Category Archive: PHLF News
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Town Hall Commons: A Hive of Activity
$350,000 Landmarks loan helps fund restoration of former Ambridge Municipal Building
David Pollino stands outside Town Hall Commons on Merchant Street.
By Anna Samuels
Archivist & LibrarianWalking into the Town Hall Commons development, previously the Ambridge Municipal Building, feels like stepping back in time. Many of the frosted glass doors still bear city department titles, advertisements found in the basement, which are now framed, lean against walls, and four Barnes Safe & Lock Company safes command attention throughout the building. Some of those safes are still in good working order.
The fact that the building has maintained its period accuracy has been beneficial to helping imagine its redevelopment, contends David Pollino, a co-owner of the development. He noted that the building was a filming location for various television shows including Mindhunter and American Rust, said Pollino as he pointed out the fictional “Buell Police” sign on one door.
Pollino, who had also been looking for investment properties in Bellevue and Coraopolis, was initially interested in a different Ambridge building when the borough’s former municipal building became available.
Town Hall Commons as seen from 10th Street.
The building was too large for Pollino to manage on his own, but with the help of a $350,000 loan from Landmarks Community Capital (LCC) — a non-profit lending subsidiary of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation— and also with the help of Aaron Bryant, his longtime friend and business partner in California, he became the proud co-owner of the c. 1917 building.
Pollino and Bryant’s Town Hall Commons development joins a host of new businesses along Ambridge’s Merchant Street, including a brewery, a café, a wood-fired pizza restaurant, and a newly refurbished German bar.
Designed by James T. Steen, the Classical Revival structure is a three-story brick building that features 14-foot ceilings, exposed interior brick, and arched windows. When Pollino’s aunt, a 90-year-old school teacher, visited from California, she pointed out the intentional architectural details throughout the space explaining; “All these things mean something.”
This beehive-shaped finial represents a hard-working community of workers
The beehive-shaped finial atop a newel post suggests a hardworking community, a perfect visual representation of a steel-making town. The beehive is also a fitting symbol for the building which once housed the police department, fire department, city council, and jail.
When completed, the building will continue to hum with activity, housing office space on the first floor and residential space on the second floor. While apartments are the long-term plan, the space may initially be used for Airbnb rentals.
Pollino and Bryant’s wives have plans for a distillery in the adjoining garage space, which initially housed the fire department, and potential tasting rooms in the basement jail cells.
The building’s name, Town Hall Commons, comes from the original use of the spacious attic level which a 1909 newspaper article described as a gathering space for 350 to 400 people. Pollino and Bryant haven’t decided how this floor will be used, but have discussed an event or shared tenant space.
The LCC loan has helped Pollino and Bryant maintain a high level of quality while renovating the building. It was important to both of them to create a space where they’d want to rent an office space or spend the night. The importance of quality craftsmanship honors the original architectural work evident in the structure. Pollino comments that original details have stood the test of time while some pieces from thirty years ago have had to be replaced.
Ambridge residents are excited to see someone caring for the grand building on Merchant Street. Pollino has received support from the community and borough, which paid for a Phase I inspection with EPA grant funding.
Jail cells in the basement of the building.
The owner of the local antique store directed Pollino and his architect to the Laughlin Memorial Library where the library director gave them a tour of the archives and they poured over historical images of the building.
As the stewards of Town Hall Commons, Pollino and Bryant are ready to shepherd the building into the future.
Check out some more vantage points of the building in the gallery below.
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Landmarks Scholarship & Honorable Mentions Awarded to 10 High School Students
Our organization has awarded a scholarship and nine-Honorable Mention-awards to college-bound students in Allegheny County who care deeply about the history and distinctive built-environment of our city and region.
The 2026 awards, make it 95 scholarships and 83 Honorable Mentions that our organization has awarded to high school graduates in Allegheny County since the program’s inception in 1999. This program has helped to introduce young people to the work and mission of our organization and has created a network of support and a sense of family among the recipients.
The scholarship award of $6,000 is payable over four years, while the Honorable Mention-award is a one-time gift of $250 payable to the recipient’s college or university for tuition and book expenses.
Odin Hsu, who attended North Allegheny High School is our scholarship winner. He will attend Princeton University.
