National Negro Opera House in Homewood. Photo taken April 2016.
If there is one house you learn about from our month long series for historic preservation month, the The National Negro Opera Company House in Homewood is the house to remember. This house needs some love and unlike the other properties that I have posted about this month, I don’t know what the future holds for this place. I believe there is a huge opportunity for this building, but it is also a huge challenge.
The house, located at 7101 Apple Street in the Homewood Neighborhood, was built in 1908.
Three Reasons the National Negro Opera Company House is Important
- This building was home to the first African-American opera company in the United States.
- The house belonged to Woogie Harris, brother of photographer Teenie Harris.
- It is rumored that the Steelers franchise was won in a card game in the basement of the house.
Learn more about the National Negro Opera Company House
Photo credit: Secret Pittsburgh.
For an in depth look at the history of the National Negro Opera House, check out this post on Secret Pittsburgh. (Also, how interesting is it that Pitt offers a class called Secret Pittsburgh? Another fascinating thing I learned while writing about historic Pittsburgh places). The Curbed post from May 2016 offers some more information on efforts to save this building.
- Homewood: National Negro Opera Company, Secret Pittsburgh, April 19, 2016
- The Preservation Puzzle of Mystery Manor, an Oasis of Black Culture in Pittsburgh: The challenge of renovating one of the city’s most historic homes, Curbed, May 2016
- Preservationists hope plaque is first step toward rebirth of storied Homewood house, Post-Gazette, May 2, 2007
- National Negro Opera Company, OnQ, WQED
Lindsay– I gave you permission to repost my article on the Beltzhoover Homestead, not plagiarize my title for your hackneyed breakdown of 7101 Apple Street. Lots of people know about 7101 Apple. Simply because you never heard of it doesn’t mean the rest of us were unaware. In fact, it has a much, much richer history than you have covered– which you would know if you had done more than a basic Google search. (By which you might also have discovered that the historic Century Inn burned to the ground last year, well before you encouraged everyone to visit it.) Really– I tried to be nice and give you free copy, and you just nicked my lead-in. Low.
Nice job re-posting other people’s hard work. Hope you learn to skateboard.
Tell us how you really feel.
Jessica, where can we find your original article? I’m seeing a lot of these Pittsburgh-themed blogs popping up. I love the enthusiasm and excitement that is growing about my hometown. But, as a professional writer, I’m disheartened by the lack of quality seen in some blogs–everything from typos to info that is outright wrong. Basic rules of journalism, like thoroughly researching the subject and providing attribution, skipped. The result will be that the blogs will lose readers because their info isn’t dependable. If this article is yours, verbatim, Lindsay should have given you the byline or provided attribution. I’m less concerned about the headline she used, however. It’s meant to entice readers to read the article by hinting that there’s a surprise inside. It was not meant to diminish the importance of this site. Her objective was to promote it. In any event, I didn’t know about it and now I’m excited to learn more, so thank you!