Category Archives: Historic Preservation

East Liberty History & Upcoming Lectures on George Washington & Frederick Scheibler, Jr.

The East Liberty Valley Historic Society is a nonprofit that exists to document and share the history of the East Liberty neighborhood and surrounding areas. East Liberty is a particularly interesting area of Pittsburgh when it comes to development as it has many buildings from the time East Liberty became a fashionable suburb for some of Pittsburgh’s wealthiest families who were looking to escape the congestion of Downtown Pittsburgh in the 1850s. East Liberty is also the site of a massive Urban Renewal project in the 1950s.

The East Liberty Valley Historic Society has been documenting and sharing information about the neighborhood from both of these eras and everything in between.  You can read a detailed history of East Liberty from the 1700s to today, on the East Liberty Valley Historic Society website here. Follow East Liberty Valley Historic Society on Facebook for more photos and history of East Liberty.

East Liberty Valley Historic Society Spring Lecture Series

There are two more lectures in the East Liberty Valley Historic Society Spring Lecture series that may be of interest to Pittsburghers looking to learn more about history and local architecture.

George Washington: Here on Business

Presented by Miles S. Richards, Ph.D., author and retired Faculty Member, University of South Carolina and Midlands Technical College.

  • Date: Friday, May 5, 2017
  • Time: 7:30-9pm
  • Location: East Liberty Presbyterian Church (use entrance on Highland Ave)
  • Facebook Event

Apartment building on Highland Ave designed by Frederick Scheibler.

Architect Frederick G. Scheibler, Jr. and His Work in the East End

Presented by Martin Aurand, Author and Principal Architecture Library/Archivist, Head of University Libraries Arts Library and Special Collections Department, Carnegie Mellon University.

  • Date: Friday, June 2, 2017
  • Time: 7:30-9pm
  • Location: East Liberty Presbyterian Church (use entrance on Highland Ave)
  • Facebook Event

Looking for more historic preservation events? Join the Pittsburgh Historic Preservation MeetUp group.

Related articles

Revisiting the 2nd Oldest House in Pittsburgh

Since 1973, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has used the month of May to celebrate historic preservation opportunities across the country. In honor of Preservation Month, I wanted to share some of the historic buildings that we have covered here on IheartPGH.

Let’s start with the second oldest house in Pittsburgh – the John Woods House in Hazelwood. I first learned about the John Woods House in 2015. This house, located just down the street from the historic Carnegie Library building, was one of the stops on the Has Urban Hike through Hazelwood.

I believe the Fort Pitt Blockhouse is the oldest residential structure in the City of Pittsburgh, it was built in 1764, and became a residence in 1785. The John Woods house was built in 1792, which would make it the 2nd oldest house in the city.  The John Woods house was added given historic designation in the City of Pittsburgh in 1977.

The property is still listed on the URA website and it does not looks like anything has changed with the status of the property in the past 2 years.

If you are interested in learning more about the John Woods House, these websites provide lots of information about the history of the building and John Woods:

How would you redevelop the John Woods House?

What should the future of the John Woods house look like? The property is in Hazelwood, close to the new ALMONO development site and just a block off the main road. My first thought is that this would make a unique stopping point for cyclists who are riding the GAP trail into Pittsburgh. Maybe it could be a coffee shop with rooms that cyclists could rent if they wanted to spend the night? Maybe it could be a restaurant? There is some precedent for historic lodging in Western Pennsylvania. The Century Inn, located in Washington County, has been a stop for travelers since it first opened in 1788 and it still a bed and breakfast today. What would you like to see in the John Woods House in the future?

Are there other historic buildings that you would like to see featured for Preservation Month? Leave a comment below or post a tweet. #ThisPlaceMatters is the official hashtag from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired House for Sale in Stanton Heights $115,000

I spent most of this morning trying to find out more about the history of the homes that were recently demolished at the corner of Centre & Craig in Oakland to make may for a new development. It turns  out they may have had some historic significance.  I know we can’t save every historic building, but if we can’t I would certainly like to document these properties before they are gone. (If you know anything about the Centre & Craig houses please leave a comment!)

After a morning of google searches, I had moved on to another topic and clicked over to Next Pittsburgh where I discovered THIS house in Stanton Heights:

The Fineman House

Currently listed on Zillow for $115,000 (website say offer pending).

Click here to read the post on Next Pittsburgh by Charles Rosenblum about the history of this house and see much better photos of the property.

