Tag Archives: architecture

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:

 

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…

2015 Wilkinsburg House and Garden Tour

On Saturday, September 26, 2015 the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation will host the 3rd Annual “Wilkinsburg House and Garden Tour.” This  year’s event will showcase some of the unique homes that make up the Blackridge area of our neighborhood and give us the opportunity to share what a wonderful community we have here in Wilkinsburg.

Day-of tickets are available at the check-in location, Eastridge Center, 1900 Graham Blvd 15235.

Looking for more events about historic archtiecture in Pittbsurgh? Check out the Pittsburgh Historic Preservation Meet-Up group here: http://bit.ly/pghhistoricpresmeetup.

Links Worth a Look – November 14th

Here are some links/articles/blog posts that are worth a look:

  • 500 Internal Server Error – 500 Internal Server Error
  • Steeltown Anthem – This is a new-ish blog that has some great posts about art, architecture and design in Pittsburgh. Thanks to the Pittsburgh Craft Collective for helping us find another great blog.
  • Sixteen Pittsburgh Steelers Bars – Great little blog about a Pittsburgher who currently lives in Brooklyn and is checking out a different NYC area Steelers bar each week.

Follow IheartPGH on Twitter – we share more links there almost daily!