Category Archive: Neighborhood Development
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Strength Inc. restoring buildings, the homeless
By Ann Belser,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thursday, March 22, 2007Donald Henson is moving out of temporary housing into a permanent residence.
The move to an efficiency apartment is a big step up from the homeless shelter in which he spent time in 2005 after losing his apartment.
Mr. Henson, 53, is not the only one in the equation to have hit bottom. The Wilkinsburg building into which he is moving was once dilapidated and in need of help.
Strength Inc., which runs human services programs in the borough, can be credited with helping both. The four-story building on Wood Street officially opened March 14 with a ribbon-cutting by officials from Strength Inc., Allegheny County and Wilkinsburg, as well as the bankers who financed the project and the contractors who did the work.
Strength Inc. provided temporary housing for Mr. Henson after he left a shelter on the North Side in 2005. While he was there, he watched as, across the street, the agency renovated the Generations Building, cleaning and pointing the stone block on the early 20th-century building and creating 15 efficiency apartments on the top three floors. The ground floor will be used for offices and businesses.
Mr. Henson’s slide into homelessness goes back to 1996, when he was working at Shuman Juvenile Detention Center while acting as a professional wrestler on the side. In the ring, he was Mohammed Abdullah from Sudan.
During a match, instead of jumping from the ropes into the ring, he fell backward onto a concrete floor. His injuries left him unable to work and he lost his apartment.
He moved into Strength Inc.’s bridge housing program as part of the organization’s life management program. There he learned budgeting and life skills, like how to interview for a job.
The agency also worked with him on managing his health problems. He said in addition to injuries to his hip and back, he suffers from heart problems.
And so, while he was rebuilding his life with Strength Inc., the agency was renovating the building that will be his home.
The Rev. Marcus Harvey, giving a tour to Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato last week, showed how the agency used $4.2 million to renovate the building. Allegheny County provided $1.2 million and the rest was raised through private financing and historic tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
The marble staircases have been restored. Each of the top three floors has a laundry room. Each of the apartments has a table with two chairs, a galley kitchen along one wall, a bedroom area that is not separated with a door from the rest of the apartment and a bathroom equipped with grab bars to help residents in and out of the bathtub.
In addition to the apartments, each floor also has large storage closets for each of the residents.
“This has been a big project,” Mr. Harvey said. “We do programs. We don’t do buildings.”
But for years he has worked to rehabilitate the buildings on all four corners of the intersection of Wood and Franklin streets. This one will be occupied by men and women who are agency clients, but it will be managed by ACTION-Housing Inc.
Arthur Ziegler Jr., president of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, said the building was built between 1900 and 1910.
“You’re looking at a historic block in an historic neighborhood,” he said to the crowd that had assembled for the ribbon-cutting. “You can see here the reservoir of architecture that can be used to rejuvenate Wilkinsburg.”
Mr. Henson said he likes living in Wilkinsburg, just two blocks from a Save-A-Lot grocery store that opened last month. His rent will be paid with 30 percent of his income from Social Security disability. The rest will be paid through the federal Section 8 program.
Ethel Crystian-Nunley, deputy director of Strength Inc., said she had her hands full working on the building from financing to construction meetings and now with renting the units.
“I’m glad it’s over,” she said. “It’s finished and it looks beautiful.”
(Ann Belser can be reached at abelser@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1699. )
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Monessen targeting ‘blueprint’ program for business district
By Stacy Wolford
VALLEY INDEPENDENT
Wednesday, March 21, 2007MONESSEN – City council will apply for a grant as part of an effort to participate in a downtown revitalization program.
Councilwoman Mary Jo Smith prepared a grant request for $22,500 for the “Blueprint for Pennsylvania Downtowns.” The program is provided through the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities and HyettPalma, which will conduct the study.
Smith presented the proposal to council during a Monday night work session.
The “Blueprint” program is designed to provide hands-on help to city officials and community leaders interested in energizing their downtowns.
HyettPalma will start by creating a working partnership with the city by forming a process committee. The end result will be a “downtown blueprint” that provides a comprehensive strategy to reinvent the downtown economy.
