Category Archive: Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Task force attempts to solve Downtown’s retail riddle
By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, February 24, 2002Given the option of recommending just one new Pittsburgh location for his high-end retail clients such as Smith & Hawken or Sur La Table, Richard Hodos favors Shadyside’s tony Walnut Avenue over the city’s busy Downtown.
As president of New York City-based HGCD Retail Services, Hodos scouts markets across the country to find ideal places for stand-alone retailers such as those, which sell garden items and cooking tools, respectively.While Shadyside has a lively mix of residents, retailers and shoppers who come from across the region, Downtown has lacked a clear vision for retail development. It would be hard for anyone now to recommend a national chain locate there among vacant storefronts and neon “store closing” signs.
“At this point I would put them in Shadyside, not Downtown,” said Hodos, a Johnston-native who returns to southwestern Pennsylvania often. “If there was a viable mass of retail Downtown, or if I knew one was coming, I might advise them differently.”
The Plan C task force – a broad coalition of urban planners, city officials and Downtown retailers – hopes to give him that option in the near future. They are developing a plan to direct retail development in the central business district, while maintaining the architecturally significant buildings there.
Even vacancies left behind in recent months by G.C. Murphy, National Record Mart and Dollar Zone – all within one block of Forbes Avenue – could be potential assets, said Patty Maloney, who owns three card shops Downtown and has been deeply involved in Plan C.
“There are all sorts of opportunities out there,” she said. “We could be looking at a big hole in the middle of the city, on the one hand. Or is this a real opportunity to do something really reflective of this region?”
Despite Plan C’s work at “cooperation” over the past year, debate still smolders over whether Downtown needs widespread reconstruction or detailed preservation.
More than a year ago, Mayor Tom Murphy officially dropped his $522 million plan for Market Place at Fifth & Forbes, a wholesale demolition to attract national retail chains. Talking about that proposal, he now says that he has “learned a lot from our mistakes in the past.”
Others are not so sure the city didn’t miss an opportunity – one that fades a little more every time other retail centers such as The Waterfront in Homestead gain another major store or entertainment venue. Station Square will open a new Hard Rock Cafe this year, while the former South Side Works will have a 10-screen movie theater and high-end restaurants.
“Homestead has all the stores,” said Mulugetta Birru, director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority. “Can Pittsburgh support additional entertainment districts? That really frightens me. Has Downtown missed an opportunity for entertainment development?”
Hodos, who scouts the Pittsburgh market regularly, remains optimistic about retail opportunities Downtown. The city now has a chance to fill in vacant spaces with high-end retailers that are unique to the region.
But, he said, developers need a clear vision, have to remain flexible and must move quickly once they get started.
“It’s sad retailers are closing Downtown but there needs to be a grand plan, and it needs to be put into effect not over a long time but over a relatively short time,” Hodos said.
Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7835.
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Renovators offer advice at Old House Fair
By Candy Williams
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, February 22, 2002The “house” owned by Don Reed and Garth Jones is not necessarily their home, but it’s where they hang their tool belts. The two are partners in a major renovation project of the former Union Provision and Packing Co. in Lawrenceville, a family-operated slaughterhouse for three generations.
The building, 5136 Butler St., has been renamed Slaughterhouse Gallery and Studio.Reed will share his experiences renovating the slaughterhouse and offer advice Saturday at the seventh annual Old House Fair. Sponsored by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and Dollar Bank, the fair — at Victoria Hall, 201 S. Winebiddle St., Bloomfield — is a resource for restoration experts and a gathering place for consumers contemplating or in the middle of renovation projects.
“We’re constantly aware that people are concerned about additional costs” when tackling renovation projects, says Cathy McCollom, director of operations and marketing for Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. Representatives at more than 50 booths will offer advice on topics ranging from glass and lighting design, insurance and lending institutions to energy conservation, landscape design, neighborhood organizations and more.
Foundation staff members once again will offer a “What Style is Your House?” session from 1 to 3:30 p.m. in the library. Attendees may bring photos of their houses to find out about the architecture and appropriate restoration. This session was so popular last year that an additional expert has been added.
Lectures and demonstrations will be held throughout the day on topics relevant to preservation and restoration. Also, 20-minute neighborhood bus tours will be provided from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. by Molly’s Trolleys.A former community developer for the former Union National Bank of Pittsburgh, Reed became interested in woodworking as a hobby. When he faced the option of leaving town to remain with the bank or venturing out on his own, he decided to stay in Pittsburgh.
