Category Archive: Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Art appreciation
By Alice T. Carter
TRIBUNE-REVIEW THEATER CRITIC
Tuesday, May 6, 2008Diane Novosel has plans to shed light on a local art treasure in ways both literal and metaphoric.As the chairwoman of The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka, Novosel is producing “Gift to America,” a play that celebrates the murals that adorn the walls and ceilings of St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale.“I recognize (the murals) as the art treasure that it is, and really feel duty-bound to step up to the plate and do something,” says Novosel, a resident of Leechburg.
Beginning Wednesday, four actors will perform a 60-minute staged reading of David Demarest’s “Gift to America,” which was first staged at the church in 1981. The readings will be accompanied by interludes of recorded Croatian and church-related music.
In addition to raising money to properly preserve and light the murals, Novosel hopes the performances increase local awareness and appreciation for the paintings. A question-and-answer period and an opportunity to examine the murals will follow the performance.Vanka’s murals have been part of Novosel’s life since her youth, when her family lived in Lawrenceville and she attended both church and school as a parishioner at St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church.
“They always fascinated me — probably terrorized me — as a grade-school student,” says Novosel, who found her appreciation for the works growing as she grew older.
Painted in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Vanka’s murals depict Croatian peasants who left their homeland and farms to seek a better life in factories and mills in the United States. The native Croatian’s dark, dramatic and sometimes horrific scenes convey his beliefs, which were pro-labor and anti-war.
“(The murals) are certainly unique in Pittsburgh, and we feel they are of national significance,” says Arthur Ziegler, president of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. “They express the concerns of working people of the times, and we would hope they could be preserved and restored and raise the national awareness of them.”
Geoffrey Hitch, an adjunct professor who teaches business acting at the Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, will direct “Gift to America,” as he did when it was performed in 1981.
Mike Sambol of Shaler, former choir director at St. Nicholas, will appear as Father Zagar, the pastor at St. Nicholas who originally commissioned the murals.
David Crawford of Squirrel Hill will play Maxo Vanka, and the unnamed Female Voices will be represented by Katherine Carlson of Highland Park and Crystal Manich, a former Mt. Lebanon resident who now is a New York-based actress.
Hitch emphasizes that it’s a production that focuses its attention more on the murals than the characters and actors.
“We’re not even lighting the actors. We’re lighting the murals,” he says. “This is not character acting. The acting is more the sense of being a guide to the murals. We hope the awareness of the actors is secondary to (awareness of) the murals. The main characters are the murals.”
Alice T. Carter can be reached at acarter@tribweb.comor 412-320-7808.
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Mt. Lebanon theater project creates buzz
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, May 1, 2008A Mt. Lebanon theater that showed “The Graduate” and “To Sir With Love” — significant art films of the 1960s — might revisit that genre with a $3 million renovation.Along the way, officials hope the project will be the catalyst for increased business in the community.“It’s a great community project that will light the spark for more economic development in the region,” said Mt. Lebanon Commissioner D. Raja, who purchased the Denis Theatre on Washington Road in November to keep it from being converted to an office complex.
Raja has signed a 15-year lease to rent the building to the Denis Theatre Foundation, which announced plans Monday to revive it.
The Denis will reopen as an art house, showing independent and foreign language films, and documentaries. It could be a venue for lectures, film series, student productions and cultural events. A church has expressed interest in conducting services there.Since word of the plan first started circulating around the community, “the buzz has been amazing,” said Joe Rovita, owner of Empire Music and president of the Uptown Business Association.The Denis opened in 1937 as a one-screen moviehouse with a capacity of 1,200. Ownership changed repeatedly over the next six decades, before Raja bought it last year. The 11,000-square-foot theater closed in 2004.
Raja, of Bangalore, India, is co-founder of Computer Enterprises Inc. He and his wife, Neeta, bought the property in November for $668,750, real estate records show.
Renovating the theater will be a huge project, said Anne Kemerer, executive director of the Denis Theater Foundation, which hopes to raise the $3 million in government grants and private donations.
“Time has not been kind to the Denis,” she said. “There is water damage, vandalism, some outdated equipment.”
The theater’s marquee, which is not salvageable, lies in pieces in the lobby. Its basement is filled with 70 years’ worth of accumulated theater equipment.
But officials are optimistic the renovated theater will bring people to Mt. Lebanon.
“Because Mt. Lebanon is a walkable community, the theater has great potential,” said Dan Woodske, Mt. Lebanon’s commercial district manager.
Theaters can draw people to Main Street in the evening and on weekends — two key periods that have been lost to the malls, Woodske said.
“Very few stores stay open past 5 or 6. There’s nothing right now to bring a steady flow on the weekends,” he said.
A number of old movie theaters in the Pittsburgh area have been preserved, including the Oaks Theater in Oakmont, The Strand in Zelienople, The Hollywood Theater in Dormont and the Ambridge Family Theater in Beaver County.
Craig Smith can be reached at csmith@tribweb.com or 412-380-5646.
