Category Archive: Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Planners review North Side stable development
By Mike Wereschagin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, July 9, 2007A North Side building being considered for historic designation by City Council could someday give new meaning to the phrase “stable living arrangements.”
The Allegheny Stables, built by Allegheny City leaders as a place to house their Department of Public Works horses, appears poised for designation as a historic structure. If City Council approves the designation at its July 17 meeting, the building would be saved from possible demolition, clearing the way for developers to turn it into condominiums.
“It is one of the last vestiges of the City of Allegheny’s history,” said Mark Fatla, executive director of the Northside Leadership Conference.
The building, in the 800 block of West North Avenue in the neighborhood of Allegheny West, is owned by Rutledge Equipment Co., according to Allegheny County real estate records. Menzock Scrap Inc., which owns a tiny scrap yard behind the former stables, wanted to buy and raze the building so the yard could be expanded, Fatla said.
Neither Rutledge Equipment nor Menzock Scrap could be reached for comment.
The former stables are surrounded by Victorian-era industrial buildings. Companies today prefer one-story, open floor plans to the old style of thin, multi-floor designs of the other buildings on the street. As a result, they’ve sat vacant for years, said Jim Wallace, chairman of the Allegheny West Civic Council’s Housing and Planning Committee.
But the old, detailed style of architecture common to the street and its proximity to Downtown, Heinz Field and PNC Park make the area ripe for loft-style apartments and condominiums, Fatla said.
That is, if neighborhood advocates can keep the buildings from being knocked down.
Preservationists and community leaders ultimately want the area designated as a historic neighborhood, which they said would preserve its unique architecture. Since the Allegheny Stables were in danger of being demolished first, the group started there — and got the blessing of the city’s planning and historic preservation commissions.
“People have returned to these neighborhoods for something they can’t get anywhere else,” Fatla said. “More and more homes are getting restored.”
The next step is organizing development of the entire block. Otherwise, once one condominium is finished, the first residents would have only abandoned industrial buildings as neighbors.
Should no one be keen on living in a former stable, Timothy G. Zinn, a co-author of the proposal for the building’s historic designation, urged them to consider this: It was a really nice stable.
“This would have been like a horse palace, almost,” said Zinn, 43, a historic preservationist with the Michael Baker Corp. architectural firm. “This had to be the most well-appointed of all the stable buildings. There’s nice architectural detailing and wonderful brickwork.”
Zinn said state records indicate 15 stables were built throughout Allegheny City, which became part of Pittsburgh after a controversial annexation in 1907.
The rest of the stables “were not like this,” Zinn said. “This was certainly the most grand structure.”
Mike Wereschagin can be reached at mwereschagin@tribweb.com or (412) 391-0927.
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Residents say quaint Zelienople has it all
By Joan Greene
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, July 8, 2007Zelienople’s official motto is “Zelienople — a modern place with old-fashioned grace.”
But many residents also refer to the picturesque borough as a “Crossroads Community.”
Located seven miles north of Cranberry in Butler County, the historic borough of 4,300 residents is a popular destination for both highway travelers and visitors attracted to Zelienople’s small-town charm.
On their way from visiting friends in Erie to catch a flight out of Pittsburgh International Airport, Peter and Kathy Eyster, of Lakewood, Colo., decided to have lunch at the historic Kaufman House and take a brief tour of the town.
“(Zelienople) looked like a quaint, interesting town, and we had read about the Kaufman House in a AAA Tour Book, so we decided to stop, have lunch and look around,” Peter Eyster says.
Nestled among trees and rolling hills near the Connoquenessing Creek, Zelienople’s picturesque location is what compelled the borough’s founder, Baron Dettmar Friederich Basse, to buy 10,000 acres of Revolutionary War Depreciations Land in 1802.
Basse laid out the town and named it after his daughter, Zelie, who arrived in Zelienople from Germany in 1807 with her new husband, Philippe Louis Passavant.
After discovering iron ore on his land, Basse, in 1813, built Zelienople’s first industrial plant, Bassenheim Furnace, one of the first charcoal blast furnaces in Western Pennsylvania.
Zelienople was incorporated as a borough in 1840, and by the turn of the 20th century, industrial expansion spurred growth.
Zelie and Philippe settled into their permanent home, Passavant House, on South Main Street (Route 19), where Zelie gave birth to five children, among them William Alfred Passavant, founder of hospitals, homes for the aged and orphans, and schools and churches — many of which still carry his name.
Passavant House, which was built in 1808, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is home to the Zelienople Historical Society. The restored home is open for tours and features a vast collection of historic items, including clothes worn by family members, furnishings, family portraits and letters written by Zelie to her children and other family members.
Buhl House (built in 1805) is the oldest existing building in Zelienople and is named after another early settler, Christian Buhl. In 1804, Buhl, a German immigrant furrier, married Fredericka Dorothea Goehring, of Cranberry, and they had 11 children. Today, the Buhl family name is associated with philanthropy. Buhl Planetarium, opened in 1939 on the North Side, was built with money from a foundation set up by Christian’s grandson, Henry Buhl Jr. The new planetarium at the Carnegie Science Center retains the Buhl name.
