the stained glass was removed from the church five or six years ago. “The altar was ripped out. Anything that had a cross or any sort of religious symbol is gone.”
Yesterday, Pittsburgh City Council gave its final approval to a resolution giving historic designation to the church and rectory. Mayor Tom Murphy now has to sign off on that resolution.
With the historic designation, the two buildings officially come under the purview of the city’s Historic Review Commission, which already has approved plans for renovating them.
Tripoli, who plans to live in one of the condominiums, is proposing to convert the buildings into about 25 condominiums, ranging in area from 1,000 to 2,000 or 3,000 square feet. He said the units will be priced from $150,000 to $250,000.
McCarthy said the first phase of the project will be renovation of the rectory. Once one of the largest in the city, it was the first home in the United States for the Passionist order of priests who staffed the parish from 1853 to 1973.
She said the church renovation will be more involved since new floors and an elevator will be added. She said window sills will be lowered on the Pius Street side of the church to allow more light to get inside. On the side of the church that faces Downtown, she said, “we are going to lower the window sills, put in French doors and small wrought iron terraces.”
The church, which was constructed in a German Romanesque style, has a basilica with a prominent center tower and a clerestory. It was designed by Pittsburgh architect Charles S. Bartberger, who later designed the Passionists’ St. Paul of the Cross Monastery on Monastery Avenue on the South Side.
Walter Kidney, architectural historian for Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, nominated the St. Michael buildings for the historic designation. Neighborhood groups, including the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association, favor the designation.
“The building has been part of the social fabric of the South Side Slopes for almost 150 years,” wrote Edward F. Jacob, president of the neighborhood association.
Built between 1858 and 1860, St. Michael Church became Pittsburgh’s first Catholic church south of the Monongahela River and the third church built for a German congregation.
Two St. Michael parish traditions have been retained, even though the church is closed.
One is the presentation of “Veronica’s Veil,” the passion play written by a priest from St. Michael in 1913 that has been staged every year since during Lent. “Veronica’s Veil” is now performed in the auditorium at 18th and Pius streets, a building that used to be part of the St. Michael parochial school.
The second is Cholera Day, the feast day of St. Roch, patron saint of plagues, who was credited with sparing parishioners from the cholera attack of 1849. That traditional day began at St. Michael, but was moved to Prince of Peace, the reorganized parish.
In the fall, the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese objected to historic designation for the church and rectory, saying it would prolong the diocese’s efforts to sell the buildings. Last week, Tripoli closed the real estate deal on the buildings before City Council held the final hearing on that designation.
The sale price has not yet been recorded in the Allegheny County recorder of deeds office. The property has a market value of $350,000, according to county records.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. © Pittsburgh Post Gazette
-
Rebuilding needs input, not secrecy
Wednesday, October 06, 1999
By Sally Kalson
Pittsburgh Post GazetteThere’s never been any question that something must be done about Pittsburgh’s Forbes-Fifth corridor, a grim expanse with too many indications of a center-city in decline.
But now we’re seeing what happens when the plan for “something” is hatched in secret, by a few people, with no input from those most directly affected, and without consulting any of the myriad local experts who could have helped shape the project and build community support.
Without that kind of participation, Mayor Murphy’s newly unveiled plan for Market Place at Fifth and Forbes feels like it’s being done more TO us than WITH us. And that’s a shame.
I, for one, would love to get behind a major Downtown revitalization project. But as it stands, this one gives me the willies.
It feels out of balance, both too much and not enough — too much demolition, not enough preservation; too much commercial development, not enough residential (none, actually); too much emphasis on national chains, not enough on retaining homegrown business; too much telling how it’s GOING to be, not enough conferring on how it OUGHT to be.
The plan has its merits, to be sure. Of the $480.5 million package, about 89 percent will come from the private developer, Urban Retail Properties of Chicago, and the prospective tenants. The buildings are to be in scale with Downtown’s current proportions, and all the stores are to have street entrances instead of inward-facing, mall-type corridors.
But — and this is a very big but — the plan calls for the city to acquire 64 buildings and demolish 62 of them. Only 10 facades are to be saved and incorporated into the new designs.
That’s not revitalization; it’s clear-cutting. And even if the new buildings that take their place are nicely designed, will there be anything distinct about them? Anything that says Pittsburgh, as opposed to Cleveland, Denver, Atlanta or Fort Worth?
How many structures that are worth saving could have been kept in the picture if Murphy and his point man on the project, Deputy Mayor Tom Cox, had invited Pittsburgh History and Landmarks and Preservation Pittsburgh into the process, instead of holding them off?
Having been excluded, they’re now working on alternative plans of their own. How much time, energy and expense could have been saved if they’d all worked together from the get-go?
And how many Downtown business owners could have been won over, fired up or, at the very least, assuaged if the mayor’s office had found a way to include them? Now they’re angry as hornets, vowing to dig in and hold out, threatening lawsuits.