Smith said the city will apply for the $22,500 grant through the state Department of Community and Economic Development. If it receives the grant, the money will be used to offset the $45,000 cost to participate in the “blueprint” program.
Smith said the program will benefit everyone in the city, not just the downtown area.
“We need a starting point and we have to have a goal to get to,” Smith said. “All of us are working and we can’t put an eight-hour day into this.
“But this is their line of expertise and they can bring a fresh new outlook into town,” she added with reference to HyettPalma.
Smith said Uniontown, Franklin Township and St. Mary’s have all participated in the “downtown blueprint” program.
Mayor Anthony Petaccia approved the grant request and said he felt the program would be beneficial for the city.
Council will meet tonight at 7 for its public meeting.
Stacy Wolford can be reached at swolford@tribweb.com or (724) 684-2640.
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Saving Brownsville: Is its history key to future?
By Robin Acton
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, March 18, 2007Hamburgers and hot dogs sizzle on the grill at Fiddle’s Confectionery, where 15 counter stools fill as the lunch crowd arrives on a brisk afternoon.
Waitresses serve steaming cups of coffee with the $3.79 pizza burger special. Dozens of customers, including Warren Galiffa, of Bethel Park, and his 100-year-old aunt, Rose Hughes, dine in booths where generations of Brownsville’s sweethearts carved their initials on the tabletops.“It’s a throwback in time,” Galiffa said. “It reminds you of the way things used to be.”
The “way things used to be” is a frequent topic in this bleak Monongahela River valley town that has bled population and businesses for decades.
Tara Hospital, the former Brownsville General Hospital, closed last year. Police and borough workers were laid off in December. In January, when a longtime lender, National City Bank, denied a $75,000 tax anticipation loan, council members begged the electric company not to shut off the town’s street lights.
“There ain’t nothing here,” said Levi Gnus, a lifelong resident. “We don’t even have a grocery store downtown.”
What’s happening in this Fayette County community is not unique. Experts say it is an example of a downward spiral common to small municipalities.
“It’s an unhappy situation, but it’s replicated all over the valley,” said Robert Strauss, a professor of economics and public policy in the Heinz School of Public Policy & Management at Carnegie Mellon University.
Like many southwestern Pennsylvania communities, Brownsville already was in decline when it suffered crippling job losses from the demise of the region’s steel mills and coal mines in the 1970s and 1980s. Families moved, college students never returned and failing businesses closed until the main thoroughfare, Market Street, became a desolate stretch of shuttered storefronts and empty lots.
In 1960, Brownsville had 6,055 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2005, death and migration cut the population to 2,690.
Between 1960 and 2005, the same thing happened all over the region. Pittsburgh’s population went from 604,332 to 316,718, while McKeesport’s dropped from 45,489 to 22,701 and New Castle’s fell from 44,790 to 25,030.
“We train people very well and then they leave,” said Albert Luloff, a professor of agricultural economics and rural sociology at Penn State University. “You can’t stop that unless we create jobs.”
Luloff and Strauss also blame Pennsylvania’s “fractured government system” for creating hundreds of municipalities with dwindling tax bases, no industry and limited means to provide services.
“It makes any effort by any community almost impossible as they’re trying to attract industries while competing with each other,” Luloff said. “They’re working at each other’s throats.”
Civil war
Brownsville’s leaders agree that something must be done, but they are at odds over a solution.
Mayor Lewis Hosler said there is a power struggle between preservationists who want to bank on Brownsville’s rich history and people who favor projects such as a proposed velodrome for Olympic-style bicycle races.
“There’s people who don’t want to see change,” Hosler said. “They want to preserve the old buildings, and a lot of them aren’t even historical.”
Leading the preservationists is former mayor Norma Ryan, a volunteer with the nonprofit Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp., who believes the town’s history is critical to its future.
Located off Route 40, the National Road, Brownsville was the first meeting site for the Whiskey Rebellion, boasts the nation’s first cast-iron bridge and is where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had a boat built for their westward exploration.
“I think people have faith that the town will come back,” Ryan said.