Joyce Bessor, 75, executive director of the historical society, has vivid memories of growing up in Zelienople. One of the biggest changes that affected Zelienople was the opening of Interstate 79 in the 1970s, Bessor says. Before that, Route 19 was the main thoroughfare heading north from Pittsburgh to Erie.
“When I was a child growing up in the 1930s and ’40s, there was only one stoplight on Route 19 between West View and Mercer,” she says. “On Sundays, when people were driving to and from Erie, Route 19 was packed with cars, backed up for miles.”
Although Zelienople retains its small-town charm, the stores and schools have changed “considerably,” Bessor says.
Today, St. Gregory’s Elementary School is the only school within Zelienople’s borders. Zelienople Elementary School and High School were torn down in the 1960s. Students living in Zelienople attend Connoquenessing Elementary School, in the neighboring borough of Harmony, and Seneca Valley Middle, Intermediate and Senior High Schools, in Jackson Township.
Although many of the shops and restaurants lining Main Street have retained their facades, the types of businesses have changed, Bessor says. The antiques stores have been replaced by gift shops. “For 60 years, Buhl House was owned by an antique dealer, and people came from all over to buy antiques,” Bessor says. The home now is operated by the historical society and is open for tours.
Ketterer’s, owned by two sisters, was a popular clothing and dry goods store when Bessor was growing up and “almost everyone in town” bought shoes at Blum’s shoe store, which closed in the 1980s after being in business for almost 100 years. Today, it is a bicycle shop.
The Strand Theater, which is undergoing renovation, was where children would flock to the Saturday matinees. “In those days, Saturday night at the movies was a big deal,” Bessor says.
The Strand closed its doors in 1984. In 2001, Ron Carter, of Cranberry, formed the nonprofit Strand Theater Initiative to raise $5 million for its restoration. The goal is transorm the theater, which was built in 1914, into a performing-arts center for touring groups, off-Broadway plays, classic films, orchestras and bands.
To date, the theater’s facade has been renovated, and a new marquee lights up Main Street at night. Work on the theater’s 2,700-square-foot interior is under way. Recently, 300 seats were removed and auctioned to raise funds. “There’s nothing like it in the North Hills,” Carter says. “The Strand Theater will be a destination and another reason for people to come to Main Street. It will feed into the restaurants and shops.”
Today, shoppers strolling along Main Street will find an array of shops reflecting old and new, ranging from Mathew Jewelers — in business for 60 years — to Tattoos by Boney Joe, Room to Grow toy store and C.T. McCormick Hardware, specializing in Lionel Electric Trains.
“Business is good,” says Claudia Brueckman, owner of Gift Baskets, Flowers & More. “Zelienople is still a walking town, and people are now into exercise. The events and attractions bring people into town.”
Borough Manager Don Pepe describes Zelienople as “a town of sidewalks.”
“Sidewalks promote communities,” he says. “We still have pressure to compete with the strip malls, but Zelie still retains itself because the type of businesses here seem to thrive and have found a niche.”
Mayor Tom Oliverio says residents have a great deal of pride in their town. “Everything grows off of that. People love their Main Street, and they keep the shops vital,” he says. “At the hardware store, you can buy one bolt at a time, not the entire package.”
Events commemorating Zelienople’s history and celebrating holidays draw huge crowds from Zelienople and neighboring communities, Pepe says.
One popular event, sponsored by the Zelienople Lion’s Club, is an annual summer horse show. In its 44th year, the event has been renamed Horse Trading Days and is Zelienople’s premiere attraction, attracting as many as 40,000 people during three days in July.
The borough has four or five parades a year for holidays like Halloween, where children and their pets dress up and parade down Main Street. When Santa arrives at Christmas, he takes up residence at Four Corner Park, where he is visited by thousands of children.
“People love the parades. A town is not a town unless you have a Main Street with a parade,” says Oliverio, who enjoys watching the parades with his grandchildren.
The Kountry Kitchen is a favorite among residents and commuters who work in Zelienople. Eating lunch at the family-style restaurant, Kelvin Mack, 22, says Zelienople was “an amazing place to grow up.”
“We could walk to wherever we wanted to go — the park, the pool, the basketball court. My favorite sight is coming down the hill off of Route 19 from Cranberry into Zelienople at night. I like the way the streets and buildings are lit up,” says Mack, who lives in Evans City.
Built in 1902, the Kaufman House is a destination restaurant and bar that attracts visitors from throughout the region, says owner Ken Pilarski, of Cranberry. “It’s popular because of the food, the location in a quaint town and the history of the town and building,” he says. Early in the 20th century, the railroads housed workers in the 32 rooms at the Kaufman House. The hotel portion of the building closed several years ago, Pilarski says.
Residents at Lutheran SeniorLife Passavant Retirement Community, on North Main Street, enjoy “the walking town atmosphere of Zelienople,” says Laura Roy, Passavant’s executive director. “They can walk to the grocery store, shops, bank and restaurants.”
Established in 1905 as the Old People’s Home, the retirement community has grown from eight acres to 42 and serves 650 residents in assisted-living, independent-living and skilled-nursing facilities, Roy says.
