Latest News
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Main Street Tours Reveal the Heart of Six Pittsburgh Communities
For the fourth consecutive year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and PHLF sponsored a series of free public walking tours in September and October featuring city main streets. A total of 170 people attended the tours this season to South Side, the Hill District, Mt. Washington, Brookline, Brighton Heights, and North Side.
“These tours focused on the heart of each community,” said Education Coordinator Karen Cahall, and helped people look at buildings and neighborhoods in a whole new way.” Representatives from each community pointed out new businesses, long-established family-owned businesses, new housing, and restored housing, and discussed major plans on the drawing board.
PHLF’s Oct E-news included summaries of the South Side and Hill District walking tours. Brief summaries of the four October walking tours are described below (and photos follow).
Mt. Washington––Shiloh Street Area
On Friday, October 4, we enjoyed the view of the city from Mt. Washington before beginning our walk along Shiloh Street. James Eash, Director of Economic Development for the Mt. Washington CDC, Josette Fitzgibbons, Mainstreets/Elm Street Coordinator for the URA, Louise Sturgess, Executive Director of PHLF, and Karen Cahall, Education Coordinator for PHLF, provided commentary as we toured. We stopped at the Grandview Bakery to hear how URA assistance helped the owner find her location and start her business. The URA and Mt. Washington CDC are working to improve façades and signage along the street. From there, after a brief stop of the Mt. Washington CDC to learn more about the Emerald View Park trail system, participants walked up to Prospect School for a hard-hat tour of the renovation in progress. A.M. Rodriguez Associates is creating 67 apartments in the former school, designed in 1931 by M. M. Steen of James T. Steen & Sons––and one of the 53 featured sites in PHLF’s new guidebook, Pittsburgh Architecture in the Twentieth Century. The Lofts of Mount Washington will open in 2014.
Brookline––Bookline Boulevard
Friday, October 11 was our day to explore the business district of Brookline. Josette Fitzgibbons, URA, provided commentary about URA involvement in the area along with Nathan Mallory, Owner of Cannon Coffee and local activist for Brookline development, Steve Salas, Brookline resident who has researched Brookline history, and Karen Cahall, PHLF. The tour included information about the URA façade and business improvement programs as we visited Cannon Coffee, walked through the LEED-certified Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh–Brookline branch, and enjoyed a pastry taste at Kriebel’s Bakery in business for over 66 years. The business district is undergoing a transformation since Brookline Boulevard, the main street through the business district and former trolley way, is being redesigned to calm traffic and encourage drivers to stop and enjoy what Brookline has to offer.
Brighton Heights––California Avenue
The Brighton Heights business district along California Avenue was the focus of the tour on October 18. Joan Bellisario, treasurer of the Brighton Heights Citizens Federation (BHCF) and John Belch, local researcher/historian and recording secretary of BHCF, together with Josette Fitzgibbons, URA, and Karen Cahall, PHLF, served as tour guides. Ed Gergerich, Brighton Heights resident and BHCF member, added comments. The group walked the California Avenue business district learning about the only surviving butcher shop in the city and saw the three Frederick Osterling designed buildings that have been renovated as homes. Around the corner up Termon Avenue, Pastor Gary Palladin invited the group to tour Hosanna Church–a Craftsman-style Gothic church. The final stop was the Oliver House, a historic home in Brighton Heights, that has been beautifully restored by Marilyn and Jim Malanos. The group was treated to tea and cookies. Brighton Heights rolled out the red carpet for this tour.
North Side––Federal Street Area
On Friday, October 25, a group of 45 participants was welcomed at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh–North Side branch. Carlton Stout, Library Manager, welcomed our group to the Allegheny City room, where historic photographs of the area were displayed. From there, Kyra Strassman, Director of Mainstreets for the URA, and Tom Hardy, Palo Alto Partners and consultant to the Central Northside Neighborhood Council for development of the Garden Theater block, with Karen Cahall, PHLF, led the group up Federal Street to the residential development there and then to North Avenue to the Garden Theater Block and into Allegheny Commons. In the Commons, Kyra and Tom talked about plans for the Garden Theater block which include a restaurant by Piccolo Forno. Alida Baker, Director of the Allegheny Commons Park Restoration through the Northside Leadership Conference, shared the restoration story of the park and proudly announced that the Allegheny Commons had just been approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. She shared drawings of the plans to return the fountain to the northeast corner of the park (near Allegheny General Hospital) and talked about the QR codes project to be accessed through smart phones. This tour was a great ending to the series.
PHLF thanks all those who participated in the fall tour series.
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The Fifth/Wood Building Before and After
The Fifth/Wood building, where Kashi Jewelers is housed, has been thoroughly cleaned, and new windows and a new storefront have been installed on this prime corner in downtown.
Part of the improvements to this building included removing the metal window shades that closed the first floor windows in the evening, which has made a noticeable difference in the appearance of the building’s exterior.
This work was funded by a $4 million grant to the City of Pittsburgh from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program. PHLF administers the program in cooperation with the City’s Urban Redevelopment Authority.