Our Honorable Mention-award recipients are:
- Alaa Arafah of Pittsburgh Brashear, will attend the University of Pittsburgh
- Jillian Droppa of Thomas Jefferson High School, will attend Penn State University
- Gabrielle Godfrey of Highlands High School, will attend Slippery Rock University
- Kaleigh Libengood of Pine-Richland High School, will attend Grove City College
- Matthew Miller of McKeesport Area High School, will attend St. Vincent College
- Sylvia Svoboda of Pittsburgh Allderdice, will attend Temple University
- Theodore Tedesco of Fox Chapel Area High School, will attend Brown University
- Colton Yonker of West Allegheny Sr. High School, will attend the University of Pittsburgh
- Ray Chen Zeng of North Allegheny Sr. High School, will attend Rice University
The awards will be presented during a private reception held on Tuesday, June 16, where we look forward to meeting our award winners together with their families.
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Historic Religious Properties Awarded Matching Grants
The Historic Religious Properties Grant program of our organization has awarded a total of $125,000 in matching grants to 19 congregations in Allegheny County as part of our 2026 funding cycle.
The monies, which will leverage more than $615,000 raised by the congregations, will be used to fund restoration, renovation, and maintenance projects on the historic structures utilized by religious organizations. The work ranges from masonry restoration to roof repairs, and renovation of wooden doors, and stained-glass windows, among other needs.
Click here to see our 2026 grant recipients.
Our organization is the only nonprofit organization in Allegheny County offering a continuing program of financial and technical assistance to historic religious property owners. We have awarded more than 320 such grants totaling nearly $4 million, and provided more than 70 technical assistance consultations, since the program’s inception in 1997.
Our effort is made possible through individual donations, private foundations, and our Donor Advised Funds.
For more information about this program, contact David Farkas: david@phlf.org or 412-471-5808 ext. 516.
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Committee Awards Nine Historic Landmark Plaques
The Historic Plaque Designation Committee of our organization awarded nine plaques — seven individual buildings and two districts — to places worthy of recognition for their architecture, history, and planning, at its June 12 meeting.
The districts are a contrast of significant architecture and significant planning. In what we are referring to as the “Boundary-Beaver Streets” Historic District, in Sewickley, significant residential architecture is most evident. The district encompasses both sides of Beaver Street to Nevin Avenue on the west, Centennial Avenue on the north, and Boundary Street on the east.
The boundary coincides with the Sewickley Historic District #2, which our organization worked with the Borough of Sewickley and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s State Historic Preservation Office, to identify and designate in 1985, containing 19 parcels.
This group of 19 houses in eclectic styles reflects the residential taste of a wealthy turn-of-the-century suburb. The works of prominent Pittsburgh architects Alden & Harlow, MacClure & Spahr, and Neal & Rowland are notably represented.
Drawings and Archives, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
In contrast to the lavish residential architecture of Sewickley, we turn to the modest multi-unit residences contained in Shalercrest, now a cooperative housing development, located in the southeastern corner on Shaler Township along Mt. Vernon Drive.
Its 251 units in 59 buildings were developed as Defense Worker Housing by the Federal Works Agency in conjunction with the Allegheny County Housing Authority from 1941 to 1944. It also includes an administrative building, community building, and a former grocery (now apartments), along with recreational fields in the hollow at the center of the development.
The design and planning are the work of architect Clarence S. Stein, the renowned proponent of “Garden City” development. Locally, he may be best known for his planning of Chatham Village with Henry Wright. But here in Shaler Township, and his now gone ‘Ohio View Acres,’ his skill at siting a democratic community on a strict budget and time constraint is evident.
In addition to the two districts, the Committee awarded seven new individual building plaques, which are listed below in order of construction date:
“Farmhouse” at Christ Church at Grove Farm, originally William and Davidson Duff house. 249 Duff Road, Ohio Township. c.1835. William Duff, builder, additions.
William W. Grier house. 220 8th Street, Oakmont. 1875. William W. Grier, builder.
Porter & Donaldson Millinery and Straw Goods building. 820 Liberty Avenue, in Downtown. 1881. James J. Porter, builder.
House. 5906 Callowhill Street, Highland Park. 1893. Frederick C. Sauer, architect.
First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh. 604 Morewood Avenue, Shadyside. 1902-04. Joseph L. Neal of Neal & Rowland, architects.
Liberty School, now Pittsburgh Liberty K-5. 601 Filbert Street, Shadyside. 1911, 1936-37 addition. Edward J. Weber, designer with MacClure & Spahr, architects. M. M. Steen, board architect for addition.
Imani Christian Academy, originally East Hills Elementary School. 2150 East Hills Drive, East Hills. 1969-72. Tasso Katselas, architect.
