Category Archive: Preservation News
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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.”
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Riverview Park’s shelter rededicated with emphasis on history
By Rick Wills
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, June 8, 2008Riverview Park’s Chapel Shelter has a brand-new look that, well, looks old.”It really never looked like this before,” said Christine Dixon, who lives in Observatory Hill and has rented the shelter several times for family reunions.
The 114-year-old shelter, which was renovated over the past 2 1/2 years, was rededicated on Saturday during Riverview Park Heritage Day, which included a parade, pony rides, a pie-eating contest and tours of Allegheny Observatory, which sits on the grounds. The dedication ceremony included the release of several dozen doves.
The shelter had been built as a church and was moved to the park in 1894. The renovation work replicated dormers and the steeple.
“It went through years of dilapidation. The work on it has been outstanding,” said Richard Reed, chairman of the board of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, one of the project’s major sponsors and funders.The $1.2 million renovation updated restrooms and added ramps to make the building handicapped accessible.“The building looks great. It’s wonderful to have it rehabilitated,” said Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, who grew up next to the park, which offers sweeping vistas of the city.
“This is my park. I think it’s overlooked compared to the other three large city parks,” he said.
The project was funded by the Regional Asset District, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the city of Pittsburgh.
“This is an example of good things happening on the North Side. Our parks are the most democratic space in this city,” said Darlene Harris, a Pittsburgh City Council member whose district includes the park.
Rick Wills can be reached at rwills@tribweb.com or 724-779-7123.
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Penn Brewery founder ready to have his last call
By Rick Stouffer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, May 24, 2008Tom Pastorius had modest goals in 1986 when he opened Penn Brewery — brew real German beer, served in a real German beer hall environment.
After 22 years with Penn Brewery, founder Tom Pastorius is retiring. - J. C. Schisler-Tribune Review
Now, 22 years later, Pastorius, credited with introducing the microbrewery/brewpub/craftbrewer industry in Pennsylvania, is stepping down from his creation. On Friday, the hometown guy with the deep German roots announced his retirement, effective in September, from what today is known as Penn Brewery Restaurant.
Pastorius is looking to sell his remaining 20 percent interest in the business.
“There’s never a best time to leave, especially when you create something, but when I sold 80 percent of the business five years ago, I said I’d stay five years,” Pastorius said. “I’ll be 64 years old, I want to do some other things.
In 2003, Pastorius sold majority ownership in Pennsylvania Brewing Co. to private equity firm Birchmere Capital, a move spearheaded by Jack Isherwood, a former chief executive of Pittsburgh Brewing Co. — now Iron City Brewing.”I met Jack at a party,” Pastorius said. “He had always been interested in the beer business and about that time my children, then in their 20s, had determined they didn’t want to be in the business. I wasn’t looking to sell, but I had to think of who would take over.”
Pastorius’ goal when he opened for business at the foot of Troy Hill, site of the former Eberhardt & Ober Brewery, was to brew 10,000 barrels of premium German-style beer annually.
“We’ve blown right past that number,” Pastorius said.
Today, das Bierhaus that Pastorius built is an interstate, multi-beer enterprise, which includes a restaurant that opened in 1989 that does more than $1 million annually in food sales.
The 1989 opening was historic because it was Pennsylvania’s first tied house — in which a brewery operates in conjunction with a restaurant — since Prohibition.
Penn Brewery owner Thomas Pastorius holds barley (top) and hops over at the North Side brewery's 1,000-gallon kettles. The cost of both ingredients is rising. - Keith Hodah/Tribune-Review
“The thing about Tom is his desire for this business — it’s as solid as the wooden tables he built for the pub,” said Lew Bryson, a professional writer who covers the beer and ale industry in Pennsylvania. “With Tom, if you order a sandwich, he’s the one who makes it. If you buy a case of beer, he’s the one who gets it. I don’t know if that’s the German in him or not, but that’s Tom.”
The brewery’s flagship brew, Penn Pilsner, and six sibling beers are available, depending on the time of year, throughout Pennsylvania, New York City, Delaware and major portions of Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and North Carolina. Annual beer revenues: $4 million, Pastorius said.
“My biggest surprise was how fast we grew,” Pastorius said. “I certainly didn’t intend to get into the food business. This area has a lot of people with German ancestry and they, and even a number of German visitors to the area, make this a stop for authentic food and beer.”
Pastorius certainly had the lineage to be successful. His great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Franz Daniel Pastorius, was a friend of William Penn, led the first group of German immigrants to the Americas in 1683 and founded Germantown, now a Philadelphia neighborhood.
Pastorius lived and worked in Germany for 12 years, so when he and wife, Mary Beth, relocated back to Pittsburgh, he determined the city needed a real German beer and a realistic German beer hall.
“We made a lot of people happy in this town, but I’m looking forward to not being here every Saturday night until midnight or 1 a.m.,” Pastorius said.
Rick Stouffer can be reached at rstouffer@tribweb.comor 412-320-7853.
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Vandergrift Main Street moves ahead
By Rossilynne Skena
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Monday, May 19, 2008Part of the now-vacant building at 143 Grant Ave. is “a time capsule,” said Shaun Yurcaba, Vandergrift Improvement Program Main Street manager.