Records show the organization received several million dollars in state, federal and foundation grants and matching funds since 1989 that were spent on property acquisition and renovation, cultural ventures and educational purposes.
Restoration of Market Street’s Flatiron building, Frank L. Melega Art Museum and Flatiron Heritage Center is perhaps its main achievement. A store that sells clothing for historical re-enactments and a flower shop opened in its renovated buildings.
“We are slowly acquiring and renovating buildings to get the town back on track,” Executive Director Alison McConnell said. “If you have the ability to see beyond the blight, you can see the potential.”
Councilman John Hosler, the mayor’s brother, disagrees.
“Nobody’s coming here. Why should they? You can’t go downtown to buy a dress or a pair of shoes or food. You need a hub store, not a store that sells flowers or relics,” he said.
Critics contend the organization has little to show for its efforts and claim it undermines viable projects while advancing its agenda of property acquisition.
“BARC doesn’t belong in the real estate business,” said Ray Koffler, owner of Tru-Copy Printing Service.
Luloff doubts that selling history will revitalize Brownsville. He said dozens of small museums and groups are trying to do the same thing.
“These places barely survive,” he said.
Property disputes
Plans for the community have been a point of controversy for decades. Central to the dispute are Monroeville developers Ernest and Marilyn Liggett, owners of Manor Investments.
Since 1992, they’ve pumped millions into some 100 blighted properties purchased on the assumption that “mass creates opportunity,” Ernest Liggett said. Although Brownsville’s access to highways, the railroad and the river made it ideal for development, problems obtaining permits and opposition from some circles blocked their plans for riverboat gambling, an Indian casino or a retail strip mall.
Some blame the Liggetts — who fell behind on taxes and have been fined for code violations as their properties further deteriorated — for all that is wrong with Brownsville. Others say it was in trouble long before they arrived.
“It’s not these people,” said hardware store owner Pat Ballon. “All they bought was the empty buildings.”
Future plans
Ballon, Koffler, the Liggetts and others support the velodrome proposed by CB Richard Ellis, a real estate brokerage and management firm in Pittsburgh.
“I’d like to see Brownsville become to Olympic cycling what Williamsport is to Little League Baseball,” said Liggett, who envisions his properties filled with retail, hotel and office space.
Supporters are shocked that others in town question its chances for success.
“It doesn’t make sense to me why they’re not beating the cymbals, saying it’s Mardi Gras time,” Ballon said.
Frank Ricco, president of the Greater Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, said the Brownsville Free Public Library, the post office and American Legion Post 295 could be relocated from the Snowden Square area to a new civic complex to accommodate the velodrome, which would be owned by a public authority.
“There’s no question in my mind this could be the thing to save Brownsville,” he said.
Lead architect Jeff Slusarick, a principal of the Astorino firm in Pittsburgh, said CB Richard Ellis and Astorino consultants are developing plans for a project feasibility study.
Slusarick, whose firm designed Pittsburgh’s PNC Park, called the velodrome “a unique opportunity.” The 1980 Brownsville Area High School graduate has wanted to do something to help his hometown for years.
That’s the way it should be, according to Luloff at Penn State.
“When people care about each other and the place that they live, the community is alive and well. When they stop, it falls apart,” Luloff said. “If they really are interested in the best thing for the community, they’ll realize a community isn’t buildings and a community isn’t history. A community is people.”
Robin Acton can be reached at racton@tribweb.com or 724-830-6295.
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Dormont rejects developing park site
By Rick Wills
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, March 7, 2007Some Dormont residents and borough officials said Tuesday they’re happy that plans were scrapped for commercial development on land occupied by the community’s park and pool.
“I am pleased to have this behind us,” said John Maggio, president of Friends of Dormont Pool, a group formed last year to raise money to repair the 87-year-old landmark.“The people overwhelmingly did not want development in their park,” Maggio said. “This was about putting a strip mall in a park that has the whole history of our community in it.”
Late Monday, borough council voted unexpectedly and unanimously to end consideration of two proposals in which developers would have paid for community recreational facilities in exchange for commercial development rights.
One developer offered to renovate Dormont Pool in exchange for putting townhouses and retail space in the park. Another offered to build a smaller pool and a community center in exchange for retail development in the park.