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Life Re/framed: A Walking Tour
Date: Friday, October 11, 2013
Time: 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Registration required: tour is limited to the first 20 registered participants.
Meeting location: first-floor vestibule, Carnegie Library’s main entrance: Schenley Drive Extension, Oakland.
Contact Miguel for reservations: 412-622-3151 or miguel@carnegielibrary.org
Where is the beauty in our everyday life––the inspirational colors, patterns, forms, and textures that greet us daily to inform our experience of life?
What objects do we care for, take care of, pay attention to?
When does a shared heritage end and a specific tradition begin?
What is Pittsburgh made of?
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Main, in collaboration with the University Art Gallery (UAG) of the University of Pittsburgh, offers this opportunity to take a(nother) look at our sense of community on a thoughtful afternoon walk in two of Oakland’s most spectacular historic landmarks.
“Building Art”: Marilyn Holt, Head of the Pennsylvania Department, will present the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and illuminate some of its original architectural inspirations and various transformations in serving the community since 1895.
“Built-in Art”: Isabelle Chartier, Curator of the University Art Gallery, will present the exhibition “Re/discover: the Collection revealed”––currently running through October 19 in the Frick Fine Arts Building (located across the street from the Library)––revealing some of the (approximately 3,000) works of art that form the permanent collection of the University of Pittsburgh, founded in 1787.
We’ll explore how historic and aesthetic considerations collide and collude in our shared use/s of space/s and individual appreciation/s of the physical world in which we move about and contextualize our selves; and how dedicated (and oftentimes unsung) conservation and preservation efforts are both necessarily persistent and infinitely redeeming, simultaneously echoing and challenging our cultural heritage.
We hope to inspire you to frame every day as a work of art, and every work of art as a reflection of a day.
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200 Students Attend Design Challenge Orientation
For the 18th consecutive year, PHLF is hosting a design challenge for middle and high school students. Close to 200 students from Westmoreland County and the Environmental Charter School explored a vacant historic building and lot at 506-10 Clay Avenue in Jeannette, Pa., on September 24 and 26 during orientation sessions for PHLF’s 2013-14 Architectural Design Challenge. During the next five months, students will brainstorm their ideas for the site with team members and research, design, and build a model showing their vision for the vacant building and lot. In March 2014, they will return to Jeannette to present their models and ideas to a jury of architects. PHLF thanks members of the Jeannette Historical Society and William Prince of the Progress Fund for helping with the community tour and orientation sessions, and Pitzer’s Townhouse and Mimi’s Kitchen for welcoming everyone.
Below is a gallery of 15 photos from the September 24 and 26 orientation sessions.
Click here to read an article about the orientation that appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
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Free Friday Tours Continue in October
Each Friday in October, a different neighborhood main street is featured in a short, one-hour walk from 12 Noon to 1:00 pm. All tours are offered in cooperation with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and are limited to 25 participants. Karen Cahall from PHLF and neighborhood representatives will lead the tours.
Fri., Oct. 4 (Noon to 1:00 p.m.): Mt. Washington––Shiloh Street Area
Fri., Oct. 11 (Noon to 1:00 p.m.): Brookline––Brookline Boulevard
Fri., Oct. 18 (Noon to 1:00 p.m.): Brighton Heights––California Avenue
Fri., Oct. 25 (Noon to 1:00 p.m.): Northside––Federal Street Area
Reservations required. Contact: Mary Lu Denny (412-471-5808, ext. 527)Further details are as follows:
Friday, October 4, 2013
Mt. Washington––Shiloh Street Area
The Mt. Washington neighborhood along Shiloh Street has so much to offer: the Shiloh Inn, Redbeard’s, and more recently opened businesses including the Grandview Bakery & Sweet Shop, the Micro Diner, and Havana’s Tapas & Wine Bar. After touring the historic business district, we will learn how to access Emerald View Park that circles Mt. Washington.
Meeting time & location: 11:55 a.m., Parklet on the corner of Grandview Avenue and Shiloh Street, across from the Monongahela Incline Observation Deck, 15211
Friday, October 11, 2013Brookline––Brookline Boulevard
Through a URA Renaissance Grant, Brookline is undergoing a major renovation with new traffic patterns and parking to better serve the thriving business district. We’ll explore this neighborhood in the midst of change and tour several of the businesses.
Meeting time & location: 11:55 a.m., 933 Brookline Boulevard, 15226 (at the corner of Glenam Avenue near St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church)
Friday, October 18, 2013Brighton Heights––California Avenue
This short walk along California Avenue will show off the longest continuously operating business on this street and the newest business, while we learn the story of how this neighborhood came to be and what challenges it is facing today.
Meeting time & location: 11:55 a.m., 3689 California Avenue, 15212 (at Termon Avenue, outside Adam Ravenstahl’s office)
Friday, October 25, 2013Northside––Federal Street Area
First we will visit the Allegheny City Room in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh––Allegheny––to see historic photographs of the area. As we walk from Federal Street and North Avenue into the Allegheny Commons, we will hear how this corridor of central Northside is being revitalized through URA projects, including the Garden Theater development.