Inside are two single-bedroom apartments, complete with details and woodwork left unchanged since the turn of the 20th century.
By fall, renters will be able to live there and look out over Vandergrift, the area the VIP has spent the last four years trying to improve.
The VIP is a nonprofit organization that’s facilitating the Main Street program, a community revitalization initiative, Yurcaba said.
This summer, contractors will restore the apartments — one two-bedroom and two one-bedroom. The VIP is getting bids for painting along with electrical and plumbing work.
Yurcaba said the building facade has been partially restored with the help of a $300,000 grant from the Allegheny Foundation, a Pittsburgh-based Scaife Foundation that gives grants to historic preservation projects, made possible through the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
A new roof has been installed and asbestos abatement has occurred, Yurcaba said. The storefront needs to be restored, she said.
“We’re hoping that this building will be an example to others on what they can do to restore and rehabilitate others,” Yurcaba said.
A business will move into the first floor by late summer or fall, Yurcaba said. Plans for the business are being finalized, she said.
Yurcaba said the VIP has seen a couple of businesses relocate to the area and another reopen, although she said the VIP can’t take complete credit.
Carino’s Ristorante, 133 Grant Ave., will reopen next month, and owner Mark Carino said he’s anxious to get back into the business.
The restaurant, which had been in Vandergrift for 20 years, has been closed for about two-and-a-half years. Carino of Vandergrift said the restaurant will be “kind of different this time.”
“It’s going to be more neighborhood-friendly, more price-friendly,” Carino said, describing the previous restaurant as the “white tablecloth” kind.
Carino’s will offer pasta dishes, sauces, sandwiches, salads and appetizers and will be “kind of sports-oriented” with TVs.
Carino said VIP’s revitalization efforts were one of the deciding factors to open again.
“I like what they’re doing. They’re very pro-active. Before they came along, I thought it was stagnant. Now, they’re trying to do things. I can see other people trying to do things also,” he said.
Allan Walzak is president of StrongLand Chamber of Commerce, which represents Vandergrift among other municipalities, backs the VIP.
“It’s very important to us that every community within the chamber has an opportunity to move forward, to grow and develop,” he said. “We are here to help them.”
Walzak also serves as president of the Casino Theater, a partially-restored building in Vandergrift. He said there has been community interest and support of the theater.
Last week, the VIP received an $850 grant from the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau for the program’s farmers market, which will be held Thursdays this summer, beginning July 10, Yurcaba said.
The VIP this month received a $75,000 grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development to pay for the program’s operations, including running programs, keeping the office running and keeping the staff working on projects, Yurcaba said.
The VIP will also receive a DCED grant for $35,000 by fall or winter to help pay for building renovations, she said.
Another DCED grant, the Facade Grant Program, offers money to downtown businesses owners and property owners to rehabilitate their storefronts. The VIP receives this $30,000 grant each year for four years, Yurcaba said. The VIP has this $30,000 to grant to property owners to do renovations, and applications for funds are available at the program’s 132 Grant Ave. office or at its Web site, officialvandergrift.com. As much as $5,000 is available for each facade, depending on the project.
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Streetscape funding awaits Bush’s signature
Thursday, May 08, 2008The federal transportation bill that includes streetscape funding for Heidelberg, Scott and Carnegie is headed to the White House for approval.
H.R. Bill 1195, which as of last Thursday had passed both houses of Congress, contains $2.4 million that will be targeted for various street improvements between First and Third streets on Route 50 in Heidelberg, Carothers Avenue in Scott and Third Street in Carnegie.
“Being a center point between the airport and the city, and at the crossroads of two interstate highways, these communities have so much to offer,” said U. S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, who developed the revitalization initiative.
Specifics of the streetscape plan need to be worked out, but past discussions have included using the federal money to repair infrastructure, relocate utility lines, provide secure lighting and add other amenities such as decorative benches and planters to make the three communities more inviting.
In addition, the Port Authority and the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation are working with the communities to introduce transit-oriented development and create a blueprint for revitalization.
Legislation containing the funding passed the U.S. House twice, most recently in March 2007, but was held up in the Senate.
Mr. Murphy, who secured money in the House version, worked with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, to move the bill in the Senate with additional funding for the project.
“This is an exciting springboard for these areas that have tried to rebuild,” Mr. Murphy said. “As the plans are developed, community input will be essential.”
He estimated that it would be several months after President Bush signs the bill before the money would be available.
Mr. Murphy added that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the midst of a $4.5 million plan to remove sediment from areas prone to flooding, such as Chartiers Creek and Robinson Run.
Carole Gilbert Brown is a freelance writer.First published on May 8, 2008 at 5:39 am -
National Negro Opera House Hearing at Pittsburgh Council
PREPARED TESTIMONY OF
ANNE E. NELSON, ESQ.