He tried consulting for a while, then decided to start his own woodworking business, known as Reed Woodworks and Renovation. “I put all my suits in a garment bag and went out and bought some painter’s pants,” says Reed, who describes himself as “reasonably skilled” in woodworking, having learned the basics from his grandfather. But he learned a lot on his own.
“There’s nothing like doing something for a living to ratchet up your skill level,” he says.
Meanwhile, Reed’s friend, Jones, was going through his own transformation. From Kansas, Jones came to Pittsburgh in 1994 when his wife, Tara Meyer, accepted a position as chemistry professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
With a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, Jones took a research faculty job with UPMC in Oakland, where he worked for five years. That’s when he, like Reed, did an about-face in his career.
“A lot of things were changing in my life, and I needed to do something different,” Jones says. He met Reed through an Aikido martial arts class, and the two friends passed their first-degree black belt test together.
“Don got me into woodworking and taught me a lot,” Jones says, “and I learned a lot on my own. You can call me a self-taught ex-academe.”
The duo was working in Reed’s basement in Lawrenceville when the opportunity came along to purchase the old slaughterhouse near Reed’s restored Victorian home. “We were looking for space to expand,” Reed says. “We ended up with way more space than we needed.”
They purchased the vacant building last August and finally moved into the shop a few weeks ago. They eventually plan to rent some of the space to other artists and craftsmen.
Jones says they hope to preserve as much of the history of the building as possible. The former owners left some reminders of the family business, he says, including “lots of meat hooks, two large meat grinders — which are for sale if anyone needs to grind 100 pounds of meat — a band saw and a forklift truck.”
Says Reed, “There’s still more work to be done and more money to be spent.”
The two co-own the building but maintain their own studio spaces. “Don’s forte is restoring antiques, and I build new custom furniture,” says Jones, whose business is Jones Furniture Design. They are having a “shop warming party” for family, friends and customers from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the gallery/studio.
Old House Fair
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Closings could be chance to get new stores
By Andrew Conte
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, January 27, 2002Downtown shop owner Patty Maloney sees opportunity in the neon “store closing” banners outside the National Record Mart and Dollar Zone stores on Forbes Avenue east of Market Square.
Pieces of butcher paper taped to the windows of nearby G.C. Murphy’s declare in black marker letters: “We are now closed.” That store went out of business in November, while Bolan’s Candies — a local landmark — closed its store at Forbes Avenue and Wood Street.Empty store fronts might be even more numerous along Fifth Avenue, where space after space sits dusty and unused. Development experts warned in recent years this would happen. Retail stores in the central business district would start failing, they said, if a sweeping retail plan was not created. Yet, Maloney sees hope.
“You lost businesses, lost some retail,” said Maloney, the owner of three Downtown card shops, who has been deeply involved in the city’s latest round of urban planning. “But if you look at the up side, we have some really great floorplates in place. You have some really good properties available.”
Mayor Tom Murphy’s $522 million proposal for Market Place at Fifth & Forbes was supposed to prevent all of these problems: The city would create a synergy of small- and medium-sized retailers by demolishing a wide swath of buildings to create much-needed space.
But that idea failed amid widespread criticism that it would have destroyed the historic character of Downtown. Even Murphy now admits that he, among other Downtown interests, have “learned a lot from our mistakes in the past.”
Members of the new Plan C — for “compromise” — task force have been scrambling to fill the void over the past year. Officials have said they expected to begin releasing details of a new Downtown plan to the public early next month.
Murphy created the 11-member panel about a year ago after the demise of the Fifth & Forbes plan. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, other business interests and city officials serve on the task force. The group includes those who were at odds with each other during negotiations for the Fifth & Forbes plan.
As they worked to develop a new plan, existing stores have been failing.
“We’re very concerned, absolutely,” said Harry Finnigan, outgoing director of the Downtown Partnership. “It’s not a good sign. The urgency of making something happen is that we don’t end up seeing what so many downtowns have seen; that a department store closes.”
The immediate impact of stores closing might be negative, but the results could be promising, said Richard Hodos, a New York City-based retail expert who scouts new locations for high-end retailers such as Coach, J.Crew and Smith&Hawken.
Several of the Pittsburgh closings resulted from nationwide bankruptcies, and they have freed up large spaces in high-traffic areas near Market Square. No figures were available to indicate how many businesses have closed or moved in recent years.The key to attract businesses will be moving quickly to implement a plan that incorporates various sizes of retailers, he said.