History of the Fineman House ownership:

  • Completed in 1952 for $18,500
  • 1991 sold for $50,000
  • 2016 listed for $115,000

Pittsburgh is the perfect place for not-too-big and not-too-tiny house

At 1,032 square feet, this is a bit too big to be a tiny house, but a nice right sized house located in the city of Pittsburgh. I thought this New York times article from 2014 on the 700 square foot house makes a great case for living a little bit smaller.  I have been thinking that Pittsburgh and the first ring suburbs are perfect for those looking for a not-too-tiny house, there are lots of houses like the Fineman House that are the right size that were built in the 1950 that are just in need of new ownership.

If you are interested in historic architecture of Pittsburgh, join the Pittsburgh Historic Preservation MeetUp group.

Here is another recent article about about a farming project in Stanton Heights…

Mon 7/25 – Final Public Hearing on Historic Designation for 110 Year Old Church

If you have been reading the blog or following IheartPGH on Twitter and Instagram over the past year, you have noticed more than a few posts about the Albright United Methodist Church building. On Monday afternoon, I will address the Pittsburgh City Council at the final public hearing on the historic designation for this building.

Albright-take-actionI am asking for your help in making sure that this building receives a historic designation in the City of Pittsburgh.  A year ago, I helped to organized a community block party to bring together neighbors and community members to think about the future of this space. The current proposal for the future of this building is to sell it to a developer who plans to demolish it and replace it with a drive-thru coffee shop. I know Pittsburgh can do better. I don’t want to live in a city that replaces community spaces and historic buildings with drive-thrus.  Last year, I personally nominated the Albright Church Building for historic designation in the City of Pittsburgh.  The more I’ve learned about the history of this building, the more convinced I am about the importance of preserving this building. Designed by architect Chancy W. Hodgdon, this is one of the best and most complete sets of stained glass windows from the SS Marshal company. You can read more about the history of this building from the East Liberty Historic Society here.

The historic designation process in Pittsburgh has three steps. After a nomination is submitted, the nomination is heard by the Historic Review Commission, then the Planning Commission, then it goes to Pittsburgh City Council. Both the Historic Review Commission and the Planning Commission have voted to support the historic designation for Albright. The final public hearing for this historic designation is on Monday, July 26, 2016 at 2pm.  Thanks to the efforts of neighbors, Preservation Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Young Preservationists, we have had a huge turnout at the first two hearings. I am asking for your help to make sure we have a great turn out at the hearing on Monday.

Here is a portion of my remarks to the City Planning Commission that I think summarizes why this building is important and the opportunity to make this a better community space…

When these churches were built 100 years ago, they served as much more than Sunday morning worship spaces. Just because people are not going to church on Sunday morning, does not mean that we don’t need these spaces and services that churches once offered.

Albright sits at the intersection of 3 neighborhoods, Bloomfield, Shadyside and Friendship. And Albright also sits at the intersection of many different parts of Pittsburgh, a block away from UPMC shadyside, it is also located near the busway and right on several of the main bus routes.

Not only is the Albright church building a geographic hub, it is also at the intersection of several different socio-economic communities.

  • Residents of Bloomfield, Shadyside,Friendship
  • Students
  • Employees of UPMC Shadyside and Allegheny General

[Albright] is ideally situated to be a community hub.

Inspired by some of the incredibly successful examples of churches building being repurposed into a community space.

  • The Union Project – Highland Park
  • Neu Kirch – Northside
  • Niya Page Community Center – Braddock.
  • Calvary United Methodist Church in Allegheny West, which has been an excellent example of a neighborhood coming together to restore and celebrate the historic building in their neighborhood
  • First United Methodist Church, located on the other side of the block has been a model for a community hub as the home for the Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library.

Please take action to help me #SaveAlbright today!

1. Attend the Public Hearing & Speak in FAVOR of the historic designation

City Council Hearing on Historic Designation for Albright
Monday, July 25, 2016 @ 2pm
City Council Chambers, 414 Grant Street, 5th Floor, Pittsburgh PA

The public hearing in front of City Council is the last step in the historic designation process. We have had a great turn out for the past hearings and need to fill every seat in the room with Albright supporters.

  • IMPORTANT: If you are able to attend and you are willing to speak – please call the City Clerk at  412-255-2138 and ask to be listed as a speaker in FAVOR of historic designation.
  • Let us know you will attend and request a t-shirt here.