GENERAL COUNSEL
PITTSBURGH HISTORY & LANDMARKS FOUNDATION
BEFORE THE PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL
PUBLIC HEARING ON THE NATIONAL NEGRO OPERA HOUSE
CITY HISTORIC STRUCTURE DESIGNATION
MAY 7, 2008
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (Landmarks) supports the nomination of 7101 Apple Street, the National Negro Opera House, to be a City-Designated Historic Structure. Built in 1894, this Queen Anne-style house received a historical marker from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1994, and is included in African American Historic Sites Survey of Allegheny County, published by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1994, and A Legacy in Bricks and Mortar: African-American Landmarks in Allegheny County, published by Landmarks in 1995.
Therefore, Landmarks supports the designation of this site as a City of Pittsburgh Historic Structure.
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Mt. Lebanon theater project creates buzz
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, May 1, 2008A Mt. Lebanon theater that showed “The Graduate” and “To Sir With Love” — significant art films of the 1960s — might revisit that genre with a $3 million renovation.Along the way, officials hope the project will be the catalyst for increased business in the community.“It’s a great community project that will light the spark for more economic development in the region,” said Mt. Lebanon Commissioner D. Raja, who purchased the Denis Theatre on Washington Road in November to keep it from being converted to an office complex.
Raja has signed a 15-year lease to rent the building to the Denis Theatre Foundation, which announced plans Monday to revive it.
The Denis will reopen as an art house, showing independent and foreign language films, and documentaries. It could be a venue for lectures, film series, student productions and cultural events. A church has expressed interest in conducting services there.Since word of the plan first started circulating around the community, “the buzz has been amazing,” said Joe Rovita, owner of Empire Music and president of the Uptown Business Association.The Denis opened in 1937 as a one-screen moviehouse with a capacity of 1,200. Ownership changed repeatedly over the next six decades, before Raja bought it last year. The 11,000-square-foot theater closed in 2004.
Raja, of Bangalore, India, is co-founder of Computer Enterprises Inc. He and his wife, Neeta, bought the property in November for $668,750, real estate records show.
Renovating the theater will be a huge project, said Anne Kemerer, executive director of the Denis Theater Foundation, which hopes to raise the $3 million in government grants and private donations.
“Time has not been kind to the Denis,” she said. “There is water damage, vandalism, some outdated equipment.”
The theater’s marquee, which is not salvageable, lies in pieces in the lobby. Its basement is filled with 70 years’ worth of accumulated theater equipment.
But officials are optimistic the renovated theater will bring people to Mt. Lebanon.
“Because Mt. Lebanon is a walkable community, the theater has great potential,” said Dan Woodske, Mt. Lebanon’s commercial district manager.
Theaters can draw people to Main Street in the evening and on weekends — two key periods that have been lost to the malls, Woodske said.
“Very few stores stay open past 5 or 6. There’s nothing right now to bring a steady flow on the weekends,” he said.
A number of old movie theaters in the Pittsburgh area have been preserved, including the Oaks Theater in Oakmont, The Strand in Zelienople, The Hollywood Theater in Dormont and the Ambridge Family Theater in Beaver County.
Craig Smith can be reached at csmith@tribweb.com or 412-380-5646.
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‘Heritage Grant’ Aimed at Preserving Cal U Campus
BILL LIEPINIS
CalTimes
May 1, 2008For many at California University of Pennsylvania, it may seem like the changes of every semester include a new construction project on campus. Whether it’s been the demolition of Binns Hall, Longanecker or Duda Hall, the construction of Carter Hall, Booker Towers and the new Duda Hall, or the renovations of Steele Hall, Vulcan Hall and now Herron Hall, changes have become a part of life for many students, faculty and staff. Even though the campus landscape has drastically changed over the last 10 years, a new grant now backs a project in the works that will help preserve the university’s heritage in the years to come.
The $200,000 grant from the Los Angeles based J. Paul Getty Foundation was awarded to the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation last summer, which will be distributed to preservation projects on the campuses of Seton Hill, Washington & Jefferson and IUP, along with Cal U.
Project Manager and PHLF Landmarks Director of Real Estate and Special Development Projects, Eugene Matta, has been working on project plans for months, and is excited to see the work continue. With a team including an architect, a construction expert, an architectural historian and a landscape designer, Matta explains that the team’s plans are much more than just aesthetic recommendations. “Although their work is historic in nature, they also make recommendations for the future development and maintenance of the campus buildings and landscapes that are consistent with the original concepts but adapted to today’s reality.”
Matta adds that the team will also consider issues that are holding the global spotlight. “Relevant issues of today such as sustainability, health of our ecosystems and the environment in general affect us all, but mostly the young people preparing themselves for tomorrow’s challenges.”
Work on the project started last October, as team members focused on historical research for all four college campuses. The team has already completed some work on California University’s campus, and will continue their visits over the summer and into the fall semester.
As the ‘conservation team’ continues their work on plans to maintain local history on the ever-changing Cal U campus, Eugene Matta hopes that campus-community members will speak out on their opinions and ideas.
The ‘conservation team’ includes historic architect Ellis Schmidlapp, Construction and Rehabilitation expert Tom Keffer and Horticulturist and Landscape Designer Ron Block. If you have any questions, suggestions or would even like to lend some help while team is working on campus, you can contact Project Manager Eugene Matta at 412-471-5808, or email him at eugene@phlf.org