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Mt. Lebanon theater to get $3 million
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 29, 2008Officials working to reopen the Denis Theatre in Mt. Lebanon outlined plans for the $3 million project Monday.”Time has not been kind to the Denis,” said Anne Kemerer, executive director of the Denis Theatre Foundation. “There is water damage, vandalism, some outdated equipment.”
The theater’s marquee is in pieces in the lobby. Its basement is filled with 70 years’ worth of items.
The Denis opened in 1937 as a one-screen moviehouse with a capacity to seat 1,200. It changed hands a number of times over 60 years before being bought last year by Mt. Lebanon Commissioner D. Raja. The 11,000-square-foot theater closed in 2004.
Raja, who purchased the theater on Washington Road in November to keep it from being converted to an office complex, has signed a 15-year lease to rent the building to the Denis Theatre Foundation.He hopes the project will spur other development in the community.
“It will be the catalyst,” Raja said.
The foundation is hoping to raise money for the renovation from government grants and private donations.
The Denis would reopen as an art house, showing independent, foreign language films and documentaries.
The timetable for the project depends on the success of the fundraising effort, officials said.
Craig Smith can be reached at csmith@tribweb.com or 412-380-5646.
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Mt. Lebanon theater to get $3 million revamp
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, April 29, 2008Officials working to reopen the Denis Theatre in Mt. Lebanon outlined plans for the $3 million project Monday.”Time has not been kind to the Denis,” said Anne Kemerer, executive director of the Denis Theatre Foundation. “There is water damage, vandalism, some outdated equipment.”The theater’s marquee is in pieces in the lobby. Its basement is filled with 70 years’ worth of items.
The Denis opened in 1937 as a one-screen moviehouse with a capacity to seat 1,200. It changed hands a number of times over 60 years before being bought last year by Mt. Lebanon Commissioner D. Raja. The 11,000-square-foot theater closed in 2004.
Raja, who purchased the theater on Washington Road in November to keep it from being converted to an office complex, has signed a 15-year lease to rent the building to the Denis Theatre Foundation.He hopes the project will spur other development in the community.
“It will be the catalyst,” Raja said.
The foundation is hoping to raise money for the renovation from government grants and private donations.
The Denis would reopen as an art house, showing independent, foreign language films and documentaries.
The timetable for the project depends on the success of the fundraising effort, officials said.
Craig Smith can be reached at csmith@tribweb.com or 412-380-5646.
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Rescue plan for Downtown’s Market Square is expanding
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, April 28, 2008The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation is tackling another building rescue project in Market Square, with the aim to further a transformation already under way in the historic Downtown public square.The South Side preservationist organization announced today it will take on restoration of the Thompson Building, a three-story structure adjacent to a trio of vacant buildings where it is spending about $2.5 million to convert into a mixed use complex known as Market at Fifth.Acquisition of the building will enable the foundation to expand its complex into that structure.
Plans for 439 Market St., 441 Market St., and 130 Fifth Ave. include a ground-level restaurant or retail store, seven upper-floor apartments and a rooftop garden.
In addition, the foundation also announced it was given an “easement in perpetuity that will protect the architectural quality of the Buhl Building, another structure on Fifth Avenue near Market Square.As reported, eight new shops have moved in — or will in the coming months — further rejuvenating the 224-year-old square.
Businesses there have credited an increased police presence to fight crime, reduce panhandling and efforts to clean up the city’s streets.
More recently, new programs have been introduced, such as the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Paris to Pittsburgh program that is providing matching grants to help restaurants and other merchants renovate their buildings and expand their operations onto sidewalks — similar to venues popular with tourists in the French capital.
Ron DaParma can be reached atrdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.
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Casino owner says he will keep pledge to Hill District
By Jeremy Boren
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, April 28, 2008Casino owner Don Barden said today he will make good on his promise to spend $3 million “to spur economic development” in the Hill District, but that the money won’t be used near a new $290 million hockey arena.”We want to extend the development opportunities outside of that area — further and deeper into the Hill District so that the people in that community can have the benefit, and we hope to do this within a five-year period,” Barden said.Once Barden’s Majestic Star Casino opens, he said he will spend the $3 million as seed money to hire engineers, designers and architects who will determine how best to develop the Hill District outside of the 28-acre zone that the Penguins have the right to develop around the arena.
Barden petitioned the state Gaming Control Board two weeks ago allow him to eliminate the $3 million commitment to the Hill District because the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority gave the Penguins the right to develop the 28 acres, not Barden. Barden told the commission that his $3 million commitment was contingent on getting the right to develop the 28 acres.
Barden asked in his petition to remove a ballroom and outdoor amphitheater from his plans for the casino.Barden said today that the outdoor amphitheater and ballroom will be built, after all, but not until the second or third year of the casino’s operation. The North Shore casino is projected to open in May 2009.
“Our casino will look the same, feel the same,” as the original plans, Barden said.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato met for about 90 minutes with Barden in Ravenstahl’s office before announcing Barden’s change of heart.
