Category Archives: Architechture

first hockey game in Pittsburgh

66 Years Before the Igloo, the Schenley Park Casino Hosted the First Hockey Game in Pittsburgh

Yesterday, when I was writing about the Catahecassa Springs in Schenley Park I was looking for the date that the Schenley Park ice rink was constructed. While I still don’t know when the Schenley Park ice rink was built, I learned about a building that I had never heard of before, the Schenley Park Casino. Since it is a hockey night in Pittsburgh, it seems fitting that our next post on historic preservation is about the building that hosted the very first hockey game in the City of Pittsburgh.

First home of hockey in Pittsburgh

In 1893 construction began on an elaborate recreation building that was located on the site of what is now the Frick Fine Arts building, just across the bridge from Phipps Conservatory.

The Schenley Park Casino was one of the most elaborate sports and entertainment facilities in the world and it was the first place to have artificial ice, as well as the site of the first hockey game in Pittsburgh. The building opened to the public on May 29, 1895 and was used until it was destroyed by fire on December 17, 1896.

The first artificial ice rink opened in Pittsburgh in 1895. #LetsGoPens

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In researching the history of this building, I learned about the website PittsburghHockey.net which has a detailed page about the Schenlney Park Casino as well as every possible thing you might want to know about hockey in Pittsburgh.

From the PittsburghHockey.net page on the ice rink:

At ice level, which was below ground, the rink was surrounded with three rows of hardwood benches with red velvet cushions. Each end of the rink featured 10 dressing rooms smartly furnished with oil paintings and floor-to-ceiling tapestries. The rooms were owned by politicians and capitalists from the banking, steel, coal and railroad industries and were used for winter carnivals, skating expos and political rallies. In all, the Casino’s management added $140,000 in amenities beyond the original construction cost.

The other fact that really stands out about the Schenley Casino is the size of the place:

Upon entering the building, visitors walked in on a balcony that circled the skating floor 20 feet below. The balcony was 840 feet in length and could accommodate 12,000 people looking down on the skating floor. An article in The Pittsburg Press from December 1885 described a “friendly hockey match” between local hockey clubs in which 10,000 people attended.

For context, PPG Paints area has a capacity of 19,758 and the Igloo could seat 17, 181. To hold a crowd of 12,000, this had to be a large space.

More on the history of Hockey in Pittsburgh

first hockey game in Pittsburgh

Interior of the Casino, the first hockey team in 1895. This is the earliest known image of ice hockey in Pittsburgh. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pittsburgh Hockey history timeline on PittsburghHockey.net is quite extensive and provides a nice way to browse the history of hockey in Pittsburgh. The timeline really starts with the Schenley Casino and the first hockey exhibition that was played at the Schenley Park Casino on December 30, 1895. Leading up to the Winter Classic in 2011, the New York Times wrote a long article about the history of hockey in Pittsburgh, “Hockey Has Deep Roots in Pittsburgh“, December 30, 2010.

Here is a 2009 video from FSN that details the history of the Schenley Casino and hockey in Pittsburgh:

A few more links for information on the Schenley Park Casino: 

Colonel James Anderson House

The Colonel James Anderson House & Victorian Tea Benefit

Colonel James Anderson House

Photo: Cara Halderman via Flickr creative commons

The Anderson House holds quite a bit of architectural and historical significance for Pittsburgh, the Manchester neighborhood, and any anyone who has ever borrowed a book from the library.

The building is architecturally significant, it was built in 1830 and is one of the oldest buildings in Manchester. This house is also one of the only remaining examples of Greek Revival style architecture in Pittsburgh. Another unusual feature to the Anderson House is the English basement, which is a fancy term for a garden apartment.

Architectural history aside, this building has a connection to a current community institution that can be found in neighborhoods across the country today. Colonel Anderson would lend books to a young Pittsburgh boys, including Andrew Carnegie.  It was Colonel Anderson’s book lending that inspired Andrew Carnegie to create public libraries.

From the Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, 1920.

Colonel James Anderson–I bless his name as I write–announced that he would open his library of four hundred volumes to boys, so that any young man could take out, each Saturday afternoon, a book which could be exchanged for another on the succeeding Saturday.