Mayor Thomas Lloyd urged council to put the matter to rest Monday.
“I did not want this hanging over us,” Lloyd said yesterday. “There has been too much animosity over this issue, so hopefully, this will no longer be the focus of every council meeting.”
Since January, when residents learned that Lloyd, borough manager George Zboyovsky and council President Linda Kitchen had been meeting with developers interested in the park land, opponents of such projects have packed council meetings.
Last month, Craig Cozza of Cozza Enterprises Inc., of Squirrel Hill, presented his plan, which included retail development on the Dormont Pool site. Jim Aiello of JRA Development Inc., of Lawrenceville, proposed restoring the pool and using land elsewhere in the park for residential and retail purposes.
Neither responded to messages left yesterday.
The vote comes after a year of public agitation over the future of the aging 1.85-acre pool, which needs extensive repair work. Friends of Dormont Pool has raised about $30,000 to pay for the work, estimated to cost $1 million.
Ending discussion about development doesn’t end discussion about how to fix the pool, said Councilwoman Ann Conlin, who opposed commercial development in the park.
Later this month, council members will meet with representatives of Wade Associates Inc., a Harrisburg pool consulting firm the borough hired to study restoration options, she said.
Rick Wills can be reached at rwills@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7123.
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‘We want the park to stay a park’
By Brian C. Rittmeyer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, March 5, 2007Dormont residents rallied in winter conditions Sunday in hopes of saving a summertime favorite.
Efforts once aimed at saving the borough’s landmark pool are now set on saving the whole of Dormont Park from the threat of development.“We want to raise awareness and let council know we don’t want them to develop our park,” said Dormont resident Sarann Fisher. “We want the park to stay a park. We don’t want them to develop the park into retail or more residential.”
The roughly 75 protesters who made their way from the pool parking lot to Banksville Road found support from passing motorists, who honked their horns in response to their signs and chants of “Honk your horn, save our park.” They’re expected to take their fight to the Dormont Council meeting at 7:30 tonight at the borough building.
Two developers have made park proposals. One would renovate the 87-year-old pool in exchange for permission to build townhouses and retail buildings in the park. The other would build a smaller pool and a community center in exchange for retail development in the park.
Opponents want the 25-acre park to stay as it is, and they want efforts to repair the pool to continue.
“We don’t need a strip mall down here,” said John Maggio, president of Friends of the Dormont Pool. “We’re hoping they’ll get the message.”
Karen Gottschall, 40, carried a sign saying “No Walgreens,” which is rumored to be an anchor of a proposed development.
“We need more green space, not less,” she said. “The park is the jewel of Dormont.”
“It’s not about the pool anymore. It’s about the park. They want to pave over our park,” she said. “The developers don’t want to save our park. They want to make money. That’s what they want to do, and they want our land to do it. Our council, unfortunately, might let them.”
The pool remains a focus, however. Pete Popowicz, 57, boasted of the 15 pool passes he had on his car and compared the pool to the likes of Kennywood in stature.
“Even though it’s winter now, we talk about how much the pool means to us in the summer,” 12-year-old Samantha Fisher said as snow swirled about her. “It means so much to me. I’d risk coming down here in the middle of a blizzard just to save this place.”
Donna Rosleck, 68, said the park is a landmark, where her family picnics and her two grandsons come to swim and play.
“I don’t want to see the property sold and the swimming pool go,” she said. “If they take all the property, the kids don’t have any place to go in Dormont.”
This is not the first time Dormont residents have rallied to preserve the park. Fifty years ago, residents fought off a plan to build apartments on the land, said Jim Rutledge, 79, a lifelong borough resident.
Rutledge said he’s confident the latest development proposal can be defeated, too.
Brian C. Rittmeyer can be reached at brittmeyer@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7108.
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Support sought for ‘pure’ Dormont park
By Rick Wills
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, March 2, 2007Opponents of opening Dormont Park and its landmark 1920s-era pool to private developers will stage a rally Sunday amid fears that borough officials’ consideration of development is undermining efforts to raise money for pool restoration.