Originally named the Orphans Home and Farm School, Glade Run, on West Beaver Road, was founded in 1854 by Rev. William Alfred Passavant and offers residential services to abused and neglected children.
Zelienople’s demographics are a mix of older, longtime residents and families moving in to raise their children in a small-town atmosphere, Pepe says.
In addition to Passavant Retirement Community, which employs more than 300 people, Sysco Food Services of Pittsburgh, Billco Manufacturing, BNZ Materials, ITT Leopold and Robinson Industries are major employers. The 100-year-old Robinson Industries employs 100 people, manufacturing fan equipment for steel, aluminum, mining and utility companies.
Because the borough encompasses only two square miles, there’s not much room to grow. Three hundred acres of land, owned by Glade Run, is the last large parcel left and is being considered for single-family and multi-family development, Pepe says.
Pepe says he would love to start a project to beautify Main Street by burying the utility cables and improve parking.
A picturesque borough that offers historic charm with modern living, Zelienople lives up to its description by the Chamber of Commerce as a place “Where the Past Is Always Present.”
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Monroeville history can be viewed on Web
By Jake Panasevich
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 5, 2007In the past month, Monroeville Historical Society president Lynn Chandler has witnessed what she thinks are the organization’s most exciting changes since she became a member 27 years ago.
Those changes are allowing history to be pieced together by Monroeville natives scattered across the country.After six years of work and nearly a year of revision, the Monroeville Historical Society’s improved Web site is up and running at www.monroevillehistorical.org.
“The advantage to have an organ to reach out to the public is very important,” Chandler said. “We hear from people from all over the country. The fact that we can do all of this is wonderful.”
The site features a much-expanded “Our Photo Album” with more than 600 pictures. They are organized into different categories, such as people, events and street scenes. One category displays multiple shots of the same location that illustrate changes in the local landscape over the years.
The “Significant Houses” and “Monroeville’s History” sections have been updated and expanded with the help of feedback given by visitors to the site.
The society’s Web designer, Jeff Federoff, said the information on the site is presented more clearly, and it’s easier to navigate. It allows visitors to search and download articles with ease, he said.
“There’s more menu options available,” said Federoff, a Monroeville native who now lives in Forest Hills. “You can view articles faster with the new menu options.”
Family profiles have been added to the Web site. This section contains biographical sketches of 20 families who helped shape the community. The society collected information for the profiles over the years.
The profiles are a work in progress. The society is seeking additional information on the Tilbrook, Snodgrass, Lang, Simpson, Speelman, McMasters and McGinnis families.
It is seeking comments, corrections, additional photos and ideas on how to improve the site. People can contact Louis Chandler, the Web site coordinator, and Lynn Chandler’s husband, at lchan@alltel.net or 724-327-6164.
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Building on Saltsburg history
By Paul Paterra
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 5, 2007A builder is doing his part to preserve the historic flavor of downtown Saltsburg, and he’s hoping to entice new residents in the process.
Bob Sekora, of Salem, purchased buildings at 214 and 216 Washington St., as well as the structure in the rear of one of the buildings, which he’s converting into three townhouses that might be ready for tenants in two or three months.
“I’m a retired engineer, and I’m always building something or restoring something,” Sekora said.
He’s giving the buildings a modern touch with insulation and gutters, but the structures willl retain their 19th-century look, including colonial-style shutters and traditional color schemes.
The buildings are deeply connected to Saltsburg’s history. The Indiana County borough of little more than 900 residents was founded in 1769 where the Kiskiminetas River is formed by the convergence of the Conemaugh River and Loyalhanna Creek.
The stone house at 214 Washington St. is the town’s oldest building, reportedly constructed in 1827. In the Pennsylvania Canal’s heyday, brothers Robert and William McIlwain established a general store there.The brick building at 216 Washington St. once housed a drugstore, along with the office of Dr. John McFarland, the town’s first physician. McFarland wore many hats throughout his life, including a stint as director of the Indiana County Medical Society. He later served in the state House of Representatives and was one of the first directors of the Northern Pennsylvania Railroad.
P.J. Hruska, council vice president, says Sekora’s plans to keep the buildings true to form are important.
“To some people, it’s life or death,” Hruska said. “I want to keep it that way myself, (but) I know it’s hard and expensive to do it that way. It looks good to people coming into town. It’s important to me personally, and I know it’s important to a lot of people in the town.”
Local historian Jack Maguire appreciates Sekora’s efforts.
“That’s important to have that attitude, to preserve that rather than just tear it down,” said Maguire, president of Historical Saltsburg Inc. and past president of the Saltsburg Area Historical Society. “It’s important to have somebody who has the energy to do that.”
Sekora wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You don’t have a historic district if you tear your structures down. We’ve removed over 180 years of changes and modifications. It’s like doing an archaeological dig on a building. It’s really the only way you can find the true history of a structure,” he said.
He’s already received inquiries from people interested in renting the townhouses, but he hasn’t decided just what he’s going to do with the other buildings.
“They can be private residences, or I can seek a permit and change the use and make them commercial,” he said.
