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: 

Catahecassa Springs Monument

Catahecassa Fountain in Schenley Park

Update May 15, 2019: Please visit Very Local Pittsburgh for an updated version of this story. 

While running the 5k for Race for the Cure this morning in Schenley Park, I paused to take a photo of the Neill log house in Schenley Park. The Neill log house stands out and is hard to miss, mostly because a little house on the prairie style house surrounded by chain link fence in the middle of a gold course. Two weeks ago I wrote about the John Woods House, which is considered to be the second oldest house in the city of Pittsburgh. The Neill house is considered to be the first.

Catahecassa Springs Monument

Photo of Catahecassa Springs Monument from May 14, 2017.

What I ended up photographing was the monument in front of the Neill house, something that I had never noticed before. Today was the 25th anniversary of the Race for the Cure and given the number of pink ribbon t-shirts in my drawer, I have certainly walked past this place at least a dozen times before. But this is the first time I noticed this stone monument.

There are only a handful of Google search results on “Catahecassa Blackhoof,” all of which note there is a historical marker at this location, but give little other information. As soon as I realized it was a marker for a spring, I knew where to look. In February, City Council voted to approve the following springs as historic landmarks in the City of Pittsburgh:

  • Howe Spring (Shady Side)
  • Voegtly Spring (Spring Hill)
  • Catahecassa Spring (Schenley Park)

The entire nomination form for the Catahecassa Spring is available on the Preservation Pittsburgh website here. By the way, if you are looking for some extensive in-depth reading on local historic landmarks, the “Documents & Archives” section on the Preservation Pittsburgh website contains links to all of the recent nominations that they have submitted.

The Catahecassa Spring monument was built in 1906 to create a public water fountain at the existing Snyder Springs in Schenley Park. These fountains were used by visitors to the park. At some point the spigot was removed and catch basin filled in.

Postcard of Catahecassa Fountain that was included in the nomination for historic designation.

To give some historic context to this fountain, I’ve put together a timeline of key date about info about Chief Catahecassa, Schenley Park and the monument:

  • 1755 – Shawnee Chief Catahecassa was present at General Braddock’s Defeat during the French and Indian War. (Nomination p. 11)
  • 1795 – Catahecassa represented the Shawnee at the signing of the Treaty of Greeneville
  • 1826 – Mary Elizabeth Croghan is born.
  • 1845 – At the age of 15 Mary Elizabeth Croghan elopes with Captain Edward Schenley who is 43 years old.
  • 1889 – Mary Schenley gives 300 acers to the City of Pittsburgh which will be developed into Schenley Park.
  • 1890 – First reference to Snyder springs in Pittsburgh Daily Post article dated June 12, 1890.
  • 1902 – Schenley Golf Course, now know as the Bob O’Connor Golf Course opens.
  • 1906 – Of the extra money left over from the Fourth of July Celebration, $900 was given to erect a public fountain in Schenley Park. (Nomination p. 10)
  • 1906 – Sunday, September 23, the Pittsburgh Gazette Times Newspaper publishes article on the Catahecassa fountain that will be built at the Snyder Springs in Schenley park. (Nomination p. 58).
  • 1907 – May 28, Pittsburgh Press publish photo of completed fountain at Snyder Springs. (Nomination p. 24)
  • 1922 – Fountain was damaged and repaired (Nomination p. 18)
  • 1985 – Schenley Park is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
  • 1996 – Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy is founded to restore and protect Pittsburgh’s parks.
  • 2017 – Pittsburgh City Council give historic designation to Catahecassa Springs.

While Schenley Park is over 100 years old, it is interesting to see that many of the efforts to designate the park and monuments are only in the past 20-30 years.

Have you seen a Pittsburgh monument that you would like to learn more about? Leave a comment below.

Old Allegheny County Jail Museum – Free Tours Offered Every Monday

Old Allegheny County Jail Museum

Photo credit: PHLF

The old Allegheny County Jail building sits are the corner of 5th and Ross Streets was designed by architect H. H. Richardson. This jail and was part of a larger complex designed by Richardson and built between 1884 and 1886. In 1995, Allegheny County built a new jail, (the one over by the Allegheny River that you have probably biked past on the Eliza Furnace trail, which most Pittsburghers refer to as “the jail trail”). After the new jail was built, the old Allegheny County jail was converted to house the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Family Division.