“It’s very hard to raise funds when people think the pool might be bulldozed next year,” John Maggio, president of Friends of the Dormont Pool, said Thursday. “Council is being disingenuous and sending mixed messages.”One developer would renovate the borough’s landmark 87-year-old pool in exchange for the ability to do townhouse and retail development in the park. The other would build a smaller pool and a community center in exchange for retail development in the park.
The rally will be at 2 p.m. in the pool’s parking lot at Banksville Road and Dormont Avenue.
So far, the group has raised about $30,000 for refurbishing the pool, Maggio said.
Since last year, the borough has received $287,000 from the state and Allegheny County, money Maggio says could be in jeopardy if the park is opened to development.
Raising suspicions
The council’s next voting meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the borough building, 1444 Hillsdale Ave. Borough Manager George Zboyovsky said there are no plans to vote immediately on development proposals.
Still, others are wary of the council’s intentions.
“They have been deceptive every step of the way, so we are very suspicious about what council plans,” said Gary Young, chairman of the Dormont Republican Party. He said he plans to file a complaint with the state Attorney General’s Office about borough officials’ dealings with developers Cozza Enterprises Inc., of Squirrel Hill, and JRA Development Inc., of Lawrenceville.
“The council did not follow any kind of process here,” said Young, who faults borough officials for meeting privately with developers and failing to take competitive bids for the project.
The two developers, who made public presentations last month, previously made several presentations to Dormont Mayor Thomas Lloyd, council President Linda Kitchen and Zboyovsky. Other council members said they did not know about the private meetings.
Defending the actions
Thomas Ayoob, the borough’s solicitor, said that the meetings were not improper and no bids have been taken.
“There have been no secret meetings, and no bids have been made or solicited,” he said. “And the general public knows about the two proposals.”
Young, Councilwoman Ann Conlin and others question Ayoob’s representation of Cozza in another development project.
“This just looks awful, whether it’s legal or not. The solicitor should have the best interest of borough, council and citizens at heart, which he does not,” Conlin said.
Ayoob said there would be no conflict unless Cozza’s proposal is picked.
“I have offered no legal advice to borough or Mr. Cozza on this matter,” Ayoob said. “It’s an attempt to raise issues where there are none.”
Rick Wills can be reached at rwills@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7123.
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Trust to offer historic residence Downtown
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, March 1, 2007Another building is being added to the list of new and existing structures offering residential living Downtown.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is teaming with Trek Development Group on a $15 million project to convert the historic 12-story Century Building on Seventh Street into a 61-unit loft-apartment complex.“As part of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s mission to develop a thriving arts and residential neighborhood, The Century Building will be a great complement to the Cultural District’s broad array of residential offerings,” said J. Kevin McMahon, president and CEO of Cultural Trust.
The trust provided financing for Trek, a Pittsburgh-based firm, to acquire the 78,000-square-foot building.
The organization has spearheaded development of the city’s 14-block Cultural District, where the Encore on 7th, Penn Garrison, and Liberty Lofts are in place. It also is moving forward with plans to develop RiverParc, a $460 million project expected to create 700 residences, 159,000 square feet of retail space and 1,500 parking spaces on six acres between Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Penn Avenue.
Trek’s local projects include the 900 Penn Apartments, which has been fully leased since opening in 1999 in the Cultural District.The purchase price of the building was not immediately disclosed. According to Allegheny County records, the building, owned by the Chartiers Valley Industrial & Commercial Development Authority, has a market value of $3 million, including land.
Billed as an “affordable” residential development, the Century Building project will offer a mix of single-room studio and one- and two-bedroom loft units renting from $550 to $1,150 a month. Rental charges will depend on the income level of prospective residents.
Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2008.
Designed in Beaux Arts classical architectural style by Pittsburgh architectural firm Rutan and Russell, the Century Building originally served as an office building in 1906-1907 for the Century Land Co. It is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic places.
The Cultural Trust also acknowledged the Working Group on Downtown Housing, a coalition of public and private organizations formed in 1998 to encourage development of Downtown housing. One of the group’s goals is to convince developers to allocate up to 20 percent of their projects to what is known as workforce housing.