It was all so predictable, and so unnecessary. Sure, some opposition is inevitable in a project of this scale. All the more reason to accept the help of potential allies when it’s offered instead of shutting them out.
Arthur Ziegler of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks summed it up, saying he was “most disappointed that the city has ignored all those people and organizations that want to help. There was an opportunity here to encourage terrific local community energy and commitment through broad participation.”
This, I think, is one of the most unfortunate characteristics of Murphy’s tenure. I believe he loves this city and cares deeply about its future. If only he could recognize that other people do, too.
Sally Kalson’s e-mail is:skalson@post-gazette.com
-
FIGHTING FOR OUR OLDER SCHOOLS – AND COMMUNITY SOUL
By Neal R. Peirce
America’s maladies of giantism and mindless standardization aren’t just matters of the craze for bigger highways that paved the way for Wal-Mart and McDonalds and their imitators, erasing the distinctiveness of our communities.
Our public schools are being impacted just as gravely. Grand old structures continue to be mindlessly demolished, replaced by nondescript, low-slung buildings in seas of parking lots on the outskirts of towns.
And not always by accident. Just as there’s a highway lobby — the asphalt and concrete gang, engineers and state highway departments — there’s a powerful lobby for tearing down old schools and building anew. It includes school construction consultants, architects, builders, and their rule-writing allies in state departments of education.
Take the school construction saga of Brentwood, a working class old trolley suburb about 5 miles south of Pittsburgh. In 1995, the local school board was talking of closing the two elementary schools and attaching them to the existing middle- and senior high school in a single giant K-12 education complex.
Ronald Yochum, a professional working with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, thought that was a terrible idea. So did several others who ran with him for the school board, promising to save Brentwood’s neighborhood schools. They unseated the incumbents with a 70 percent vote.
Once elected, they faced a mountain of Pennsylvania Department of Education space minimums and code requirements. A school building consultant was hired, who reported the two old schools were substandard, that they should be demolished and replaced with new structures costing $11.2 million.
The consultant was asked– What about comprehensive renovations instead of demolition? His reluctant answer: Maybe you could do it. But you’d have to put a stucco shell on that old building to get satisfactory energy efficiency. The job would cost, he estimated, $8.6 million.
Yochum and his board allies wanted nothing of a plan that would destroy the building’s historic aesthetics. So they located a local architect who wasn’t wired into the Pennsylvania school-building game. With him, they devised a plan to renovate the two old schools in a way that preserved the aesthetics of the facade and interior, insulated the walls and roofs, rewired the rooms for Internet technology, and met every state building requirement. The final cost: $5.9 million, just over half the consultant’s first figure.
Even then, the price was $850,000 more than it had to be to satisfy a state regulation mandating steel and concrete wherever the old structures had wood load-bearing walls and wood floors. The state regulators wouldn’t budge on their rule, even though the revamped buildings would have full fire sprinkling. The rule, says Yochum, makes it difficult to rehabilitate any school building more than 30 or 40 years old.
Similar stories, says Constance Beaumont of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, are being echoed across America, in one state after another. In her book, “Smart States, Better Communities,” she identifies typical “guidelines” — from the Council of Educational Facility Planning, for example — which escalate from at least 10 acres of land for every elementary school to 50 acres for community colleges, plus extra acres (based on total enrollment) for playing fields and lots of parking spaces.
Another guideline recommends against renovating any school if the cost is more than 50 percent of total replacement. States don’t need to adopt these guidelines — but they frequently do. Communities that want state school aid are forced to abandon still-serviceable historic buildings.
The result: “school sprawl” that makes towns less attractive and marketable, feeds exurban growth, forces many students from their bikes onto buses, removes students from the lively daily flow of town life, and indeed simply feeds the isolation many of today’s teenagers feel.
J. Myrick Howard of Preservation North Carolina charges that his state’s Department of Public Instruction not only promulgates “ridiculous” acreage and size standards for new schools but has adopted regulations which actually limit preventive maintenance of fine old school buildings. It’s “poor stewardship of public resources,” says Howard.
Maryland appears to be the grand exception. Recently backed up by Gov. Parris Glendening’s campaign to restrain sprawl, a set of counter-guidelines — for preservation — are being enforced by Yale Stenzler, director of the state’s public school construction program.
And with clear results: From 1991 to 1997, the percentage of Maryland’s school construction funds supporting renovations and additions to existing schools — rather than new structures — soared from 34 percent to 82 percent.
“Older school buildings can be renovated and revitalized to provide for the most up-to-date educational programs and services.” says Stenzler. Remade schools in existing neighborhoods “will encourage families to stay, … to use the existing roads, parks, libraries, public facilities.”
Will other states start shifting course? Maybe, with progressive (and smarter) governors. But more guerilla action at the school district level, like Brentwood’s, may be vital to convince the public of how much is really at stake.
©1997, Washington Post Writers Group.