After completing the townhouses, Sekora will focus on 214 Washington St. He’s planning to have that completed in about two years.
Sekora will call his enclave of buildings Canal Commons, because the townhouses will face Canal Park, as will the rear entrances of 214 and 216 Washington St.
Sekora, who’s doing most of the work himself with the help of some family members, hopes to plant a seed for growth in the community.
“Saltsburg is a well-kept secret,” Sekora said. “You have everything you want here. It’s a very peaceful, quiet community. There’s a very broad range of ages. There’s a lot of senior citizens, but you also see a lot of youth. It’s a family community. There’s going to be more people coming. There’s more restoring that’s going to be done.”
Paul Paterra can be reached at ppaterra@tribweb.com or (724) 836-6220.
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Property owner uncovers log home
By MICHAEL DIVITTORIO
Daily News Staff Writer
July 3, 2007
McKeesport Daily NewsOne of the four known log cabins in Elizabeth Twp. has been uncovered after the new property owner wanted to tear down the building.
Jeff Heinichen, an Elizabeth Twp. resident and owner of five properties in the community, said he bought the property at 1235 Greenock-Buena Vista Road in February from a real estate company because it looked horrendous.
“I come home this way every day, and I got tired of looking at the eyesore. So that’s why I was going to buy it just to tear it down ’cause I was tired of looking at it, and then when I went to tear it down, this is what I found,” Heinichen said.
Ronald Morgenstern, one of the Elizabeth Twp. Historical Society founders and current board member is a walking encyclopedia full of knowledge about Heinichen’s purchase, and beyond.
“That was the old Kelly farm owned by Andrew and Dave Kelly in the early 1800s. It stretched from Everglade Drive, Wexford Drive, Dalewood Street, State Street, Constitution Boulevard and the Greenock Heights area. Constitution (Boulevard) was just a dirt road then. There was an entrance to a coal mine, and the land was next to the Calhoun farm,” Morgenstern said.
The Calhouns, Mohlmans and the Widanys were the other families to have log cabins, he added.
The Kelly farmland was purchased in sections by several different families and Greenock United Methodist Church.
“The Barncords bought the portion of land where Jeff is now from the Kellys in the 1900s. Dave Oberdick bought the land of Everglade and Wexford Drive in the early 1940s for a housing plan. I cut brush and trees and was laying out where the street was going there in 1942,” Morgenstern said.
Morgenstern, 81, was born and raised in Elizabeth Twp. and can give historical tours of numerous sites within the township.
“There are more than 300 points of historical interests here,” he said.
The cabin is supported by eight huge logs that are stabilized by railroad .
“It serves as what an I-beam does in a house today,” Heinichen said.
A coal furnace with pipes leading up through the basement, wooden floor joists, and more than three-fourths of a fieldstone chimney are among the original pieces of the cabin on the 11/2-acre site.
The second floor features three bedrooms, with 7-foot ceilings.
Heinichen’s find was one of great significance, according to historical society officials.
“It always had clapboard siding for as long as I can remember. It’s a very historical find, and I hope he preserves it,” Morgenstern said.
Pittsburgh History & Landmark Foundation Property and Construction Manager Thomas Keffer took a look at the log cabin Wednesday morning.
“I was very impressed,” Keffer said. “It’s in good standing condition and a nice discovery for Elizabeth Twp.”
Keffer assists individuals with preparing their homes or
properties before an application is presented for consideration to their potential landmarks before a presentation is made to the foundation’s plaque committee.
“I offered him (Heinichen) advice and answered his questions,” Keffer said.
Keffer is not on the plaque committee, but knows the requirements of a building in order to be considered a landmark.
A structure has to be at least 50 years old, very close to its original construction and natural colors, and “having a landscape close to the building’s era is a nice touch,” he said.
“It’s a landmark now. With proper restoration it will certainly pass,” Keffer added. “There needs to be work done on the roof and the chimney needs to be put back.”
According to Heinichen, the history foundation might acquire the log cabin and could continue the preservation efforts.
Keffer also looked at another property of Heinichen’s Wednesday, a house believed to be built in 1840 that was turned into a preschool at 5303 Smithfield St.
Aside from the vinyl siding, Keffer said the house is in excellent condition with its original windows and other features.
Keffer said he would help Heinichen with this additional structure, and try to have it declared a landmark.
mdivittorio@dailynewsemail.com
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Summit Inn Resort provides relaxing escape
By Jennifer Reeger
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, July 1, 2007The psychics sat at the resort’s bar a few years back, regaling patrons with tales of the spirits around them.
But Karen Harris figured the psychics were phony. The women made no mention of the one soul who should have been lingering at The Summit Inn Resort: her father, Donald Shoemaker.“If there was somebody here, it would be my dad, because he loved this place,” Harris says.
Shoemaker and his wife, Eunice, loved the Summit so much that they borrowed from the bank and sold what they could to buy the resort in 1964, seven years after moving there to manage the inn near Farmington, Fayette County.
And while the Shoemaker family has spent 50 years tending to the resort atop Summit Mountain in the Chestnut Ridge along Route 40, those 50 years are only half the story.