“It’s sad retailers are closing Downtown but there needs to be a grand plan and it needs to be put into effect not over a long time but over a relatively short time,” Hodos said.
If the Downtown tries to implement a 10-year program, for example, the first stores will fail because of a lack of critical mass, Hodos said. Later phases will not occur because the first ones failed.
Others would argue the city already has waited too long by failing to adopt the mayor’s proposal two years ago.
“We honestly missed an opportunity,” said Mulugetta Birru, director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority and an architect of Murphy’s original development plan. “My feeling is it’s going to be a tough one.”
He predicted that the Downtown development woes are just beginning and that it will be much more difficult to create a regional destination there now that other areas have moved more quickly to get the big-name retailers.
The Waterfront retail and entertainment complex in Homestead has filled that role with a luxury movie theater, national retail outlets and niche restaurants. Station Square will open a Hard Rock Cafe, which had been mentioned for Downtown. And the former South Side Works site has plans for a 10-screen movie theater and more upscale restaurants.
“Homestead has all the stores,” Birru said. “Can Pittsburgh support additional entertainment districts? That really frightens me. Has Downtown missed an opportunity for entertainment development?”
While Pittsburgh has an advantage because it has so many anchor-type retailers, Finnigan agreed that they cannot survive on their own. As with a suburban mall, Downtown needs a mix of small and medium retailers among the anchors to make the whole area successful.
Plan C task force members say they are not limiting themselves to just local companies to fill the void, but some developers worry the group may not be willing to accept the demands of a national retailer.
Many chains only will commit to a place if other similar stores locate there, too. Making that much space likely requires some demolition and major renovation, two things preservationists have opposed.
“Things have really slid downhill in terms of retail,” said Eve Picker, president of No Wall Productions. “That core area from Market Square to Smithfield or Wood streets is really in poor shape. There are more vacancies and we’re relying on the local market to fill them.”
No Wall owns a “sliver” building at 945 Liberty Ave. with first-floor retail space, but Picker has not been able to attract any interest.
Birru echoed her concerns that while preservation groups want to keep the old buildings intact, that could mean sacrificing a thriving retail area.
“I’m not that confident because site acquisition is critical, and the mayor has said there will be no condemnation,” said Birru, who has remained out of the Plan C discussion.
On the positive side of the ledger, some Downtown retailers believe the area may have hit its lowest point — that the vacancies are an echo of larger economic problems throughout the country and will become filled as the nation rebounds.
The new convention center, set to start opening in phases this March, also should bring more people Downtown, Picker said. Like others, she also remains hopeful the Plan C group can provide some much-needed cohesion.
If this were a suburban mall, one main developer would have taken the initiative to not only attract anchors but to line up other retailers too. Someone — the task force members, the Downtown Partnership, the city — will have to fill that role, Finnigan said.
While the failure of the original plan caused delays, it was not necessarily a setback, he added. Unlike countless proposals before, it got people’s attention and generated commitment among Downtown interests.
“People do see the urgency of making something happen,” he said.
Maloney would be first among them.
The mayor’s plan outraged her so that she fought to not only kill that proposal, but committed herself and others to creating a better replacement. Ironically, her goal remains nearly identical to the mayor’s — finding some way to revitalize the retail corridor and prevent more storefronts from becoming empty.
“There are all sorts of opportunities out there,” she said. “We could be looking at a big hole in the middle of the city, on the one hand. Or, is this a real opportunity to do something really reflective of this region?”
Andrew Conte can be reached at aconte@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7835.
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Revitalize city by building on its natural strengths
By Jack Markowitz
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, January 6, 2002Here are some old ideas for improving the business situation in downtown Pittsburgh, especially in the so-called Forbes-Fifth Corridor.
You read it right. Old ideas, not new ideas. Cheap ideas, too, mostly.A public-private committee is working at this moment on ways to reinvigorate the central business district of Pittsburgh, after several renaissances that haven’t quite cut it. Before January is over, we are told, a so-called “Plan C” ought to be in front of Mayor Tom Murphy and other decision makers. Plans A and B for one reason or another misfired. No disgrace that. Everybody is well advised to keep at it.
Well, here is a guess that Plan C will click if it includes:
Making several blocks of either Fifth Avenue or Forbes Avenue, at long last, into a pedestrian mall. That is, an open-air place for exclusive use by people on foot, in wheelchairs, and baby buggies, from wall to wall of the building lines, nothing but people. Vehicular traffic would be banned.