Our organization has awarded 634 Historic Landmark Plaques since 1968. A Historic Landmark plaque identifies the site as a significant part of our local heritage. It will not protect a building from alteration or demolition. Buildings, structures, districts, and landscapes may be approved for a Historic Landmark plaque if all of the following conditions are met:
- they are remarkable pieces of architecture, engineering, construction, landscape design, or planning, or impart a rich sense of history;
- alterations, additions, or deterioration have not substantially lessened their value in the above respects;
- they are at least 50 years old and are located within Allegheny County or surrounding counties (see above).
- they are not located in historic districts bearing a plaque (unless of exceptional individual significance).
For more information about this program, contact Frank Stroker: frank@phlf.org or 412-471-5808 ext. 525.
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Scholarship Recipients Celebrate at Historic Mansions on Fifth
Landmarks Scholarship award recipients together with their parents and members of the Scholarship Committee posed for a photo at the historic Mansions on Fifth Hotel in Shadyside.
Our organization was delighted to host our Landmarks Scholarship Awards reception at the historic Mansions on Fifth Hotel in Shadyside on June 17.
In this, our 27th year of this scholarship program, our organization awarded three scholarships and five Honorable Mention-awards to college-bound students in Allegheny County who care deeply about the history and distinctive built environment of our city and region.
This year’s awards, makes it 94 scholarships and 74 Honorable Mentions that our organization has awarded to high school graduates in Allegheny County since the program’s inception in 1999. This program has helped to introduce young people to the work and mission of our organization and has created a network of support and a sense of family among the recipients.
The scholarship award of $6,000 is payable over four years, while the Honorable Mention award is a one-time gift of $250, payable to the recipient’s college or university for tuition and book expenses.
The 2025 Scholarship winners are:
- Ryann Johnson of Pittsburgh CAPA, will attend Morgan State University
- Ala Kalani of North Allegheny, will attend the University of Pittsburgh
- Nora Kudis of Thomas Jefferson, will attend Saint Vincent College
Our Honorable Mention recipients are:
- Brodie Bard of Pittsburgh Sci-Tech, will attend Susquehanna University
- Aviv Davidson of Pittsburgh Allderdice, will attend American University
- Chloe Hanna of Quaker Valley, will attend Fordham University
- Riley Sheposh of McKeesport, will attend Duquesne University
- Sarah Voigt of Shady Side Academy, will attend Brown University
We were delighted to interact with our scholarship and honorable mention winners, together with past scholarship recipients, Scholarship Committee members, staff and members of our organization’s Board of Trustees.
David Brashear, who chairs the Scholarship Committee, and initiated the Landmarks Scholarship Program with funding through a PHLF Named Fund, presided over the event and congratulated award recipients along with their parents on the submission of essays that reflect their love of our city and region, and its built environment.
The Landmarks Scholarship program is supported by foundations, businesses, and many PHLF members have generously contributed to it over the years.
Located in a stretch of Shadyside that was once famously known as Millionaire’s Row, what is now Mansions on Fifth Hotel, was built in 1906 as the home of Willis McCook, a Pittsburgh lawyer and industrialist who was Henry Clay Frick’s attorney. The mansion, and a sister house was designed by the Pittsburgh architectural firm Carpenter and Crocker. It was completed in 1906.
It would go on to serve as a private residence and a boarding house for college students for many years before it was saved from demolition and adapted for a new use as a boutique hotel with the help of our organization. Today, the house boasts of a 22-room boutique hotel and is protected by a preservation easement controlled by our organization.
Scroll through the photo gallery below to see more photos from our reception.
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Landmarks Awards Three Scholarships and Five Honorable Mentions in 2025
Our organization has awarded three scholarships and five Honorable Mention-awards to college-bound students in Allegheny County who care deeply about the history and distinctive built environment of our city and region.
This year’s awards, makes it 94 scholarships and 74 Honorable Mentions that we have awarded to high school graduates in Allegheny County since the program’s inception in 1999. This program has helped to introduce young people to the work and mission of our organization and has created a network of support and sense of family among the recipients.
The scholarship award of $6,000 is payable over four years, while the Honorable Mention award is a one-time gift of $250, payable to the recipient’s college or university for tuition and book expenses.