The trust said workforce housing is defined as occupancy by working individuals/families whose annual household income is typically 80-120 percent of the area median income. That’s compared to affordable housing where the household income level is below 80 of area median income.
Ron DaParma can be reached at rdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.
Reprinted with permission. © 2007, Pittsburgh Tribune Review -
Saxonburg embraces old world charm
By Joan Greene
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, February 25, 2007Saxonburg’s storied history draws thousands of visitors to the quaint borough nestled among the farmland and hills of southeast Butler County. An array of quaint shops and historic buildings line Main Street in the tiny borough of 1,629 residents.
Saxonburg was founded in 1832 by German engineer John Roebling and his brother, Charles, who bought 1,600 acres of land for $1.50 each. The brothers then sent word back to Germany for others to come help them establish the village.
In 1842, Saxonburg staked its claim to fame when John Roebling invented the wire-rope cable in a workshop. His invention allowed for the construction of suspension bridges. After building Pittsburgh’s Smithfield Bridge in 1846, Roebling achieved worldwide fame with his design of the Brooklyn Bridge. Opening in 1884, the bridge was noted as an engineering feat of its time.
Today, Roebling Park is the center of many of Saxonburg’s special events.
The park’s gazebo and pavilion add to Saxonburg’s old-fashioned charm. During the summer, the park is rented almost every weekend for weddings and other special events, Mayor Brian Antoszyk said. In the park, history buffs can see Roebling’s original workshop and visit the Saxonburg Museum, featuring historic artifacts and other memorabilia, including the recently released German stamps commemorating Roebling and the Brooklyn Bridge.
When visitors walk along Main Street, stopping in at Kelly’s Family Restaurant to have a bite to eat, it’s almost like stepping onto the set of “Mayberry R.F.D.,” a 1960s sitcom about a sheriff in rural North Carolina. Dishes, pots and pans can be heard rattling in the kitchen as locals sit down for a home-cooked meal. Off at a corner table sits Erik Bergstrom, the borough’s police officer in charge, chatting with Saxonburg’s controller Mary Papik.
With the notorious exception of the murder of Saxonburg’s police chief, Greg Adams, during a traffic stop in 1981, crime in Saxonburg mostly is limited to a handful of jaywalkers scurrying across the street during the borough’s car cruises, craft shows, carnivals and parades.
“Saxonburg is very homey. Yeah, it’s something like ‘Mayberry R.F.D.,’ ” said Bergstrom, who heads a police force of five, including police dog Lucas.
“The people make Saxonburg special,” Papik said. “They make an effort to learn your name and make you feel welcome.”
In 1846, when Saxonburg was incorporated into a borough, 61 families lived there, a school had been established, and the cornerstone had been laid for the German Evangelical Church. The building now is part of the Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church and is the historic centerpiece of the borough at the head of Main Street.
Travelers would pass through Saxonburg to get to Freeport, Butler and other boroughs and townships in Butler County. Because Saxonburg merely was a stop on the way to a destination, many of the borough streets, such as Pittsburgh and Butler, were named after the cities and towns they lead to.
Saxonburg thrived during oil development in the 1880s and ’90s in neighboring Penn and Jefferson townships, and homes were built for the oil workers.
During the 1880s, Saxonburg had several hotels, including the borough’s landmark Saxonburg Hotel. At the turn of the 20th century, the area’s most famous hotel, Mineral Springs, was built just north of Saxonburg. A hotel casino and the healing effects of the mineral water drew travelers from miles around. The building that housed the hotel was destroyed by fire in 1972.
In the 1930s, broadcasting came to Saxonburg when Westinghouse’s KDKA erected a flat top antenna — a series of wooden poles — in the borough.
Ceramics shaped Saxonburg’s economic development in the 1930s and ’40s. Saxonburg Ceramics opened in 1936, manufacturing ceramic components used in electrical appliances, automobiles, light bulbs and televisions. In 1949, two former employees of Saxonburg Ceramics founded Du-Co Ceramics, which still is in business, according to “Historic Saxonburg and Its Neighbors” by Ralph Goldinger. According to Antoszyk, Saxonburg Ceramics will close in May.