This year, the Summit Inn, a grand old resort hotel on 1,000 acres, celebrates its 100th anniversary.It was opened in 1907 by a group of Uniontown businessmen, who thought a hotel overlooking their town along the National Road would make a good investment.
Tourists weren’t flocking to Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob back then — they didn’t exist — so the Summit and the beauty of the Laurel Highlands were the attraction.
From the inn’s wraparound porch, visitors can gaze out over five counties. And Harris says that on a clear day, the U.S. Steel building in downtown Pittsburgh is visible.
Ten years after its opening, the inn played host to the “American Science Wizards,” including Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, who raced down the mountain in automobiles. A copy of the guest register from their visit hangs in the hotel lobby, complete with signatures and room assignments.
In 1918, Leo Heyn took over as manager of the inn. Twelve years later, he bought the resort. Eunice Shoemaker, 81, says Heyn “really got this hotel on the map.”
Heyn was a “real colorful character” who kept two dachshunds at the resort to greet guests. A Bichon Frise, named Tootsie, serves as the resort’s mascot.
Under Heyn’s watch, the Olympic-sized outdoor pool was built, complete with high and low dives. He used to have contests for people to walk on logs in the pool, Shoemaker says. And Heyn added skiing to the resort’s offerings, although today, the Summit closes for the winter.
Summit Inn advertisements from the 1930s still hang on the walls. Harris, 52, chuckles recalling some of the claims, such as the inn being free of asthma, fireproof and having no mosquitoes.
At the time, guests could pay $50 to become “King for a Day,” which offered an unlimited expense account and the opportunity to eat everything from caviar to Maine lobster.
“I was thinking about today how much it would cost to have somebody be ‘King for a Day,’ ” Harris says.
The inn hit harder times during the Depression and war years, as fewer people were taking driving trips. The Heyn family sold the hotel in 1946 to Maxwell Abell.
In 1957, Donald Shoemaker moved his family from Bedford so he could take over as manager of the Summit. Eunice Shoemaker recalls that the Mission and Craftsman-influenced building had fallen into disrepair.
The owner was in Chicago and didn’t care to spend money on the inn, Shoemaker says. Her husband was ready to take a job in Puerto Rico when he was offered the chance to buy the inn.
“We sold everything we could and got money from the bank,” Shoemaker says.
They bought the inn in May 1964 and started renovations. They did a few rooms at first, enough so that Shoemaker could invite her bridge club over and not be embarrassed.
“For years, my father was a conservationist. If he could save anything, it was saved and it was used,” Harris says.
The whole family joined the effort to make it work. They lived across the road from the inn but spent most of their waking time at the resort. Harris was 5 when she and her parents moved there.
“The lobby really was my living room,” she says.
“She grew up with the hotel, and that’s why she’s able to run the hotel so well today,” Shoemaker says.
When Harris was little, she was paid a penny for every fly she killed. She folded napkins, too.
“The day (guests) came in, I’d sit on the porch and wait for someone my age,” she says. “When they’d leave, I’d hide because I didn’t want them to leave.”
As she got older, Harris became popular among friends.
“I used to have slumber parties, and my friends could not wait until it was my turn,” she says.
With its multiple staircases and lots of nooks, it’s easy to get lost in the massive building. But it also has a sense of intimacy.
“I think that’s the attention that our guests of today totally enjoy,” Harris says. “It’s more comfortable. Even though we have 94 rooms, it has the feel of a bed and breakfast.”
Harris says many guests think of mountain resorts from two movies — “The Shining” and “Dirty Dancing” — when they see the Summit.
But the inn made history in its own right, having been added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Things have changed over the years. Shoemaker remembers that the inn used to be run like a cruise ship.
“You had something planned every day and night,” she says.
Today, guests enjoy relaxing by the outdoor pool or swimming in the heated indoor pool. They might golf a round at the nine-hole course or play video games in the game room. But many guests choose to stay at the Summit and venture out to other attractions in the Laurel Highlands.
And while there used to be a formal dress code for the dining room, today’s guests arrive in jeans and shorts. Guest rooms have private baths, televisions and air conditioning. No two rooms are decorated the same.
“A building like this is just a constant renovation and upkeep. We just do what our eyes tell us needs to be taken care of,” Harris says. “We take probably 15 rooms or more a year and redo them totally, and the others we’ll just paint.”
But many things have remained the same. Guests still walk to the lobby down a grand staircase, the sun shining on them from two large stained-glass windows.
In the lobby, they sit on the same Gustav Stickley furniture that Ford and Edison found there. And they can look at — but not touch — an 1868 Steinway square grand piano.
Carol Rubaker, 68, of Baldwin, Allegheny County, first stayed at the Summit in the early 1960s. She was looking for a place she and her then-husband could drive to for a getaway.
“It was only a 45- to 50-minute ride from Pittsburgh, and when we got there, it was like a million miles away from home,” she says.
“I love the old-fashioned charm of it,” she says. “No matter what room you get, you’re not beside an ice machine that’s clunking all night long.”
Rubaker says she’s stayed at the Summit every year since 1971.
