Tag Archives: Historic Preservation

The Multrup Steel Mansion is still for sale. Open house on Sat 1/20. Now $49,000 or less!

Sooo…. who is up for a little road trip to Beaver Falls this weekend!

I’ve been noticing that the two previous posts on the Moltrup Steel Mansion have been getting a lot of visits recently. So I thought I would check back and see if this house was still for sale.

The Multrup Steel Mansion located at 914 8th Ave is still for sale and the price has been reduced to $49,000. There is a new listing agent for the property, Carol Tomayko, her team has been very responsive to questions.

You can read a history of the Moltrup Steel Mansion on our previous post here.

The house has been featured on several old house blogs and you can read some of the comments on Old House Dreams to learn more about the current condition of the house. Long story short… not good.

Here are a few notes from comments left by Philip Poburka who toured the home over the summer:

“One of the thing I noticed which has not been mentioned are the tension failures in some areas of the Masonry, which have occurred from the Home’s differential settling over time.”
“There is no Wood in any of the construction, other than for the small and modest Back Porch, and, of course, the Sash Windows and Interior Wood Moldings and Paneling and Stair Treads and.”
“Let alone, all the lovely Wood work which has not ever had any second coats of varnish or other finish.”

914 8th Ave, Beaver Falls Open House This Saturday

I have just confirmed with the listing agent that there is an open house at 914 8th Ave, Beaver Falls for this Saturday, January 20 from 1-4pm.

Price Drop $49,900 or Less?

The realtor has also told me that while the price is listed at $49,900, the property is now in foreclosure and the bank intends to sell the home via auction in the next few weeks.

See more photos and learn more about 914 8th Ave:

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Price Drop. The Moltrup Steel Mansion in Beaver Falls Reduced to $62,500

Update 1/18/2018 – Open house on Saturday, January 20, 2018.

This Beaver Falls mansion was built by the family who owned the Moltrup Steel manufacturing plant in 1914. When I first profiled this building for historic preservation month in May, 2017. The house was listed for $80,500. (You can see all of the posts that I wrote for historic preservation month here.)

The post on the Moltrup Steel Mansion that is for sale in Beaver Falls has continued to be popular and I went to see if the house had sold. The 5 bedroom, 4 bath house is still available and the price has been reduced to $62,500. Looking at the comments about this property on Old House Dreams site, there has been some interest in this property from a buyer on the other side of the country.

Hubzu Auction for Beaver Falls Mansion

The house is also listed for auction on Hubzu.com. The auction has one day left and the starting bid $49,500, which is still below the reserve price.

See more photos and learn more about 914 8th Ave:

For more historic information on Beaver Falls, PA:

Historic Beaver Falls Facebook page

The Just Right Tailors, Gus Miller’s Newstand and The Green Weenie

I posted a photo of this postcard on Instagram earlier this year and asked for some more information about just what “The Just Right” was back in the day. I knew this building had a long history as Gus Miller’s newsstand but I didn’t know what else was in the building. I liked the horse shoe on the top and “The Just Right” seems like a great name for a band or a podcast or the title of an essay for the New Yorker (the essay would of course be about someone who moved to Pittsburgh and found the city to be the just right place to be). For some reason I thought “The Just Right” might be a name for a brothel or other “interesting establishment.” There is a building on the Boulevard of the Allies, where the restaurant Papa J’s was located, that was a brothel, so it is not out of the realm of possibility. Before I had t-shirts printed for my future rock band “The Just Right” I wanted to make sure I knew just what “The Just Right” building housed back in the day.

Thanks to Darren Toth aka @Yinztergram on Instagram and Twitter, who left a comment on my photow with a detailed and colorful history of this corner shop in Oakland.

The building upstairs served as the Oakland Board of Trade, i.e. the local businessman’s organization around the turn of the 20th Century. In 1904 a guy named Edwin Edwards opened up a tobacco shop on the corner, and next door at 3803 was a Tailor Shop, which changed hand a few times before it became known as, “The Just Right Tailoring and Cleaning Company” under an owner named Goldberg. Gus Miller took over the corner shop sometime between 1910 and 1911, and ran the shop pretty much as it was until he retired in 1967, passing the business on to his daughter, Myrtle Mae Miller, who retired in 1985, and died shortly thereafter in 1987. Myrtle was the woman behind the idea of “The Green Weenie“, a sort of precursor to, “The Terrible Towel”, popularized by sports commentator, Bob Prince. It was a green plastic hot dog shaped rattle that was used by Pirate fans in the 1960s at Forbes Field to jinx the other team. Not sure how waving wieners would fly today, but I imagine if you could find an original green weenie in good shape, you could make a few bucs on it…get it? “Bucs”? Eh, anyway, hope that clears it up a bit.

Gus Miller’s 1950s

From the Historic Society of Western Pennsylvania, here is a photo of the same building in the 1950s.

The caption notes that the Pitt Towers dorms were under construction. According to Wikipedia, the towers were completed in 1963, so this photo is probably early 1960s.

The Green Weenie

Photo credit: The Terrible Blogger.

You can read a whole lot more about the Green Weenie over on The Terrible Blogger. In case you were wondering, the original 1966 Green Wennies are selling for $20-25 on ebay.

Corner of Forbes and Oakland Today

Using the Google Street view history, it looks like the awnings were removed from the building in July 2014.

This post is part of our series on historic Pittsburgh buildings for preservation month. You might be interested in reading about some of the other historic buildings that are located in Oakland:

41 Years After The Last Train Stopped in Wilkinsburg, Restoration Begins on the Wilkinsburg Train Station

Interior of the Anaheim Train Station.