2. Contact your City Council Representative

Take a moment to send an email to your City Council representative and ask them to support the historic designation for the Albright Church Building. Please cc: Friends@AlbrightPGH.com so we can print a copy to bring to the hearing.

  • Bruce Kraus, Council President – bruce.kraus@pittsburghpa.gov
  • Reverend Ricky Burgess – reverend.burgess@pittsburghpa.gov
  • Daniel Gilman – daniel.gilman@pittsburghpa.gov
  • Natalia Rudiak – natalia.rudiak@pittsburghpa.gov
  • Darlene Harris – Darlene.Harris@pittsburghpa.gov
  • Deborah Gross – deborah.gross@pittsburghpa.gov
  • Daniel Lavelle – daniel.lavelle@pittsburghpa.gov
  • Theresa Kail-Smith – Theresa.Kail-Smith@ pittsburghpa.gov
  • Corey O’Connor – corey.oconnor@pittsburghpa.gov

3. Sign & Share Our Petition

If you have not yet signed the petition supporting Historic Designation for Albright, please sign the petition and share it with your friends. Click here to sign the petition!

4. Donate!

You can help support our efforts by making  a contribution to Friends of Albright through our fiscal sponsor, New Sun Rising. Funds will be used for t-shirt printing and legal costs associated with preserving the building.

Albright-July-24-2015

Photo of Albright from July 24, 2015

You can learn more about Albright at AlbrightPGH.com. You can follow Albright on Facebook, Twitter @AlbrightPGH and Instagram.

Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationists

RustBeltTakeover: The Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationists Comes to Pittsburgh This Weekend

This weekend, young preservationists from Buffalo, Ohio, Wheeling, and Indianapolis will descend on Pittsburgh for the Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationist Summit. This is a big deal for Pittsburgh and for the historic preservationists who are coming to town.  Not only is this a great opportunity to show our rust belt neighbors some of the best historic preservation Pittsburgh has to offer, but this is a chance to learn from other cities what has been successful in their historic preservation efforts.

One of the most influential events that I participated in was the 2nd annual GLUE (Great Lakes Urban Exchance) conference in Milwuakee in 2009. After a plane ride and a train ride, I showed up in a very cold Milwaukee and was wondering why I decided to make the trip. The next day, they loaded us onto a bus for a tour of Growing Power, an award winning urban farm in Milwaukee. I was sure I was going to hate the experience and I was already looking for a plane ticket home. After about 15 minutes of the tour, I had forgotten how cold it was and was already sold on the idea of hydroponic urban farming. Not only did I leave Milwaukee an adamant supporter of urban farming, but I had build a network of incredibly valuable rust belt city lovers in other cities.

I am incredibly impressed with the work that the Young Preservationists Association has done to bring this conference to Pittsburgh and to show off some of the excellent examples of historic preservation (and preservation in process) in the city of Pittsburgh.

There are still tickets left to join the RBCoYP on the tour of Carrie Furnace on Sunday (a great opportunity, especially since the tours of Carrie Furnace usually sell out).

Follow the RBCoYP

RBCoYP in Curbed

Make sure to check out this post on Curbed, a national real estate blog about the RBCoYP Conference.  Great press for the young preservationists and for Pittsburgh.

April 7, 2016, Curbed: Young Rust Belt Preservationists Banding Together to Save Industrial Heritage by Patrick Sisson, @freqresponse

During an election season with a focus on manufacturing and American jobs, it’s hard to escape mention of the Rust Belt and its importance to the race. While many have rightfully focused on workers and economic revitalization, that same concern hasn’t been shown to the physical reminders of U.S. manufacturing across the region. The challenge of protecting and preserving the region’s architectural history, and using it as a catalyst for future development, has led a group of young preservationists to try and find new means to publicize and protect endangered sites.

The Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationists, bringing together smaller groups from New York, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, meets for its first summit this upcoming weekend in Pittsburgh. Hosted by the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh, the meetup aims to establish a regional network, share strategy, and create a support system for new and nascent groups forming around the region.

Join the RBCoYP for a tour of Carrie Furnace and Debrief at Brew Gentleman

While most of the events are just for the visiting preservationists, check out the entire schedule of events here so you can see all of the places that will be highlighted). The events on Sunday are open to the public and there are still tickets left to see Carrie Furnace.

Some more rust belt reading…