“Everybody that knows me knows that I go to Uniontown for my vacation,” she says. “I’ve been to Hawaii. I’ve been on a cruise, but everyone remembers I go to Uniontown.”
Mary Boord, of Newark, Del., used to go to the Summit Inn as a child in Canonsburg, Washington County, about 65 years ago. She remembers the two dachshunds and the pool.
“The swimming pool had a slide going down into it,” she says. “I thought that was a lot of fun.”
She grew up and married her husband, Robert, a Masontown, Fayette County, native, and they moved away. About 12 years ago, on a trip back to Western Pennsylvania, the Boords, now in their late 70s, decided to take Route 40. They came across the Summit Inn and decided to stop for lunch and met some golfers, who had played the resort’s course. The Boords — golfers themselves — vowed to go back and try it out.
“In the past 12 years, we’ve been back 16 times,” she says. “That says we like it.”
“As a retired designer I look at the environment, and the lobby is sensational,” she says. “The rooms are all different, which is nice, because you have a lot of these cookie cutter places.”
The Boords note how friendly the inn’s owners and employees are.
“They must spend a lot of hours there tending their guests,” Robert Boord says. “It’s just nice to go somewhere where you’re recognized and you get to know them.”
The Summit should be in the family’s hands for a long time. When her father became ill in 1993, Harris started learning more of the business from him. By the time he died four years later, she was running the show.
Now the youngest of her three children, Amanda Leskinen, who just graduated from Washington & Jefferson College, will be helping more.
“She’s going to come back this year and start working, and maybe I’ll get to play a little golf,” Harris says.
Jennifer Reeger can be reached at jreeger@tribweb.com or 724-836-6155.
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Region employs the ‘Wright’ formula
By Emily Leone
DAILY COURIER
Tuesday, June 27, 2006Frank Lloyd Wright’s oft-quoted thought, “I believe in God, only I spell it N-A-T-U-R-E,” was the proper introduction to a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for a home designed by the world-famous architect in a Mt. Pleasant Township park.
Plans were revealed for the Usonian-style Duncan House that will be reconstructed as a guest house and tourist facility at Polymath Park Resort, a new safe haven for the historic home. It is only the fourth Wright home in the country in which tourists can stay.Built in 1957, the 2,200-square-foot house was to be demolished in 2002, but Chicago-based Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy wanted it saved. The house was dismantled and moved from Lisle, Ill., to Johnstown, where plans to turn it into an education center fell through.
At yesterday’s groundbreaking, Polymath public relations director Laura Newsmith said once the core frame has been reconstructed, the Duncan House will be rebuilt, redecorated and furnished according to original blueprints and styles of the 1950s.
“We are fortunate to have the land to build and expand the resort for several uses,” she said. “All of our activities will be culturally focused, with an emphasis on nature and improving the mind, body and spirit.”
The house will join two other Wright homes already at the park — the Blum and Balter homes — available for year-round leasing. Construction will begin in July to put the Duncan House back together, and the floor plan includes three bedrooms, two baths and Wright’s trademark open living/dining area with a natural stone fireplace at the center.The park, off Clay Pike Road on the southern slope of Chestnut Ridge, was developed in the 1960s by Peter Berndtson, one of Wright’s apprentices. The area then was called Treetops and Mountain Circles and was meant to be a residential area. Owner Tom Papinchak bought the land two years ago and said there were several others bidding for the house, but Polymath received it because it was a “natural fit.”
In 2005, Papinchak began working with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, state agencies and The Progress Fund, an organization that helps to provide for rural businesses in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In a short amount of time, Polymath had not only secured the house but found several sponsors who would contribute reconstruction necessities, such as laying the foundation and roofing the home.
Newsmith hopes that with Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob so close, the addition of the Duncan House will complete a touring circuit, allowing tourists visiting other locations the opportunity to stay at the home, an “attractive location” within the Laurel Highlands.
Known nationally and internationally, Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob are considered two of the area’s most valuable attractions, said Julie Duncan of the Laurel Highlands Tourism Bureau.
“One of the biggest questions we get is where do you stay if you are visiting the Frank Lloyd Wright house or Kentuck Knob,” she said. “To have the opportunity to spend the night in a Frank Lloyd Wright house and then go to Fallingwater the next day just adds to the Frank Lloyd Wright experience.”
That experience includes the perfect unity of nature and architecture, a harmony that Papinchak believes can be found at Polymath and is further defined by the addition of the Duncan House.
More importantly, Papinchak said, the area will retain its charm and private setting and will not become commercial.
Construction on the Duncan House will be completed in the fall, and reservations and tour information will be announced in August.
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Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation works to identify local historic structures
By Robin Acton
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, June 24, 2007Architectural historian Albert M. Tannler rattles off names and dates and addresses in a rapid-fire manner when he talks about significant properties in Allegheny County.
Drawing from memory, he speaks of architects and builders and landscapers as though they are his friends, delving into their family histories, career passions and design trademarks. He peppers conversations with detailed information about the building materials, design styles and engineering innovations incorporated in their projects.Tannler, the historical-collections director for the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, has much to talk about. Allegheny County, he says, is rich with some of the nation’s finest examples of architectural design, engineering and planning.
