Category Archive: PHLF News
-
In Vandergrift, Transforming the Vision Into Reality
PHLF has been working in partnership with the Vandergrift Improvement Program (VIP) for over three years now to realize an ambitious vision for bringing new life and vitality back to Vandergrift’s historic downtown. We have worked with the VIP to really focus on taking steps to start to change the underlying economics of the main street. This has included a focus on bringing buildings back into productive service and working to retain and recruit businesses that will give customers more reason to come back.
After a lot of hard work, that vision is now starting to take shape. Work is currently underway to restore 143 Grant Avenue. Most of the brick facade has been removed, cleaned and reconstructed. The plywood that had covered much of the original storefront has been stripped off to reveal the original transom windows, which will be restored.
“It’s really nice to see that some of the seeds we’ve planted are now starting to bear fruit,” said Meade Jack, President of the VIP Board of Directors. “This is an exciting time for us. We appreciate our partnership with PHLF. It’s been a lot of hard work, but we’re making real progress. And this is just the beginning.”
Jack expressed confidence that the VIP will continue to make progress restoring other key properties in the heart of downtown. “We care about this place. It’s not just downtown, it’s at the core of who we are. We know it won’t come back exactly as it was. And will take patience and a lot more hard work. But we believe we’re on track an heading in the right direction. Downtown is coming back.”
-
Downtown Concerts to be held at Historic Churches
The Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra’s Bach Lunch Concerts Summer Series will be conducted at two historic downtown Pittsburgh churches.
Featured June 17 will be the Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra Strings at Smithfield United Church of Christ.
On July 22, Gretchen van Hoesen (harp) and Jim Gorton (oboe) will perform at First Lutheran Church.
Finally, August 12, Sean Jones (trumpet) will also perform at First Lutheran Church.
For more information regarding times and cost, please contact pgh.bachs.lunch@gmail.com or call 412-736-3678.
-
Easement Policy Revised
Landmarks recently revised its Easement Policy in accordance with the Land Trust Alliance’s Standards and Practices, as recommended by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Standards and Practices are “ethical and technical guidelines for the responsible operation of a land trust.”
Landmarks holds easements on a variety of historic properties throughout western Pennsylvania including single family homes in the Mexican War Streets, historic farms in Greene and Washington County, the Heinz Lofts, Armstrong Cork and the recently restored Bedford Springs Resort to name a few.
Preservation easements are recorded land use agreements in which a property owner voluntarily places restrictions on the building and/or land that maintain the historic or architectural significance of the property. Preservation easements, therefore, are an important historic preservation tool because they preserve historic buildings in perpetuity. Donors of preservation easements may also qualify for a federal charitable contribution deduction.
-
Landmarks Awards Four Scholarships to College-Bound Students
During the Landmarks Scholarship Celebration on June 3 at Chatham University, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Trustee and Scholarship Program Founder David Brashear announced the award of scholarships to four high-achieving students who are involved in their communities and value Pittsburgh’s history, architecture, and/or landscape design. The Scholarship Celebration marked the tenth anniversary of the scholarship program and raised more than $75,000 for the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Scholarship Fund. PNC, BNY Mellon, and The David and Janet Brashear Foundation sponsored the June 3 event.
Four students, out of 36 applicants this year, were selected to received $4,000 scholarships:
· Dawna M. Gilvarry of Schenley High School;
· Christa L. Pluff of Allderdice High School;
· Sarah J. Rogers of Woodland Hills High School; and
· Scott A. Schorr of Mt. Lebanon High School
(Brief profiles on each student below.)
David Brashear conceived of the Landmarks Scholarship Program in 1998 with several goals in mind: he hoped to build relationships with capable young people who share the values of our organization; he wanted to provide financial support to qualified students who were pursuing a college education; and he hoped to attract young people who had the potential to become future leaders of Landmarks and of other community-based organizations throughout the region.
Since 1999, the we have granted 29 scholarships to a remarkable group of young people. Sixteen students are Pittsburgh Public School graduates and thirteen are graduates from other schools within Allegheny County. Seventeen winners have already graduated from prestigious colleges, and at least four scholarship recipients are living and working in Pittsburgh: two are architects, one is an engineer, one is a bridge inspector, and several are looking for jobs in the region.