This is a very old idea and there have always been obstacles to its realization. Yet in a fair number of cities such a pedestrian-dedicated thoroughfare works very well. It creates a special sort of urban delight as well as being good for business.There is a temptation to expand on these virtues, but first some additional inputs to Plan C:
The beautification of downtown’s southern backdrop: that is, the high cliff wall of Mt. Washington and Duquesne Heights.
Here is an immense garden-in-waiting. It was at least 50 years ago that the late Gilbert Love, a columnist for The Pittsburgh Press, proposed planting it with thousands of shrubs and trees (even as the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy now does so nicely with more level bits of public real estate). Horticulturally the mountain wall would be timed to blossom at varying intervals March through October, creating a natural curtain of modulating colors to please the downtown eye. Along about November, true, the escarpment would revert to wintry drab. But only by day. Multi-hued lights, as at Niagara Falls, might play over the craggy face at night. Think of the statement that a wall of shimmering reds, whites, and blues might be making right now, for instance.Mt. Washington could be exploited even more, as a kind of “vertical park.” A steep pathway, lighted by night, with park benches along the route, would be a challenge to hikers from bottom to top. Lunchtime joggers downtown, already a hardy breed, could cross a bridge, “do” Mt. Washington and get back before the first afternoon appointment. Where else in America?
By all means, when it’s time to paint them again, let’s have a different color for every bridge in the city. We’d feature a rainbow of river crossings, as proposed some time back by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. And why not illuminate all those bridges, too, a favorite idea of the late Pittsburgh stalwart Walter F. Toerge? Strings of light bulbs playing on vari-colored arches and trusses above and reflected in the rivers below. Talk about pretty.
Tax incentives ought to reward the voluntary painting, cleaning or repair of downtown building facades. Architectural beauty is a king of public benefit. And it would spur more residential living downtown, already a well-advanced goal.
Possibly no big city mayor has more correctly emphasized cleaning up the litter problem than Tom Murphy. Whatever it takes – more trash cans, more volunteers, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, civic, school and religious groups – this is doable and affordable. Why not “the cleanest city in the country?” It’s an honor up for grabs.
But back to the idea of making a pedestrian mall of Fifth or Forbes:The two long blocks between Smithfield Street and Market Street appear the most rundown and vacancy-ridden. Yet they are blessed with the most preservable low-rise buildings. Get the cars, trucks and buses off those blocks (but let them run as now on the Smithfield, Wood, and Market cross-carriers). Let people walk freely, and that’s where they will go.
There is something liberating and cheerful about a busy street without cars. Restaurants likely will put tables out; specialty shops and kiosks will open. This happens along Church Street, which used to carry most north-south vehicular traffic through downtown Burlington, Vt. It happens along charming Washington Street, in Cape May, N.J.; and in any number of European cities, even in a neighborhood of West Los Angeles.
Why hasn’t the idea taken hold here? Political inertia and perceived business risk (“if cars are kept out, will the people come?”). Also, the costs, inconvenience, and transplanted congestion of rerouting public transportation, and the scheduling of truck deliveries in the wee hours of mornings. All these are natural enough concerns.
But the Forbes-Fifth corridor never seemed like such a sore point before. Now it does.
So take it away, Planners C.
Retired business editor Jack Markowitz writes Sundays and Wednesdays. E-mail him at jmarkowitz@tribweb.com.
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Library honoring holiday, history
By Mark Berton
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, December 10, 2001The staff of the Andrew Bayne Memorial Library in Bellevue is hoping to throw a Christmas party that would make Charles Dickens proud.
From 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, a Victorian Christmas party will occur at the library, 34 N. Balph St., in honor of the library’s users, library director Sharon Helfrich said.
She said the theme of the annual party is only natural because the library is housed in a 125-year-old Victorian mansion, which along with 4 surrounding acres, was bequeathed to the borough by Amanda Bayne Balph and Jane Bayne Teece.
Balph was the daughter of Andrew Bayne, a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1837-38 and a former sheriff of Allegheny County. In 1976, the library was designated a historic landmark by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.
That history and the history of the times from which the house emerged will be celebrated Tuesday night.
“There will be Victorian crafts and Victorian treats and caroling,” Helfrich said. “It’s basically a Christmas party for our patrons. The house is all decorated for Christmas, obviously.”