A Brief History of the Colonel James Anderson House

There is not a lot of detailed history about this building on the internet, based on what I could find here is a found  timeline of the building and some key dates for both Colonel James Anderson and Andrew Carnegie:

  • 1812 – James Anderson serves in the War of 1812
  • 1830 – Anderson House is Built
  • 1835 – Andrew Carnegie is born
  • 1850s – Andrew Carnegie borrows books from Colonel James Anderson on Saturdays
  • 1881 – Building Owned by Women’s Christian Association (Allegheny County Real Estate Website)
  • 1904 – Colonel James Anderson Monument is dedicated. Monument was located at the corner of Federal & East Ohio Streets  (via Pittsburgh Art Places)
  • 1905 – Large addition is added to the house (via Post-Gazette)
  • 1919 – Andrew Carnegie dies.
  • 1960s – Anderson Monument was dismantled as part of Urban Redevelopment and creation of Allegheny Center.
  • 1984 – Pittsburgh History and Landmark’s recreated the Anderson Monument and installed the origional sculptures  (via Pittsburgh Art Places)
  • 1989 – Anderson House added to Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Historic Landmark’s list.
  • 1999 – Anderson House is included on the Manchester House Tour (via Post-Gazette)
  • 2003 – Family Hospice & Palliative Care used the building for personal care & hospice facility
  • 2014 – Family Hospice & Palliative Care listed the building for sale for $500,000
  • March 2016 – Manchester Historic Society acquires the Anderson House
  • August 2016 – Anderson House included on the Manchester House & Garden Tour (via Post-Gazette)

Photo Tour of the Anderson House

The following photo tour of the Colonel James Anderson House was published on the Post-Gazette website on July, 29, 2016. If the slide show does not load you can view the photos on the Post-Gazette website here.

Colonel James Anserson House Location

The Anderson House is located at 1423 Liverpool Street in the Manchester neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Mother’s Day Tea to Benefit the Colonel James Anderson House

This Sunday, the Manchester Historic Society has planned a Mother’s Day tea which will be held at a historic mansion in the Manchester neighborhood.  Proceeds from the tea will be used in the restoration of the Anderson House. The tea is open to everyone, you don’t have to be a mom or bring your mom to attend, anyone who is interested in history is welcome for tea.

Tickets are $45 per person and there will be two seatings, 11am-1pm & 2pm-4pm.

Victorian Tea to Benefit Colonel James Anderson House Restoration
Sunday, May 14, 2017
11am or 2pm
Location: The tea will be held in a private mansion in Machester, exact address will be sent to ticket holders.
$45 per person, purchase tickets online here
Facebook Event

The Alcoa Headquarters and US Steel Building

I had dinner at the restaurant Talia Cucina & Rosticerra this evening. Talia is located at the corner of 6th and William Penn Place on the first floor of the Regional Enterprise Building, which used to the Alcoa headquarters.

The following photo and history of the Alcoa building is from Darren Toth’s Instagram account @Yinztergram. Darren was kind enough to meet me for coffee last year to talk Pittsburgh history when I was working on a historic designation. I have really enjoyed following Darren’s posts of fascinating photos of Pittsburgh people and places accompanied by some unique local facts.

While I knew the Alcoa building was made with aluminum and the US Steel Building was made with steel, I had never heard about the the beams filled with saltwater.

This building received a historic landmark plaque from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation in 2004. More information about the history of the Regional Enterprise Tower is available on the Pittsburgh Art Places website here.

In addition to local history, he occasionally posts some wonderful photos of Pittsburgh today. I am glad he posted about the blind runner from the Pittsburgh Marathon as I found that to be the most inspiring thing of the day. There were so many great things to share from the race, bust as a first time runner I was too afraid that I would fall if I tried to take a photo while running.

May is Preservation Month

The National Trust for Historic Preservation celebrates historic preservation successes each May. I have been posting about a different historic building each day since the beginning of the month. Have a building you would like to learn more about? Know of a history lovers we should follow on Instagram? Leave a comment below.

Giovannitti House & Pittsburgh Modern

Update: Visit Very Local Pittsburgh for an updated version of this story. 

Most of the houses that surround Chatham University on Woodland Road, look the same, a version of a brick Tudor-style house. Even if you cannot see into the houses, you just sense that the interiors of theses house have lots of woodwork and some heavy draperies covering each window. But there is one house on Woodland Road that stands out from the Tudor line up. If you have driven down Woodland Road, you have likely seen the Giovannitti House.

Photo credit: Coldwell Banker.

I don’t believe this house has a historic designation, but it is such a unique building that it is worth sharing for preservation month. The house was designed by architect Richard Meier, and was built 1979-1983.

In 2013, someone started making a documentary about this house. I don’t know if they ever completed the entire episode but the trailer offers a look inside the house and an introduction to the owners, who were moving back into the house after having been away.

You can read more about the Giovannitti house here:

While researching this house, I came across the Pittsburgh Modern website, which has a detailed list of other modern buildings around Pittsburgh. It looks like the site has not been updated in a few years, in spite of that it is still a good starting point to learn more about modern architecture and architects in Pittsburgh.

I am not sure if they are currently living there, the house was put up for sale in June 2016. The Coldwell Banker site lists the house as currently “under contract.”

 

May is Preservation Month

If you like Pittsburgh history, you might be interested in reading about these buildings and preservation organizations: