Category Archive: Preservation News
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Region’s historic districts draw homeowners with passion for preservation
By Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, October 11, 2007For some Western Pennsylvania residents, nothing glitters like old.
Many homeowners choose to live in residential districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That designation, granted by the National Park Service, covers 213 sites in Allegheny County cited for the significance of their history, cultural contributions or architecture — everything from dams and tunnels to churches and breweries — even the old county jail.
But some history buffs seeking more comfort than a pew or a cell opt for the nine historic districts in suburban Allegheny County or the 19 in Pittsburgh. Highland Park joined the list last month, and preservation officials in Mt. Lebanon are encouraging its residents to apply for that status, too.
Beaver County boasts five national historic districts; Butler County, three; Washington County, 12; and Westmoreland County, 14.
“The designation has helped stabilize the district,” said Louise Sturgess, executive director of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. “It’s helped show that preservation is a priority of people who come into the district, and they use the architectural significance of the houses to market the community and to create public events that really generate excitement about that area.”
Homeowners in the district can do what they want to their property. The designation, though, prevents federal or state funds from being used to harm the area without first going through an extensive review process. Tax credits for rehabilitating income-producing property are available.
Sandi and Ralph Anderson live in Evergreen Hamlet in Ross, the oldest residential historic district in Allegheny County. Evergreen was founded in 1850 as a nonsectarian commune — complete with its own school, dairy and orchard.
The Andersons’ board-and-batten Gothic home was built in 1852. It’s a massive frame structure of beige, milk chocolate and rust hues. It towers three stories high and is crowned with a tin roof.
“It’s an act of love,” said Sandi Anderson, 67. “You have the privilege of owning one of these.”
The Andersons have found gold as well as love in their old or historic homes.
They bought a Victorian home in a residential historic district in Oak Park, Ill., for $52,000 in 1974. They sold it in 1985 for $350,000.
Then they bought an 1850 stucco home in Oakville, Ontario, in 1985 for $535,000. They sold it for $1.2 million four years later.
The couple spent about $200,000 for their house in Evergreen Hamlet in 1989. They believe it’s now worth about $950,000.
Citing Allegheny West in the North Side, Sturgess said a historic designation helps boost property values.
“If you look at the city of Pittsburgh, the neighborhoods that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places are thriving today.”
Other communities have found other advantages in the historic tag.
In 1980, a highway project linking McKees Rocks and Carnegie threatened the lower portion of Thornburg. Thornburg was established in 1909 and is noted for the eclectic styles of its houses.
Concerned about the potential demolition of their homes, Thornburg residents obtained historic status in 1982. The road project ended.
Jim Crist, 74, a lifelong Thornburg resident, had a personal stake in the outcome.
“Under one design,” he recalled, “if they went up that way, I would have been history.”
In contrast, Meg Alarcon was not aware of Thornburg’s historic status when she and her husband Robb bought a house there in 2001. “We wanted an old house and just liked the feel of the neighborhood,” she said.
No local place, however, has marketed its historic status like Kennywood Park in West Mifflin. The park is not only a historic district, but also a National Historic Landmark, a designation for places of national significance.
“Part of the attraction is the fact that it’s a National Historic Landmark,” said Carl Hughes, retired chairman of Kennywood, who applied for the status. “In other words, it’s not like everyone else.”
Kennywood and Playland in Rye, N.Y., are the only two amusement parks that are national landmarks, and Kennywood is bigger. Hughes said the listing helps attract local families, who feel pride in it, as well as groups such as the American Coaster Enthusiasts, the British Coaster Enthusiasts and the National Amusement Park Historical Association.
“Teachers like that sort of thing and we certainly like to make teachers happy because they bring the kids to the park,” Hughes said.
Bill Zlatos can be reached at bzlatos@tribweb.com or 412-320-7828.
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Mount Washington area tapped as nation’s best
Monday, October 08, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteChatham Village on Mount Washington tops the American Planning Association’s list of top-10 Great Neighborhoods.
The APA recently debuted its Great Places in America program, which recognizes 10 neighborhoods and 10 streets for good design, function, sustainability and community involvement.
Local association member Kay Pierce, a planner with the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development, called the designation “a big plus for Pittsburgh.”
“It was built as affordable housing, [and designed] so that automobiles are on the outside,” said Ms. Pierce. The units face wooded courtyards that value the pedestrian, she said. “It’s what a lot of planners are starting to create: communities not focused on the automobile.”
Chatham Village, a National Historic Landmark, was built in 1935 in the “English Garden City” model, which grew from reaction against densely populated industrial centers. The English model was supposed to give city dwellers an oasis of green space away from noise and pollution but still in the city.
On the list of Great Neighborhoods, Chatham Village is followed by Eastern Market in Washington, D.C., and Elmwood Village in Buffalo. Under the APA’s Great Streets designation, Bull Street in Savannah, Ga., and Canyon Road in Santa Fe, N.M., topped the list.
First published on October 9, 2007 at 2:36 am
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Study: Move Point Park U. playhouse Downtown
Saturday, October 06, 2007
By Mark Belko,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteA panel of experts laid out its grand vision for Point Park University yesterday, one built around a move of the Pittsburgh Playhouse from Oakland to Downtown and acquisition of two prominent buildings to help transform the campus into an urban academic village.
In a presentation, the Urban Land Institute panel urged the university to acquire the One Smithfield Street building at Smithfield and Fort Pitt Boulevard and the YMCA Building on Boulevard of the Allies to help accomplish that.
The One Smithfield Street building would become the new home of the Pittsburgh Playhouse and an “iconic theater complex” that would serve as the university’s front door. The YMCA building would provide recreational space the university now lacks.
With the help of those acquisitions, the panel also recommended that Point Park create a “unique gathering place” for students along First Avenue filled with shops, housing, a student activity center and other amenities, the goal being to create a “hip yet secure space” to hang out.
The panel also saw the opportunity for limited retail opportunities on Wood Street, where most campus buildings are located and where Point Park could exert leadership in the corridor’s revitalization.
“Wow!” Point Park President Paul Hennigan said afterwards. “I guess we know what we’ll be doing for the next couple of years.”
The two buildings, if secured, would add to the university’s holdings Downtown, where it is already the second largest real estate owner with 14 properties.
No timetable or cost estimate was given for implementing the suggestions, but Dr. Hennigan said “there was nothing I heard or saw today that I thought was off the wall or unrealistic.” Point Park has made some $70 million in capital improvements in the last five years.
The university sought the help of the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Land Institute in planning future development. The eight-person panel spent the week in Pittsburgh and interviewed more than 120 people.
Dr. Hennigan estimated creating the kind of environment the panel envisions on First Avenue could cost about $20 million. Relocating the playhouse and building a new three-theater complex Downtown could run $30 million to $40 million.
The county is interested in selling One Smithfield Street and has asked developers to suggest how it would use the building and an adjacent parking lot.
Point Park has been looking at the YMCA building for more than three years. It hopes to decide within two months whether to pursue a purchase. The building is available because the Downtown Y will be moving to the old G.C. Murphy building on Fifth Avenue in late 2008 as part of the redevelopment of the Fifth and Forbes corridor.
The panel sees the acquisition of the One Smithfield Street and YMCA buildings and perhaps others on First Avenue as a way to increase Point Park’s visibility and to consolidate campus activity in the five-block area from Fort Pitt Boulevard to Forbes.
If the university can’t or doesn’t want to acquire the One Smithfield Street building, an alternate location for the theater complex would be the Fourth and Forbes properties, said Leigh Ferguson, ULI panel chair.
The panel emphasized that a key driver in the overall development would be housing. Point Park currently has roughly 750 beds on campus. Given projected enrollment increases, demand could rise to 2,000 beds by 2013.
On-campus housing not only creates a vibrant 24/7 environment for students, faculty, and others, but also would help to support retail shops, restaurants, bars and other activities, it said.