The event includes door prizes as well, Helfrich said.
Bellevue Councilwoman Shirley Nine, chairwoman of the parks and recreation committee, is very familiar with the event.
“There will be singing — some Christmas carols,” Nine said. “Each room is a decorated theme. There are mantels all through the library which are very decorated, and one room is red, white and blue.”
The decorations continue up to the second floor of the library, Nine said, and there will be plenty of “punch and goodies.”
The library is open specifically for this event. It typically is closed on Tuesday nights, she said.
“It’s a wonderful event,” Nine said.
The library, which was renovated in the mid-1990s, is home to more than 14,000 titles, several magazine subscriptions and a plethora of reference materials.
Nine said circulation at the library is up 20 percent, and the number of users is up by 40 percent over last year.
That number translates into 24,234 patrons as of Oct. 31 of this year, Helfrich said.
There were 17,448 patrons of the library reported at the same time last year.
Helfrich said the circulation for 2000 was 31,298. So far this year, circulation is up to nearly 40,000 items, she said.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. © Tribune Review
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Etna landmark receives needed renovations
By Tawnya Panizzi
Staff writer
Thursday, December 6, 2001ETNA: The bright red door at Calvert Memorial Presbyterian Church acts as a welcome sign to residents here.
At least that is the feeling its pastor, the Rev. Cynthia Jackson ,is hoping to create with the paint job and other renovations taking place at the 92-year old church.
The church was granted $3,000 from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation to restore it’s century-old stonework. But the money, according to Jackson, will help refresh more than gritty stone and chipped paint.
It will help solidify the splendid stone building, constructed in 1909, as one of the borough’s oldest treasures and perhaps attract a larger congregation.
The church is a vital presence in the community, but not solely because of its ministries. The congregation totals about 60 members.
“The building houses the services that are much needed in this community,” Jackson said.
Often, residents don’t relate the church with some of the many services located inside, Jackson said. If the building were to crumble, it would eliminate a home for the Girl Scouts, Homework Helper and an Allegheny County elections polling site. The Bread of Life food pantry, which serves 100 families each month, also is located there.
Representatives from the landmarks foundation granted the maximum allowance of $3,000 because Jackson showed that it is integral to town.
“We have a smaller congregation, but we are reaching into the community in many ways,” Jackson said.
Just this summer, the church hosted a reading program for 17 children. Sixteen of them received $270 scholarships through the church to participate. Two days each week, an employment specialist visits the food pantry to advise residents on job opportunities. Jackson is trying to arrange for GED classes at the building.
“We provide services for people of all ages,” Jackson said. “We hope to be able to have more soon.”
The renovation work, while costly, may go unnoticed by some of the congregation. The bulk of the work included repointing the stone, a job that works to salvage the structure of a building. The repointing has stopped leaking on the church’s interior. Plaster work is next, Jackson said.
“You may not be able to tell real well, but there aren’t big gaping holes in the mortar anymore,” she said.
Now in its fifth year, the program has distributed more than $65,000 to churches in Allegheny County. The money, given to sites at least 50 years old, was made available through year-end gifts made by Landmarks members and trustees. Eligibility depends on the architectural significance of each building, as well as community outreach.
A panel of historians and the History and Landmarks staff review more than 40 applicants each year, largely to determine if the building is worth saving. Money doled out must be used for construction work, not operating expenses.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. © Tribune Review
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City bridges slated for light-up project
11/27/2001
Tribune ReviewPreservationists, planners and business leaders will gather at the center of the Roberto Clemente Bridge at 11 a.m. today to discuss a joint effort to illuminate the city’s bridges.
“I think it’s just sort of a grand, picturesque scenario,” said Rod Frantz, acting manager of the new Bridge Lighting Initiative. The nonprofit group – a partnership of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, the Riverlife Task Force and Duquesne Light – is set to start a fund-raising effort to light all 13 of the city’s bridges over the next six to eight years.
The first to be lit will be the Roberto Clemente Bridge, which Frantz said should be aglow by April or early May. Duquesne Light is covering the undisclosed cost.
The Smithfield Street Bridge is already lit up, but this project will take a different approach to the work, Frantz said.
He said the work will feature lighting of the Clemente Bridge’s superstructure and its underside, plus using a palette of colors to animate the entire bridge, which spans the Allegheny River from the North Side to Downtown.