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Scholarship Program is offered each year. Applications for the 2008-09 school year will be available in Jan. 2009. Applicants must:
· be a resident of Allegheny County;
· be a high school senior who has been accepted to a college or university;
· have a cumulative Grade Point Average at the end of the first semester senior year of 3.25 or greater; and
· write an essay on a certain topic, complete an application, and submit two letters of recommendation.
2008 Landmarks Scholarship Recipients: Student Profiles
Dawna M. Gilvarry
A graduate of Schenley High School, Dawna will be attending Seton Hill University to study International Relations.
Described as “positive, optimistic and above all empathetic,” Dawna has volunteered at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind, and has worked at the Jewish Community Center, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and as a camp counselor. At Schenley she was a member of the swim team, a writer for the school newspaper, and a member of the Interact Club. Dawna was a featured speaker at “Strong Women, Strong Girls,” a mentoring program for high-risk young girls in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
In her Landmarks Scholarship essay Dawna wrote: “…you can see the beauty in our architecture. History especially hits home because unlike many people I enjoy hearing about what life was like in different times. When I look into the past I can see where the future rose….Whether it’s Pittsburgh or somewhere across the country I can value the fine art in architecture and landscape. When I go downtown and look up, I am lost in a different world. …Pittsburgh has so many surprises in its older buildings… .
“…my most unforgettable experience as a child was riding the incline and viewing the city from afar.”
Christa L. Pluff
A graduate of Allderdice High School, Christa will be attending Georgetown University to study Political Science and Sociology.
Christa was a National Merit Finalist and recipient, in 2007, of the Chatham College Rachel Carson Book Award for Environmental Science and Research. She served as an Allderdice representative for Students for a Greener Pittsburgh and was a writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Newswire. She has volunteered at Magee-Women’s Hospital and at the Frick Environmental Center.
Christa’s scholarship essay explains her love of Hazelwood––“a small Pittsburgh neighborhood [with] all of the shops and restaurants, the churches and businesses, the post office and, interestingly, two funeral homes within a block of each other.” She describes the positive influence that the Hazelwood Initiative has had on “adding some life and culture back to today’s neighborhood,” and laments the media’s often one-dimensional portrayal of the community when it “highlights isolated acts of violence.”
“Perhaps it is the continued inequity fielded as a Hazelwood resident or perhaps it is the activism undertaken by neighbors such as my own grandmother…that has shaped my identity as a resolute, politically active individual. Regardless of the origin, my surroundings have fashioned my belief in the power of the individual and the importance of an education and giving back to the community that, regardless of its faults, determined who you are.”
Sarah J. Rogers
A graduate of Woodland Hills High School, Sarah will be attending Fordham University to study History.
Recognized as a “distinguished scholar” and “best young playwright,” Sarah was named a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review East Young Achiever and was commended for her performance in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Competition. She has volunteered with her church and worked as a clerk at Thomson, Rhodes & Cowie, P.C.
In her scholarship essay, Sarah writes that “Some of my fondest memories are of the trips my father and I would take: early Saturday morning adventures to ride the incline up to Mt. Washington or to wander around Point State Park.” During those times she realizes that her “own passion for history was beginning to take root.”
She sees the “pride and heart throughout Pittsburgh, past and present. I see it in the early organization and passion of the Homestead strikers…I see it in the inclines we continue to operate and in every ‘Historical Landmark’ sign I walk past. I am beginning to see it, too, in myself….”
Scott A. Schorr
A graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School, Scott will be attending Emory University, pursuing his interests in Political Science, History, and Music.
Elected Treasurer of the High School Student Government and Vice-President of the School Orchestra, Scott is a National Honor Society member and recipient of numerous science and musical awards. He was a co-captain of the Debate Team, a Model United Nations delegate, and a volunteer at the Heinz History Center for four years in the Education Department.
In his scholarship essay, Scott describes his experience in leading a group of inner-city youth through the Points in Time exhibit at the Heinz History Center. “Early in our tour, I sensed that my visitors did not share the same level of interest in the Colonial era that I did. But as we shifted our focus to more recent decades…it became evident that their enthusiasm for history was no less than my own. My visitors shared with me their own passions, a sense of excitement about the passage of the Underground Railroad through Western Pennsylvania and the proud heritage of the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays…. I reflected on the fact that my visitors now lived in the neighborhood where my great-grandparents had first resided…as immigrants to this country…. I was able to see history in a different light, impressed by the importance to my guests of the Civil Rights Movement and the enthusiasm and reverence with which they embraced it. …They provided me with an important lesson in diversity that I had yet to discern from the pages of a history book.”