Panelist Belinda M. Sward urged caution, saying retail space Downtown now greatly exceeds demand with some stores at the risk of potential closing. Dr. Hennigan said the university found the retail information particularly helpful.
“What that says to us as we develop our space is not to jump the gun on the retail opportunity but to plan for it,” he said.
The panel also called for the creation of more informal outdoor and indoor gathering spots for students, improvements to Boulevard of the Allies, and street and facade renovations throughout the corridor, perhaps in conjunction with other property owners Downtown.
First published on October 6, 2007 at 12:00 am
Mark Belko can be reached at mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262. -
Developer to raze former Workingman’s Savings Bank & Trust Co.
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, October 4, 2007Pittsburgh developer Lou Lamanna plans to raze a former North Side alcohol-recovery center to construct a new building for retail use.
Lamanna’s company, Bentley Commercial Inc., was the successful bidder Monday at a sheriff’s sale of the Alcohol Recovery Center House at 800 East Ohio St. The sale was requested by Fidelity Bank to recover $266,637.97 in mortgage payments owed to the bank, court records show.
Plans for the $5 million project are preliminary, and the structure could include multiple tenants or a single tenant, said Lamanna, 40, of Shadyside. He would not identify possible tenants.
“Within the next 4 to 6 months, we’ll level the building,” he said. That work could take longer depending upon the permitting process and because of traffic on East Ohio Street.
Bentley Commercial has constructed stores at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer and Center Pointe and Stone Quarry Commons, both in Center Township, Beaver County.
Lamanna said he is seeking to acquire several buildings and lots on East Ohio and Madison avenues that were not part of the sale.Community leaders had hoped the ARC building could be preserved.
“We’re disappointed to hear that. We would certainly hope to convince him otherwise,” said Mark Fatla, executive director of the North Side Leadership Conference.
The ARC building was built in 1901 to house the Workingman’s Savings Bank & Trust Co., according to the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Mellon Bank operated a branch office there until selling the building to the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, according to documents at Carnegie Library.
The diocese sold the brick building to Charles Cain for $1 in 1987. Cain operated the alcohol recovery program that at one point housed more than 100 inmates on work release.
In its heyday, the ARC House held about 150 prisoners who were assigned to work release by county judges.
Craig Smith can be reached at csmith@tribweb.com or 412-380-5646.
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Brentwood hotel to be preserved in art
Thursday, October 04, 2007
By Jim McMahon, Freelance Writer
Pittsburgh Post GazetteAlthough the days of Brentwood’s historic Point View Hotel are numbered, a local artist with an eye for detail and love of history, has ensured that the images of the storied structure will remain.
“When I learned that efforts to save the building had failed, I knew that I had to make a recording of it to preserve its image and its important role in Brentwood history,” said Tom Yochum, 83, a lifelong resident of the borough.
Mr. Yochum has a close attachment to the popular bar and restaurant that had its beginnings in 1832 as a stage coach stop and later reportedly served as an Underground Railroad haven for runaway slaves headed for Canada. A number of future presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and James Buchanan are believed to have stayed in the hotel.
Mr. Yochum is an Art Institute of Pittsburgh graduate who managed to keep his artistic skills active during a 35-year career as a data processor at Mesta Machine in West Homestead. He honed his creative niche in retirement when he began to create pen and ink drawings of local homes and landmark architecture. To date he has done about 150 homes in Western Pennsylvania and has had his work exhibited.
He and his wife, Theresa, have three children, daughters, Lisa and Jackie, and son, Kim.
This spring he completed a drawing of the Point View, along with a likeness of what the structure looked like in 1939, the image copied from an old photograph provided to him by hotel owner Jim Vickless.
The historic hotel, at 3720 Brownsville Road, is slated to be demolished, and a medical professional building will be built on the site.
“The Point View was a great gathering place especially for local servicemen after the war,” said Mr. Yochum.
A World War II Navy veteran, he said the hotel, ”holds a warm spot in my heart.”
He said that Nick Andolina, the owner prior to Mr. Vickless, did a lot for local veterans and sponsored their sandlot baseball team.