The group plans to hold public hearings soon and meld recommendations with those of the architects, lighting designers and artists submitting bridge lighting ideas to the Riverlife Task Force.
“We should really celebrate (the bridges), because we have more bridges than any city in the Western world other than Venice, Italy,” Frantz said.
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. © Tribune Review
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Park picnic shelter transformed into visitor center
11/25/2001
By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEWA structure in Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park that started as a picnic shelter nearly a century ago has undergone a Cinderella-like transformation into a 21st-century gateway for one of the city’s popular nature retreats.
The Schenley Park Visitor Center – the old building restored for a new use – is nearing completion and will be ready for an open-house gala planned for the first weekend in December, said Meg Cheever, president of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.
“We’re thundering down the home stretch,” Cheever said of the $1.9 million undertaking that was launched two years ago.
The center is the second in a series of showcase projects spearheaded by the conservancy, in conjunction with a long-range plan to improve Pittsburgh’s parks system. It is located on Schenley Drive, near the park’s entrance, across from Phipps Conservatory in Oakland.
The conservancy entered a 30-year lease agreement with the city to operate the center.
The open house is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 1-2.
“We’re happy with the way it’s turning out,” said architect Ellis Schmidlapp of Landmarks Design Associates, the Pittsburgh architectural firm that designed the center.
The plan restored the two-story building into a 2,600-square-foot facility that retained the old shelter’s foundations, brick exterior walls, ornamental windows and heavy timber roof construction.
“The challenge always is to put as many uses into the building as possible. It started out life as nothing but a picnic pavilion,” Schmidlapp said.
Now the building will contain a visitor’s center, gift shop, cafe and public bathrooms.
The idea for restoring the structure – Schenley Park’s only remaining original building – stemmed from responses to studies the conservancy conducted in 1998.
“A unifying thread was that people said they loved the parks, but they would stay longer if some of their basic human needs were met, such as clean usable restrooms, a place to get a snack or a drink, and park information,” Cheever said.
The cafe will serve coffee and light lunch fare. A gift shop will sell nature-themed merchandise. An information kiosk will include a trip planner for outings in the park, a calendar of events and a survey to provide information about park use.
Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy praised the project as an outstanding example of investments the city is making in its parks. An avid runner, Murphy said he plans to make use of the center himself during jaunts through the park.
The center will give visitors a home base for exploring the park, said Abbie Pauley, conservancy spokeswoman.
“This building has had a lot of incarnations. It’s really a dramatic transformation. Not only is the building coming to life, but it brings new life to Schenley,” she said.
Constructed around 1904, the building first served as a picnic shelter. Later, it was used as a nature museum and concession stand.
In the early 1930s, the structure was converted into a tool shed. After being used from 1935 to 1940 as home of the Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center, the building fell into disrepair and has remained closed since the 1980s.
Barry Hannegan, director of historic design programs for the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, applauded the work to save the original building. The noted Pittsburgh architectural firm Rutan and Russell first designed the building.
“It’s an extremely important early building in the park. It was and is again now a very handsome example of the Arts and Craft style of architecture, and its restoration is a significant recovery for our architectural history here,” Hannegan said.
By spring, the center will offer nature-oriented lectures, slide shows and programming for all ages, Pauley said. Meeting rooms will be available for use in the evenings. The downstairs portion will serve as a substation for police, providing a police presence at all hours.
Sponsors of the project include the Allegheny Foundation, Eden Hall Foundation, Heinz Endowments, Rachel Mellon Walton Fund of the Pittsburgh Foundation, Hillman Foundation, Sanford N. and Judith Robinson Family Foundation, the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the city of Pittsburgh and the Neighborhood Needs Program.
Who is Mary Schenley?
Mary Schenley donated 300 acres of land in 1889 to the City of Pittsburgh, which later became Schenley Park.
The former Mary Groghan was the granddaughter of James O’Hara, a wealthy capitalist in early Pittsburgh. While in boarding school in New York at the age of 15, she met and fell in love with Capt. Edward Wyndham Harrington Schenley. They eloped in 1842.
The couple spent most of their married life in England.
Although Schenley had no desire to live in her native city, she made large donations here.
In addition to giving the city property for a park, she presented the Blockhouse, the city’s oldest building, to the Daughters of the American Revolution as a memorial of less peaceful times.
When Schenley died in 1903, her Pittsburgh real estate holdings were worth more than $50 million.
Source: Pittsburgh, by Stefan Lorant
This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. © Tribune Review