In May, more than three dozen of those significant properties were recognized by the foundation’s Historic Landmarks Plaque Committee, which awarded historic designation to 21 sites that include 38 buildings, three districts and the landscapes at two golf courses.
“We’re saying you’ve got a lot of neat stuff in this town, and these are the examples,” Tannler says. “We’re saying that these properties are worth saving.”
The newly designated sites join some 500 others throughout Allegheny County that have been awarded historic plaques since the program began in 1968. They range from churches to private homes to public buildings to golf courses — each with a story to tell about the architect, builder or era in which it was constructed.Residential architecture in this round of designations includes a log house built in 1832 in Gibsonia, Victorian homes in Leetsdale and Oakdale, and Colonial revival homes in Shadyside and Munhall. An enclave of Arts & Crafts houses in Fox Chapel and two modern homes built in 1936 in Ross also made the list.
The former St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, one of three churches recognized last month, is the only surviving documented building in Pittsburgh designed by the region’s first female architect, Elise Mercur, according to information provided by the foundation. Designations also were awarded to several public buildings and Mellon Square, an urban oasis described in foundation materials as “an outstanding example of mid-20th century design, urban planning and local philanthropy.”
In some cases, property owners applied for the designation, while foundation staff members nominated others for the committee to review. But all are important to the area’s heritage, Tannler says.
Save and protect
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, a nonprofit formed in 1964 by Arthur P. Ziegler Jr. and James D. Van Trump, was the nation’s first historic group to launch a countywide survey of architectural landmarks when it embarked on the project in 1965. Through that survey, and another completed in the mid-1980s, more than 6,000 sites have been documented.
Historic designation has been awarded to only a fraction of those properties, according to the foundation’s executive director, Louise Sturgess. She says that working with more than 20 or 30 properties at a time would be an unmanageable undertaking for everyone involved.
Tribune-Review owner Richard M. Scaife, who has chaired the plaques committee for the past two decades, describes its members as individuals who are “dedicated to architecture.” The committee meets at least once a year to review properties that are up for consideration, relying largely on pictures, application materials and information from the foundation’s staff.
Sometimes sites are considered after the property owner submits pictures. In other instances, staff members find a building or a church that they think is worthy of being saved and nominate it for the committee to review.
“We have no shortage of buildings to judge,” Scaife says.
Although the plaques identify properties as historic landmarks, the distinction does not protect them from demolition or alteration. The foundation staff works to correct the misconception that plaques restrict owners in what they can do with their properties.
“The most important thing that people need to know about the plaques is that they don’t protect the buildings, people do,” Sturgess says. “The plaque program gets to the heart of the mission to show people that there’s some pretty amazing stuff out there that we don’t want demolished.”
Scaife, who is passionate about history and architecture, says he’s concerned that some worthy properties might be lost. He says he worries most about the Union Trust Building, a Downtown landmark that has been up for sale for some time.
The Flemish Gothic-style building designed by Frederick Oesterling, one of Pittsburgh’s premier architects, was completed in 1917 for owner Henry Frick. It was used as a shopping arcade with 240 shops on four levels. A rotunda was capped with a majestic stained-glass dome.
“You want to save those that are important,” Scaife says. “I’m not sure what will become of it. When it comes to historic, architecturally significant structures, remodeling is worse than tearing down.”
Ziegler, the foundation’s president, concedes that he also worries about “a lot of properties every day.” However, he notes that the historic-plaque designation appears to benefit preservation efforts.
“The plaques bring honor and public notice to properties. Those things in themselves help provide staying power to buildings,” Ziegler says.
Making the grade
Properties that are considered worthy of historic plaques need not be majestic, impressive structures, records show. Modest, wood-framed homes, gardens, parks, golf courses, churches, mansions, public buildings and bridges all have found a place on the list, either individually or as part of historic districts.
Some are examples of ingenious engineering, architecture or planning, while other sites are important because of the architects responsible for their design. Program administrator Frank Stroker III, who has been with the foundation since 1984, says that the common denominator is historical significance.
Stroker says that placement of a plaque is done at a cost to the property owner of about $150 for a standard aluminum marker. Larger markers and those made of bronze are more expensive.
Most property owners are pleased with the designation, Tannler says, adding that it often starts them on a path to historical research. He says the program’s credibility also appears to help properties attain recognition on the National Register of Historic Places as National Historic Landmarks.
Property owners can choose not to accept a plaque from the foundation. When that happens, the site holds the designation and is listed in foundation materials, but remains unmarked. In some cases, plaques are refused by people who are reluctant to participate because they don’t want to draw attention to themselves, Tannler says.
Attention getters
Homeowners William Wakeley and Matthew Galla love the distinction that comes with living in the dream home they bought when they relocated from Palm Springs, Calif., to Munhall two years ago.
They paid $195,000 for the 107-year-old home at 518 E. 11th St., thinking it was a steal compared with the cost of real estate on the West Coast and in major cities across the country. They soon realized the house was rich in history because it is one of only two surviving structures from a group of six original Carnegie Steel Co. managers’ homes.
When neighbors told them of the home’s past, they turned to the foundation for help with research.