Thanks to an arrangement with Dennis Luther, director of the Brentwood Public Library, the octogenarian’s artwork is on display at the facility where 13-by-16-inch matted prints can be purchased for $25 and nonmatted prints for $15.
The artist is donating a percentage of each sale to the library.
“The prints are just fabulous,” said Mr. Luther, who noted that four of the artist’s other local works, including one of the historic Davis farmhouse that was torn down and replaced by a fire hall, are permanently displayed in the library’s conference room.
Mr. Luther said that Mr. Yochum is an accomplished artist and a ”local legend for his pen and ink works.”
First published on October 4, 2007 at 6:17 am
Jim McMahon is a freelance writer. -
Vote set next month on historic status for theater
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Pittsburgh Post GazetteThe city’s Historic Review Commission expects to vote next month on a proposal to designate the Garden Theater an historic landmark. It heard public support for it — with no objections — yesterday.
“It’s a no-brainer,” said Greg Mucha, a member of the Mexican War Streets Society, citing concurrent planning for new housing, a new branch of the Carnegie Library and development proposals in the pipeline for a dozen or so properties that form the Federal Street-North Avenue corridor.
“We would like to see all of North Avenue become a historic district, and this would be an important first step,” said Steve Paul, executive director of Preservation Pittsburgh.
Dan Holland, founder of the Young Preservationists Association, said the Garden was overlooked in his group’s report last year citing 130 properties that should be protected.
The 91-year old structure, one of the last nickelodeon-style theaters in the country, was a porn theater for decades until earlier this year, when the Urban Redevelopment Authority purchased it after a lengthy battle of court appeals.
First published on October 4, 2007 at 12:00 am
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Tears accompany closing of St. Paulinus Church in Clairton
Thursday, October 04, 2007
By Mary Niederberger,
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteFor the past 20 years, Isabel Lauterbach has volunteered her time to help clean St. Paulinus Church in Clairton, but she took extra care with last week’s cleaning.
That’s because it would be the last time she would dust and polish the church she has attended for more than 60 years.
St. Paulinus, a stone church that was hand-built by parishioners and community members in 1937, was closed on Sunday after a final Mass was held.
“A lot of people walked out in tears. A lot of people were taking pictures,” said Vince Gori, another longtime parishioner. He said between 300 and 400 people attended the final Mass.
Miss Lauterbach said although she was saddened by the closing, she understands the need for it as the congregation has continuously decreased over the years.
“There’s really nothing in this area for the young people, and they’ve had to move out,” Miss Lauterbach said. “I’m just glad there is still a church in Clairton to go to.”
Miss Lauterbach was referring to St. Clare of Assisi Church — the former St. Joseph Church — located across town.
Since the merged St. Clare of Assisi parish was formed in 1994, it kept two church buildings open — St. Paulinus and St. Joseph. Following the decision to close St. Paulinus, the Diocese of Pittsburgh last month renamed St. Joseph, St. Clare of Assisi Church.
Tight finances and a shrinking congregation in recent years prompted the parish to consider the closing. A parish committee decided after a long and detailed study that it made sense to close St. Paulinus, said the parish pastor, the Rev. Rich Zelik.
St. Paulinus, which sits on a hill overlooking the Monongahela River and U.S. Steel Corp.’s Clairton Works, is 30 years older than St. Joseph Church.
The parish committee determined that more money would be needed to maintain and upgrade St. Paulinus because of the building’s age and condition. It has no restrooms or air conditioning and is in need of roof repairs.
St. Paulinus Parish didn’t have enough money for a professional architect or builder in 1935 when the bishop gave it permission to build a church.
The Rev. Joseph L. Lonergan, pastor at the time, announced that the parishioners would build the church themselves.
The church was constructed with stone from the “nearby New England Hollow,” according to the church history.
The building committee studied the architecture of many European churches to come up with a design. “The works of Medieval craftsmen were copied in several instances,” church history indicates. That includes the bell tower, which was modeled after the towers of the walled city of Carcassonne, France, and the ciborium, a wooden canopy over the altar, which was said to be made of the wood from abandoned riverboats and decorated with designs copied from a cathedral in Sicily.