Meeting time & location: 11:55 a.m., 1230 Federal Street, 15212 (outside the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh––Allegheny)
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September City Main Streets & More— Free Walking Tours
On September 7, a warm and sunny afternoon, 36 people came out to enjoy a tour of South Side, “from river to rail.” Walking along 18th street, Kyra Straussman, Director of Mainstreet Pittsburgh for the URA, Councilman Bruce Kraus, resident of South Side, Aaron Sukenik, Executive Director of Hilltop Alliance, and Brian Oswald, President of South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association, shared the story of how the South Side developed from an industrial center of glass and steel into the city neighborhood we enjoy today.
From the riverfront trail and newer residential developments at the end of 18th Street on the site of former factories to the city steps going up the slopes to Pius Street, participants learned about the riverfront trail; Pittsburgh’s first net-zero energy residence in the Riverside Mews; the Fox Way Commons designed with outdoor common area for the residents; and how essential the South Side steps continue to be. At the end of the tour a few participants took the short hike up the steps for the view of South Side from Pius Street.
Saturday, September 21 was a rainy day, but that did not dampen the spirits of the intrepid seven who toured Centre Avenue on the Hill from Freedom Corner to the new Thelma Lovette Family YMCA. Marimba Milliones, Executive Director and CEO of Hill Community Development Corporation, and Dr. Laurence Glasco, University of Pittsburgh Professor of History, led this tour providing a point-counterpoint narrative of the present and past. Beginning at Freedom Corner, Milliones and Glasco shared the significance of the rallying point and the symbolism in the monument artwork. Participants also saw the Crawford-Roberts residential development; heard a jazz band of young students rehearsing in the Irene Kaufmann Center; and saw the new Shop and Save grocery store under construction. Marimba described visions for the New Granada and everyone enjoyed touring the Thelma Lovette Family YMCA.
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Three Cast Iron Facades Restored on Wood Street
If you’ve walked down Wood Street in downtown Pittsburgh lately, you might have noticed that the construction scaffolding on three rare, significant, and highly ornamented cast iron facades, located at 418 to 422 Wood Street, has all been removed.The facade restoration of these three buildings was financed by a Pennsylvania grant of the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, which was released by Gov. Tom Corbett to the City of Pittsburgh.
Working with Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and the city’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, PHLF entered a contract to manage the facade restoration of a total of eight downtown buildings.
Working with Pittsburgh Architect Milton Ogot and REPAL Construction Company Inc., PHLF has restored the existing iron and created fiberglass facsimiles so the integrity of these historic building facades could be retained.
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A New Grocery Store for Downtown’s Market Square
On Sept. 11, PHLF announced that Pittsburgh real estate developer Ralph Falbo and the proprietors of Vallozi’s Pittsburgh—Ernie and Julian Vallozi— a longtime western Pennsylvania Italian family restaurant with a location on Fifth Avenue in Downtown, have created a partnership, which will open a new high-quality grocery store in Market Square in late spring of 2014.The venture, a first of its kind in many years, targeted to serve Downtown area residents—and returns a grocery store into the square decades after the loss of its historic market— will be located in The Thompson Building, 435 Market Street, currently undergoing restoration by Landmarks Development Corporation (LDC), a subsidiary of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
“This store is the result of intensive efforts after many months of work by our group, PHLF, and the Pittsburgh Downtown Community Development Corporation. It will feature specialty and high-quality foods and produce, meats, seafood, and wine among other grocery necessities,” said Ralph Falbo, president of Ralph A. Falbo Inc.
“The store will also have a coffee bar and a community dining area, which will be used for seating during the lunch hour, but can also be converted into space for evening special events, dinners, and parties,” Mr. Falbo added.
Ernie Vallozzi, said that in addition to quality groceries the store also will offer prepared food for take-out.
“We intend to serve Downtown’s food market needs in every respect, and plan to offer special culinary events on Saturdays such as cooking with celebrity chefs and wine tasting,” said Mr. Falbo.
The restoration of the Thompson Building complements PHLF’s efforts in Market Square, which saw the creation of the Market at Fifth Development—a restoration of three buildings in Market Square that created seven apartment rental units and two ground-floor retail stores—which opened in 2009 and proved to be very successful.
The building was acquired by PHLF through a grant from the Allegheny Foundation, which helped leverage additional funding from Allegheny County’s Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Restoration of the building’s exterior will be completed in mid-September.
“We had many opportunities to lease this prime space,” said Michael Sriprasert, President of Landmarks Development Corporation,” but we wanted to work with Ralph Falbo and Ernie Vallozzi to enable them to create this unique and much needed store.”
Landmarks Design Associates is the architect for both the restoration of the building and the development of the grocery store. The contractor for a new elevator, exterior, and façade work is Waller Corporation General Contractors.
“This much-needed, high-quality facility is a welcome addition to the community. From day one, the Pittsburgh Downtown Community Development Corporation (PDCDC) has been an active participant in the conceptualization of the grocery store and has helped to bring the parties together to get it accomplished,” said John Valentine, executive director of the PDCDC.
The partnership intends to hold focus meetings with Downtown residents to obtain their input for items to be stocked in the store.