“It was mentioned in several books. All this history came out, and we were just floored,” Wakeley says.
They applied to the foundation’s plaque program, and their home was included in the most recent round of historic-designation awards. They’ll have a party for the official unveiling of their plaque when it is installed on the house, which also is being featured at 11 tonight in an episode of “If These Walls Could Talk” on the Home and Garden Television Network.
Wakeley, a graphic designer, took a year’s sabbatical to paint, decorate and complete some deferred maintenance on the house. He and his partner, who works at Federal Home Loan Bank, put a personal touch on the 6,000-square-foot home, which has been featured twice on the Munhall Holiday House Tour.
“We love this house,” Wakeley says. “The bones were here and the structure is wonderful, but we just wanted to make it our own. We absolutely love Pittsburgh.”
Local treasures
Fulfilling the foundation’s educational mission, its volunteer guides tell people that Pittsburgh’s historic landmarks can be found on almost every corner of the city.
“Always look up. You’ll see things up there that you won’t see below,” retired high school teacher Gabe Funaro says while leading a group of third-graders on a recent sunny morning.
Funaro leads the group from the foundation’s Station Square headquarters across the Smithfield Street Bridge and into the heart of Downtown. Along the way, he explains the meaning of historic designations, identifies types of stone and teaches the students to spot decorative gargoyles and grotesques jutting from buildings.
At the Union Trust Building, Funaro points out the historic plaque awarded in 1968 and tells the students the story of the building’s architect and its origin as one of the nation’s first indoor shopping malls. Hot, tired and preoccupied with their approaching lunch time, the students begin to fidget until Funaro takes them inside and asks them to look up.
They stop in their tracks and gasp aloud, awed at the sight of the towering spiral ceiling of the central rotunda.
“The main thing is, at this age, we just try to get them to look,” Funaro says.
And that’s the object of the plaques, Sturgess says, noting that the markers make people stop and think and look at properties that have been identified as important. Then, they might want to go inside and explore further, or they might become passionate about preservation to save these places for future generations.
“They do not build buildings the way they used to,” Sturgess says. “When a place is gone, it’s hard to revive the memories.”
Historic sites
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation’s Historic Landmarks Plaque Committee recently designated as historic landmarks these sites listed in order of their construction dates:
Chalfant Log House: 2716 West Hardies Road, Gibsonia, Hampton, 1832
Elm Ridge, James Gardiner Coffin/John Walker house: 1 Breck Drive, Leetsdale, 1869
W.J. Stewart/Howard Stewart house: 124 Hastings Ave., Oakdale, 1873
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (now Christian Tabernacle Kodesh Church of Immanuel): 2601 Centre Ave., Hill District, Pittsburgh, 1896
Colonial Place Historic District: Nine houses, Shadyside, 1898
Carnegie Steel manager’s house: 518 E. 11th Ave., Munhall, 1900
Armstrong Cork Co. Buildings (now the Cork Factory Lofts): 2349 Railroad St., Strip District, Pittsburgh, 1901, 1902, 1913
Elmhurst Road Historic District: Six houses, Fox Chapel, 1904-20
St. James Episcopal Church (now The Church of the Holy Cross): 7507 Kelly St., Homewood, 1905-06
Mt. Lebanon Golf Course (formerly Castle Shannon Golf Club): 1000 Pine Ave., Mt. Lebanon, 1907-08
First National Bank of Pitcairn (now commercial/rental): 500 Second St., Pitcairn, circa 1910
Central Turnverein (now Gardner Steel Conference Center, University of Pittsburgh): 130 Thackeray St., Oakland, 1911-12
H.J. Heinz Co. Buildings (five buildings, now Heinz Lofts): Progress Street, Troy Hill, Pittsburgh, 1913-27
Fox Chapel Golf Club: 426 Fox Chapel Road, Fox Chapel, 1924-25, 1931
Pythian Temple (now New Granada Theatre): 2007 Centre Ave., Hill District, Pittsburgh, 1927-28
Keystone Athletic Club (now Lawrence Hall, Point Park University): 200 Wood St., Downtown, Pittsburgh, 1928
Mt. Lebanon Municipal Building: 710 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon, 1928-30
Southminster Presbyterian Church: 799 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon, 1929
Edgeworth Club: 511 East Drive, Edgeworth, 1930-31
Swan Acres Historic District: Two houses, Ross, 1936
Mellon Square: Downtown, Pittsburgh, 1954-55
For more information about other properties identified by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation as historic landmarks, go to www.phlf.org.
guidelines
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation created its Historic Landmarks Plaque Program in 1968 to identify Allegheny County’s architecturally significant structures and designed landscapes. The program’s guidelines indicate that buildings, districts and landscapes may be approved for a plaque if these conditions are met:
Properties must be at least 50 years old.
They must be remarkable pieces of architecture, engineering, construction, planning or landscape design, or impart a rich sense of history. Alterations, additions or deterioration cannot have substantially decreased their value in those areas.
They are not in historic districts already bearing a plaque (unless they are of exceptional individual significance).
Robin Acton can be reached at racton@tribweb.com or 724-830-6295.