The church history said that “men and boys” made the ciborium, the altar railing, candleholders, sanctuary and sacristy.”
The women of the parish stained the church’s pews and are also credited with embroidering the altar linens and making the vestments for the altar boys.
The church was blessed on Sept. 6, 1937, which was Labor Day. The building was renovated in 1976 to accommodate changes in the liturgy.
Father Zelik said no decision has been made about religious items in the church.
He would like to see a nonprofit group operate the building as a community center. Mr. Gori hopes to get an historic designation for it.
Angeline Benedetti, who joined St. Paulinus in 1950, didn’t take the closing as easily as Miss Lauterbach.
“When it was announced in church one Sunday that it would close, I had to get up and leave because I was so upset. I still feel real sad about it. It’s such a beautiful church,” said Mrs. Benedetti, of Jefferson Hills.
Masses were held each Sunday at both sites during the first years after the merger created St. Clare of Assisi parish.
But in recent years, Masses were held at each church for six months of the year — during the summer months at St. Joseph because it has air conditioning and during cooler months at St. Paulinus.
Mrs. Benedetti said the church holds decades of memories for her. Her late husband, Elio, attended the church for his entire life, and his father, Alfred, helped to build it.
All of her five children were baptized and received their First Holy Communion there, and four were married in the church.
The St. Paulinus closing follows by one week the closing of Sacred Heart and St. Peter churches of the St. Martin de Porres Parish in McKeesport.
Those churches were closed with prayer services and a march between the buildings by parishioners, carrying banners that celebrated the ethnic heritage of each church, said the Rev. Tom Sparacino, pastor.
As with St. Paulinus, the closings were prompted by an aging and dwindling congregation.
“It was a day that was filled with so many mixed emotions. It was filled with sweet sorrow,” Father Sparacino said. “People are still hurting and will continue to hurt. But the reality is, we need to join around the altar as one.”
First published on October 4, 2007 at 6:19 am
Mary Niederberger can be reached at mniederberger@post-gazette.com or 412-851-1512. -
Historic preservation efforts honored in Westmoreland
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteA group dedicated to interpreting the history of an important local highway, two individuals involved in historic preservation and the Westmoreland County Board of Commissioners were named recipients of the 2007 Arthur St. Clair Historic Preservation Awards.
Westmoreland County Historical Society presented the awards at the annual Arthur St. Clair Dinner at Greensburg Country Club yesterday.
Receiving the honors were the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, a group that created the 200-Mile Roadside Museum; local history buff Glenn Smeltzer; Dr. Robert C. Wilburn, a Westmoreland County native and chief executive officer of Gettysburg National Battlefield Museum Foundation; and County Commissioners Tom Balya, Tom Ceraso and Phil Light for their commitment to the planned History Education Center at Hanna’s Town.
The 200-Mile museum includes roadside exhibits in six counties. The exhibits encompass such things as vintage gas pumps painted by professional artists, as well as 21 interpretive exhibits throughout Westmoreland County that tell the story about the Lincoln Highway during the years between 1913 and World War II.
Glenn Smeltzer was a physics teacher in the Hempfield School District but after retirement, the history of Westmoreland County became his avocation. He became an expert on the 11th Pennsylvania Civil War Regiment and other county history. He teaches continuing education classes at Westmoreland County Community College and is a member of the Baltzer-Meyer Historical Society.
Dr. Wilburn is spearheading the effort to raise $100 million to build a new visitors center for the Gettysburg Battlefield. He is a former CEO of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, former president of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a member of the board of directors of Saint Vincent College.
The county commissioners were recognized because the board has supported the Hanna’s Town center from the beginning. The county provided seed money for the project and contributed to the capital campaign.
Thanks to the board, the county will provide regular maintenance, cleaning services, utility costs and insurance once the facility is built.
First published on October 4, 2007 at 6:14 am