I know that this building is a great example of H.H. Richardson’s work and a great example of the Romanesque Revival style that Richardson was know for, but what I didn’t know is that there is an Old Allegheny County Jail Musuem in the building that is open for tours. (If you have been following some of my posts about the historic designation for the Albright United Methodist Church building, that church which was built in 1906 is also a Romanesque Revival style building.)

Visiting the Old Allegheny County Jail Museum

The Old Allegheny County Jail Museum is open on Mondays from 11:30am-1pm. Docents from Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation are on hand to tell you about the place and get you started on the self-guided tour.

Open: Most Mondays from 11:30am-1pm (No tours on memorial day, check the PHLF Calendar before you go to confirm they are open.)
Location: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas-Family Division, 440 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, 15219
Enter on Ross Street or through the great courtyard arch on Fifth Avenue.

Things to know before you go:

  • This is a courthouse, which means you will have to go through the security screening to enter the building.
  • There is no photography allowed in the building.

Learn more about the Old Allegheny County Jail

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Allegheny County Jail

Pittsburgh Press photographer Michael Chikiris via The Digs, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

Maxo Vanka Murals

Maxo Vanka Murals & St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millvale

Today’s preservation month post is inspired by the Millvale Musical Festival, which is happening on Saturday, May 13. Millvale continues to gain popularity as a destination for breweries, music, community projects and some impressive community events. If you are headed to Millvale then you need to know about the Maxo Vanka murals, which might be one of the best kept secrets in Pittsburgh.

If you are headed to Millvale for the music festival, you might want to take a little break to check these unique works of art. Even if you are not headed to the music festivals, the Maxo Vanka murals are worth an hour of your Saturday. More details on visiting the murals below.

Photo credit: St. Nicholas Church website.

From Route 28, St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic church looks like an unassuming church building that is tucked away on the bluff. Inside the church, the decor is anything but ordinary, the walls of the church are covered with 25 murals by the artist Maxo Vanka. What makes these church murals unique are the political statements found in several of the scenes. The Maxo Vanka murals have been compared to the works of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and some of the murals of the Works Progress Administration artists.

Maxo Vanka Murals

Croatian Mother Raises Her Son for War, Maxo Vanka, 1937. Photo credit: Society to Preserve Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka.

All of the murals can be viewed online here.

The other unique thing about the murals is that they have their own nonprofit that works to preserve, restore and promote the murals to an audience outside of the congregation. The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka was founded in 1991 and has worked to put the murals on the National Register of Historic Places.

If you are interested in learning more, start with the SPMMMV website at vankomurals.org.

Pittsburgh filmmaker Kenneth Love made a documentary about the murals in 2012, “Maxo Vanka’s Masterpiece: The Murals at St. Nicholas Church”. You can purchase a DVD of the documentary from the church.

Visiting the Maxo Vanka Murals

Docent led tours are held every Saturday at 11am, Noon and 1pm. Tours last about an hour. Note that tours may be cancelled or postponed due to parish activities. It is recommended that you register in advance for tours. Private tours are available on request.  If you are visiting Pittsburgh on a weekday, be sure to reach out for a tour or if the church is open, you should be able to stop by and see the murals in person.

More information on the VankaMurals.org website. The Society to Preserve the Millvale Murals of Maxo Vanka is also on Facebook.

WPA Murals in San Francisco’s Coit Tower

Detail of one of the murals in Coit Tower.

Last November, I had the good fortune to visit San Francisco. San Francisco has a nonprofit, SF City Guides, that offers free walking tours of a variety of places around the city. Since it was raining we opted for the indoor tour of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. If you enjoyed seeing the murals of Maxo Vanka, I highly recommend a visit to Coit Tower to see the fresco murals from the Works Progress Administration artists. The skill of the fresco artists is impressive and these murals also contain many political messages.