Barden downplayed financial concerns about how he will pay to build the casino, which has ballooned in price from $450 million to $770 million, including insurance, legal and financing fees.
Bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s on Thursday issued a B-minus credit rating with a negative outlook for the Majestic Star holding company, PITG Gaming HoldCo.
“I think at the end of the day, all the financial concerns, if there are any, will be resolved and will open on time,” Barden said.
Onorato praised Barden’s cooperation.
“He’s done nothing but adapt every time we’ve asked him,” Onorato said.
Jeremy Boren can be reached at jboren@tribweb.comor 412-765-2312.
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New housing units set on Penn Avenue
By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 17, 2008Three loft-style townhomes to be built in Bloomfield are another example of an “exciting” transformation of housing on Penn Avenue in four city neighborhoods, community leaders said Wednesday.Small projects like this one “can really stabilize a corner in a community,” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said at an event marking the start of construction of an $800,000 residential complex at Penn and Gross Street.“There are amazing things happening along the Penn Avenue corridor, and this is just a little gem of a project, but it’s a missing tooth,” said Jeffrey Dorsey, executive director of Friendship Development Associates.
Dorsey’s organization, developer of the project, acquired the property nine years ago with housing development in mind.
A $462,000 equity investment by Landmarks Community Capital Corp., a nonprofit created last year by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, moved it forward, he said.When the townhomes are completed in about 12 months, they will join dozens of single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums built or planned in Bloomfield, Garfield, Friendship and Lawrenceville, said Richard Swartz, executive director of the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp.
These projects replace vacant lots and less desirable row housing, Swartz said.
About eight blocks away, Friendship Development is ready to start building the Glass Lofts, a “green” condominium project at Penn and Fairmont Street with 18 loft units, a restaurant, art studios and office space.
“We have commitments for eight sales already,” said Dorsey.
The units will range in size from 845 to 1,873 square feet and be priced from $180,000 to $330,000, according to the neighborhood group’s Internet site. But a number are reserved as “affordable” housing that can be purchased for about $80,000, he said.
As many as 80 single-family homes or townhomes have been built in the four neighborhoods in the past five years, Swartz estimated.
At the same time, about 35 businesses — mainly artists, studios and arts organizations — have moved into spaces in some of the vacant commercial buildings in the area.
Reducing neighborhood crime and developing Children’s Hospital in Lawrenceville were key to the transformation, officials said.
Ron DaParma can be reached atrdaparma@tribweb.com or 412-320-7907.
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Brighter days ahead for Wilkinsburg
By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 17, 2008Following a blueprint he used to help create Station Square and improve the North Side, philanthropist Dick Scaife pledged $500,000 Wednesday to restore old homes and revitalize Wilkinsburg.”We hope to show that Wilkinsburg is a good place to live, attractive to a variety of people,” said Arthur Ziegler, president of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. “And we want to demonstrate that there are properties available, and they can be beautifully restored and make very good homes.”Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation will get the money from the Allegheny Foundation, officials from both organizations said.
The gift is Allegheny Foundation’s biggest grant in recent memory, said Executive Director Matthew Groll. The Downtown-based foundation is chaired by Scaife, owner of the Tribune-Review.
The Allegheny Foundation helped finance restoration of Station Square, the Mexican War Streets and Manchester, Groll said, and Scaife was inspired during a drive through Wilkinsburg several months ago to continue restoration efforts there.”People see a little spark happening down the street,” Groll said. “Hopefully, the enthusiasm spreads and the community as a whole will rise up to meet the new enthusiasm.”
About two years ago, Ziegler’s group started a program to restore four houses in Wilkinsburg’s Hamnett Place neighborhood. The Sarah Scaife Foundation and Allegheny County each granted $500,000 to pay for that project.
History & Landmarks acquires the homes, oversees renovation and offers the homes for sale. The Hamnett Place houses have been sold. Renovations are under way and should be finished in six to eight weeks.
Walter and Rachel Lamory of Regent Square bought a turreted duplex on Jeanette Street for $95,000, one of the four buildings renovated.
“I know the perceived drawbacks of the area, said Rachel Lamory, 24, who attended nearby St. James School. “But I always saw the potential there. When I heard we had a chance to save these beautiful old homes I always admired, I felt we had to be part of it.”
Jack Schmitt and his wife Erin Cunningham paid $70,000 for a Queen Anne-style house that received $195,000 worth of renovations during the project’s first phase. The house has a scalloped dormer and gingerbread trim on the front porch.
“We spent a lot of time driving around, paying attention to the neighborhood,” he said. “We didn’t feel any hesitation whatsoever.”
The couple plans to buy the lot behind their home and the house next to it. They would raze the adjacent house and plant a vegetable garden. They want to set up a food stand and sell their food with a neighbor.
State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland Park, praised Scaife’s gift as a boost to the community’s morale.
“It’s exciting when you see this kind of financial commitment,” Ferlo said. “It builds credibility for the economic restructuring and activities within Wilkinsburg that are aimed at revitalizing the core of the community.”
Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or 412-320-7828.