-
New Pittsburgh Website Features 25 Downtown Landmarks
Click below to explore an interactive website that plays off Landmarks’ most popular downtown walking tour for students. There’s plenty of information, animation, fun facts, and material for adults too.
-
Pirates vs. Yankees Tickets still Available
By Jack Miller
To commemorate the 1960 world series and honor its special members, Landmarks is hosting a major gala at the Pirates Yankees baseball game at PNC Park on Wednesday, June 25th where former Pirate great Bill Virdon will be honored for his defense of the Forbes Field wall.
Tickets are $150 each ($125 for Landmarks members) and include dinner, a game ticket, the chance to meet World Series hero Bill Virdon and hear Landmarks President Arthur Ziegler’s “state of local preservation update,” as well as hear a state of the economy update by our event sponsor, Morgan Stanley’s North Bay Group of Great Neck, NY. A special bus tour of Landmarks preservation projects will also be part of the package on a first-come, first served basis.
Since there are only a limited number of tickets and the Pirates – Yankees series is a sell-out, please contact Jack Miller at 412-471-5808, ext. 538 or jack@phlf.org as soon as possible to reserve your place or for more information. Proceeds from the event will support Landmarks preservation efforts.
-
Landmarks Community Capital Corporation Invest in Loft-Style Town Homes in Bloomfield/Garfield
Landmarks Community Capital Corporation (LCCC) announced at a press conference/ground breaking on Wednesday, April 16th that it has made a $462,000 equity investment into the new loft-style townhouse development located at 5000 Penn Avenue in the Bloomfield/Garfield section of Pittsburgh by Friendship Development Associates, Inc. (FDA).
Howard Slaughter, Chief Executive Officer of LCCC says, “The development of this loft-style housing, or ‘lofters’ as I call them, fill a blighted vacant lot on a major corridor. It will also have attractability to workers at the new Children’s Hospital just two blocks away and continue to shore up the business corridor of Penn Avenue and provide quality housing for three new families. We are pleased to provide this equity investment to FDA and look forward to working with them on the construction of this development. “ FDA’s Real Estate Manager, Courtney Ehrlichman, says this development will be key in maintaining their efforts to keep the revitalization on the Penn Avenue corridor ongoing and strong.
In attendance at the ground breaking was Mayor Luke Ravenstahl who said “Urban loft-style townhouses are becoming more popular around the country, and Pittsburgh is always on the cusp of new and innovative ideas. This development is representative of the opportunity to increase marketability in Pittsburgh’s urban communities by developing a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, thereby making communities more sustainable by establishing better diversification of incomes, style of housing and ethnicity of communities. The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s funding of $161,297 in this development is a prime example of private/public partnership, which is the nexus of true neighborhood revitalization.”
The development is scheduled for completion within the next eight months.
-
Landmarks Development Corporation Appoints New Chief Executive Officer
Harold Blye, Chairman of Landmarks Development Corporation (LDC), announced the appointment of Dr. Howard B. Slaughter, Jr. as Chief Executive Officer today.
LDC is a for-profit subsidiary of Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) and it undertakes real estate development and fee-based consulting related to the preservation mission of PHLF.
Dr. Howard B. Slaughter, Jr. joined PHLF as its Director of Community Revitalization programs in 1993. After six years with PHLF, he then joined Fannie Mae to establish the Fannie Mae Pittsburgh Community Business Center office and built it very successfully, assisting more than 24,000 families on becoming homeowners.
In 2007, Landmarks established a new non-profit subsidiary Landmarks Community Capital Corporation (LCCC) to expand its activities in community revitalization within a 250-mile radius of Pittsburgh and asked Dr. Slaughter to return and serve as CEO of that new non-profit.
In his new capacity as CEO for Landmarks Development Corporation, Dr. Slaughter will work with Arthur Ziegler, Jr., President, to create and augment the programs of the for-profit subsidiary.
Dr. Slaughter was also recently invited next month to attend the Yale School of Management: Chief Executive Leadership Institute, a key institutionalized program for Fortune 500 CEO’s across America, which offers practical knowledge on important key leadership and business issues.