Related articles

Jane Jacobs Documentary at Pittsburgh Filmmakers May 12-18

Today’s blog post is a double header, I guess I should say double feature, of historic preservation information. Just in time for preservation month, the new documentary about Jane Jacobs opens in Pittsburgh this weekend and it is screening at one of Pittsburgh’s oldest neighborhood movie theaters.

Last Saturday was the annual Jane’s Walk, a community walk celebrating the work of Jane Jacobs in advocating for walkable communities. Jane Jacobs is the author of the book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” (Amazon affiliate link). The book was first published in 1961 as a response to the 1950s urban planning policies of urban renewal. Many cities took on massive urban renewal projects which dramatically reshaped the urban landscape. The effects of urban renewal are still felt today across the country and right here in Pittsburgh.

Urban Renewal in Pittsburgh

Urban renewal and its impact on both the North Side and East Liberty was the topic of a panel discussion hosted by Preservation Pittsburgh in March.  Past Tense | Future Perfect was moderated by Don Carter who is the director of the Remaking Cities Institute at the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture and provided an interesting discussion of how preservationists could think about urban renewal and the impact on these neighborhoods today. Yesterday, I wrote about the memorial that Andrew Carnegie erected for Colonel James Anderson. I was surprised to learn that the memorial was moved from it’s original location as part of the urban renewal plan which demolished over 500 buildings to create the Allegheny Center mall and apartments.  The mall closed in the 1990s, the mall building has been used as office space and has recently been rebranded as Nova Place. And today, The Atlantic’s CityLab blog published a post about the response to a proposed fried chicken restaurant in East Liberty, The New Urban Fried-Chicken Crisis. Author Brentin Mock provides some historical context around the fried chicken crisis, explaining that East Liberty was and continues to be impacted by the urban renewal policies:

At one point in the early 20th century, East Liberty was one of the largest commercial corridors in the Allegheny Valley region—a third downtown for Pittsburgh. Then urban planners got all bright-eyed and decided to experiment with the street layout and ended up choking East Liberty off from the rest of the city, killing most of its commercial enterprises off in the process.

Even if you don’t care about what restaurants are coming or going, the CityLab article is worth a read, I think Brentin Mock does a good job of explaining what is happening in East Liberty today.

Jane Jacob’s book continues to be one of the key texts around urban planning and creating vibrant communities. I was first introduced to the book in one of my urban planning courses in college. If I had known that after college I would spend years writing about the city of Pittsburgh, I would have majored in city planning.  I went to college at a time when email was so new that we had to take an introduction to email class the first week of school. This was back in the days before cell phones, Facebook and blogging.

Jane Jacobs Documentary Screening in Pittsburgh

Jane Jacobs Pittsburgh

The city lovers and urban planners that I know are quite excited that the new documentary about Jane Jacob, “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City“. Pittsburgh Filmmakers will be showing the documentary at the Regent Square Theater May 12-18, 2017.

You can read Al Hoff’s review of “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City” in this weeks Pittsburgh City Paper.

Showtimes for “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City“ at the Regent Square Theater:

  • Friday, May 12 @ 8pm
  • Saturday, May 13 @ 3:30pm, 5:45pm & 8pm
  • Sunday, May 14 @ 3:30pm & 5:45pm
  • Monday, May 15 @ 8pm
  • Tuesday, May 16 @ 8pm
  • Wednesday, May 17 @ 8pm
  • Thursday, May 18 @ 8pm

You can follow the film on Facebook, Twitter @JaneJacobsDoc & Instagram @JaneJacobsDoc.

The Regent Square Theater

Photo credit: Cinema Treasures.

It seems fitting that a documentary about Jane Jacobs is screening at a neighborhood theater. The Regent Square Theater has been around since 1938 and is one of the last single screen theaters left in the area. The theater was purchased by the nonprofit Pittsburgh Filmmakers in 1998 and continues to operate as a movie theater screening movies 7 days a week. I was hoping to find out some more history about this building. If you know more about the history of the Regent Square Theater, please share.

If you like local movie theaters, check out our Guide to Pittsburgh’s Independent Movie Theaters.