The 2025 Scholarship winners are:
- Ryann Johnson of Pittsburgh CAPA, will attend Morgan State University
- Ala Kalani of North Allegheny, will attend the University of Pittsburgh
- Nora Kudis of Thomas Jefferson, will attend Saint Vincent College
Our Honorable Mention recipients are:
- Brodie Bard of Pittsburgh Sci-Tech, will attend Susquehanna University
- Aviv Davidson of Pittsburgh Allderdice, will attend American University
- Chloe Hanna of Quaker Valley, will attend Fordham University
- Riley Sheposh of McKeesport, will attend Duquesne University
- Sarah Voigt of Shady Side Academy, will attend Brown University
The awards will be presented during a private reception on Tuesday, June 17, where we look forward to meeting our award winners together with their families.
David Brashear, who chairs the Scholarship Committee, initiated the Landmarks Scholarship Program with funding through a PHLF Named Fund. Since then, the program has been supported by foundations, businesses, and many PHLF members have generously contributed to it over the years.
We welcome contributions in support of the Landmarks Scholarship Program. Please click here to contribute; be sure to designate your gift to “Scholarship.”
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The Clement: Adaptive Use in Tarentum
How a $200,000 Loan from Landmarks Community Capital Helped Finance the Transformation of a former historic church building into a multi-use events space.
Phillip Rhodes stands outside The Clement, his office and event space in the former St. Clement’s Catholic Church in Tarentum, PA.
It was some time in December 2015, when Phillip Rhodes was scouring the internet for a storage-space he could use that he came across a rather unusual listing on Craigslist— an auction for a more than 100-year-old former church and its adjoining school buildings in Tarentum.
A native of Freeport, Rhodes hadn’t been in the market for one, but by evening’s end, he had successfully purchased the campus of buildings that had once housed the former St. Clement’s Catholic Church and its school buildings for $50,000.
The former St. Clement church was founded in 1903 as a parish mainly for the immigrant Slovakian community that had settled in the area. The church was active until 1992 when St. Clement was merged with Sacred Heart-St. Peter parish to form the new Holy Martyrs parish.
A former bike messenger, Rhodes says he was fascinated and intrigued by the campus of the former church buildings because as a part of his job, he had had an opportunity to peek inside many of Pittsburgh’s historic buildings.
That was the beginning of his vision and the reuse of these historic former church buildings as a multi-use events space. His first tenant during the long and arduous renovation process was the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, which chose his venue for its Head Start program.
A couple of years into the renovation, Rhodes approached Landmarks Community Capital for an initial loan of $150,000, which enabled him to create an outdoor recess space for the students. An additional, $50,000 loan later enabled him to complete renovations on the sanctuary building, which is now used for events ranging from parties and weddings to “champing” or church camping events.
Now named The Clement, the venue has also since taken on additional tenants including a yoga studio, construction company, and a therapist’s office.
Rhodes credits his love for historic preservation as the inspiration for The Clement and the restoration has been arduous as it has been meticulous. It has seen Rhodes seal the asbestos tile floor in the sanctuary, preserve the colorful checkerboard pattern, and the floors now gleam and reflect the stained glass from the front door.
He recalls that when he removed the wallpaper in the sanctuary, Rhodes uncovered walls painted to resemble marble with colorful borders. Instead of painting over the walls entirely, he hired a local artist to create a mural of trees and flowers that harmonizes with the layers of paint that came before.
Throughout this project, Rhodes has been grateful for the Tarentum community’s support. Some of his earliest memories are from Tarentum, and he feels like he’s been welcomed back into the neighborhood.
He beams when he talks about his neighbors who have helped with renovation work and supplied him with meals. Like Rhodes, they’re happy to see new life in the neighborhood.
“This used to be all dark, no heat, no power or anything, and now you see a group of 20 children lining up,” he says.
Rhodes has done more than restore a building, he’s helping to revitalize a neighborhood as well.
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Grants for Historic Religious Properties
The Historic Religious Properties Grant program of our organization has awarded a total of $100,000 in matching grants to 12 congregations in Allegheny County as part of our 2025 funding cycle.
The monies, which will leverage more than $383,028 raised by the congregations, will be used to fund restoration, renovation, and maintenance projects on the historic structures utilized by religious organizations. The work ranges from masonry restoration to roof repairs, and renovation of wooden doors, and stained-glass windows, among other needs.
Click here to see our 2025 grant recipients.
Our organization is the only nonprofit organization in Allegheny County offering a continuing program of financial and technical assistance to historic religious property owners. We have awarded more than 302 such grants totaling nearly $2 million, and provided more than 70 technical assistance consultations, since the program’s inception in 1997.
Our effort is made possible through individual donations, private foundations, and our Donor Advised Funds.
For more information about this program, contact David Farkas: david@phlf.org or 412-471-5808 ext. 516.