Today, the historic village has become a destination. Featuring 32 buildings that are more than 100 years old, Saxonburg offers visitors a chance to step back in time and learn about the borough’s German heritage. Recently, a portion of Saxonburg’s Main Street — from Rebecca to Butler streets — was named to the National Register of Historic Places.
During the Big Car Cruise that takes place every July, as many as 900 antique and classic vehicles are displayed on Main Street, drawing more than 3,000 spectators.
The Festival of the Arts, which takes place every September in Roebling Park, features crafts, food and entertainment. Each year, Antoszyk looks forward to serving his family’s hot Italian sausage to hundreds of visitors.
Kathy Allen, whose family owns several properties on Main Street, describes Saxonburg as “a place separate from today’s vision of malls and congestion. It has a wonderful visual charm.”
Allen, who is writing a book about Saxonburg and southeast Butler County titled “Last of the Fencerows,” operates a bed and breakfast, Armstrong Farms, on her 200-year-old family farm in Clinton Township, two miles south of Saxonburg.
“A lot of our guests go into Saxonburg to shop and have dinner,” Allen said. “When they come back, they remark how refreshing and preserved everything is; it’s like a fantasy world. They’ve never been to a place like this.”
Michael Ortmann, owner of the Antique Coffee Shop on Main Street, believes he has found a “unique niche” by combining a coffee shop with an antique store. “Business people want Saxonburg to embody its history,” he said.
Featuring antiques and a gold couch where guests can sit and relax while enjoying a cup of coffee, pastries or ice cream, the Antique Coffee Shop, housed in an 1835 building, reflects the ambiance of a 19th-century parlor filled with guests on a Sunday afternoon.
One of Lucille Blakeley’s fondest memories of growing up in Saxonburg is attending the annual Firemen’s Carnival in June and marching in the Memorial Day parade. “The parade and carnival were a big thing for us children; we’d march down the street carrying bouquets,” said Blakeley, 88, whose father, Aaron Bachman, was fire chief for 27 years and whose nephew, Gary Cooper, is the current fire chief.
Although Saxonburg is small (two square miles), the downtown area has grown and “changed with the times” in the 82 years that Blakeley has lived in the borough. She recalled that she and her five sisters attended a little, red, two-story schoolhouse where the borough building now stands, and she graduated with a class of 25 in 1937 from Winfield High School, now a church three miles outside of the borough. Today, Saxonburg is part of the South Butler County School District. The district includes Knoch High School.
As a young woman, Blakeley worked at Chester Paul and Nellie Maurhoff, grocery and dry-good stores on Main Street. Maurhoff’s has become a fitness salon, and Chester Paul is an antiques shop.
When Blakeley was growing up, social life evolved around the Old Town Hall, where she attended dances and basketball games, and the Memorial Church. Although the town hall no longer is there, the historic church, built in 1837, is the centerpiece of the borough. A new Presbyterian church is across the corner, where the original Roebling Homestead serves as the church office.
Blakeley has seen several businesses change hands, but the Hotel Saxonburg, retaining its 19th-century decor, has been a landmark since opening during the mid-1800s. “I still go there for dinner,” Blakeley said of the hotel, which is known for its fine dining.
Local historian Bob Kaltenhauser, 76, has lived in Saxonburg for 50 years and was chairman of the John Roebling Historical Saxonburg Society, an organization formed to preserve the architectural heritage and old world charm of Saxonburg while revitalizing Main Street businesses.
“Ten buildings on Main Street date back to the 1830s and have clay and straw — called wattle and daub — inside the walls. (Saxonburg) really hasn’t changed that much; that’s the reason it still retains its charm,” he said.
Antoszyk said revitalizing Main Street, while retaining its history, will encourage “unique-type shops” to move into the borough.
The borough is in the process of securing grants, and conceptual drawings are being done to enhance the infrastructure with additional parking, sidewalks, trees and lamp posts.
“We hope to have the project completed in two years,” Antoszyk said. “The future of Saxonburg rests on the borough remaining a destination, not just a place to pass through.”