This month long journey of historic Pittsburgh places is moving right along from planes (see yesterday’s post about the art deco style of the Allegheny County Airport) to trains. I am writing this post while riding Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner in from Anaheim to just north of Los Angeles to meet a friend for dinner. I just sent a photo of the Anaheim Train Station to a friend and commented on how this transit hub really creates a great public space.

This was my first visit to the Anaheim Train Station, which is know as ARTIC, (Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center). ARTIC opened in 2014 and is just a block from the Angels stadium and the Honda Center, which is where the Anaheim Ducks hockey team plays. ARTIC is also close to both Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center.

The Wilkinsburg train station, which no longer sits next to train tracks, but it conveniently located right next to the busway, is being restored and this building has the potential to be a great public space for connecting Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg.

Rendering of proposed renovations to the Wilkinsburg Train Station.

41 years after the last train made a stop in Wilkinsburg

This is one of those projects that has been chugging along for quite some time and is just now picking up steam. The train station has not been used for train passengers since 1975. I would imagine that if it was possible to get on the train in Wilkinsburg today, it would be a popular stop. It is interesting to see how our transportation habits have changed overtime.

According to a 2007 Tribune Review article, the first studies on repurposing the train station were done in 2004. Last year, the Wilkinsburg CDC has officially kicked off the fundraising for the restoration. After recieving a $1,000,000 grant from the Robert King Mellon Foundation, the Wilkinsburg CDC is working to raise the rest of the $3,000,000 for the renovation from private donations.

The total projected cost for renovating the Wilkinsburg train station building is $3,000,000. The Richard King Mellon Foundation donated the first $1 million and the Wilkinsburg CDC is looking to raise the rest of the money from individuals and other private foundations. Several fundraising events have already been held and I am sure there will be more opportunities to support this project.

: Detail of portico of Wilkinsburg Train Station, October 2016.

: Wilkinsburg Train Station, October 2016.

: Wilkinsburg Train Station, October 2016.

Timeline of Train Service to Wilkinsburg & History of Wilkinsburg Train Stations

It was the arrival of the train to Wilkinsburg that led to the expansion of the area as a suburb to the City of Pittsburgh. For more post cards of the current and previous Wilkinsburg train stations visit this page on the Wilkinsburg Historical Society website. For more photos and newsclippings about the Wilkinsburg train station, see the album, “A History of Wilkinsburg Station,” on the Wilkinsburg Train Station Facebook page.

Postmarked 10/13/1917. Credit Wilkinsburg Historical Society Website.

1851 – The Pennsylvania Railroad comes through the village of Wilkinsburg.
1860 – First Wilkinsburg train station was built. (More information on early history of Wilkinsburg is available on the borough website.)
1916 – Wilkinsburg Train Station opens in current location, two previous stations had been located a few blocks away. This station serviced trains on the Pennsylvania Railroad.
1963 – East Liberty train station was demolished, Wilkinsburg train station was used as a stop for both East Liberty and Wilkinsburg.
1967 – Building was sold to borough of Wilkinsburg
1968 – Pennsylvania Railroad merged with Penn Central Transportation Company
Clock on the wall of the Wilkinsburg Train Station. Interior photos from the Wilkinsburg Train Station Facebook page.

1971 – Amtrak took over the passenger service. 3 of the 4 passenger train routes that made stops in Wilkinsburg were discontinued.
1975 – Amtrak discontinued the stop, only 128 people had used the stop in the first 6 months of the year.
1981 – The Parkway Limited train provided brief service to Wilkinsburg, but did not use the train station building.
1985 – The Wilkinsburg Train Station is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
2016 – October 5, 2016 – Wilkinsburg CDC hosts public kickoff event for train station restoration project.

The Wilkinsburg Train Station Restoration Project

More information on the WIlkinsburg Train Station and Wilkinsburg history is available here:

Follow the Wilkinsburg Train Station Restoration Project on Facebook.
Wilkinsburg Train Station Restoration Project Website (currently just a video and donation page)
Wilkinsburg Historical Society

Rachel Carson’s Homesteads and her 110th Birthday Celebration

English: Pittsburgh Ninth Street Bridge, now Rachel Carson Bridge as seen from the top of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you have crossed the river from downtown to the Northside you probably know the name Rachel Carson because you have crossed the Rachel Carson Bridge. The Rachel Carson Bridge is one of the Three Sister’s bridges, the other two bridges are named for Roberto Clemente and Andy Warhol. If you are not familiar with her work, this should give you a clue that Rachel Carson is an important Pittsburgher.

Rachel Carson was born in Springdale, just up the Allegheny river from Pittsburgh and her work as a scientist and conservationist continues to have a huge impact around the world today. She is In 1962, Carson published the book “Silent Spring” that launched the environmental movement and eventually led to a ban on DDT. Carson’s book was the catalyst for the environmental movement which led to the creation of the EPA.

There are two historic buildings that served as homes for Rachel Carson that can be visited today:

Birthplace – The Rachel Carson Homestead in Springdale, PA is where Carson was born. The house still exists today and is open for tours, educational events and this weekend will host a birthday celebration in honor of Carson’s 110th birthday.
Residence – The other Rachel Carson homestead is in Colesville, Maryland. This house in Maryland is where wrote “Silent Spring.” Ryan Morden visited the house in Colesville a few years ago and wrote a post, A Visit to Rachel Carson’s Other House, about this house which was named a National Historic Landmark in 1991.

Rachel Carson Homestead, 613 Marion Ave, Springdale

Timeline of the Rachel Carson Homestead

1901 – Carson family moves into home in Springdale
1907 – Rachel Carson is born
1929 – Rachel Carson graduates from Pennsylvania College for Women, now known as Chatham University
1962 – Silent Spring is published
1964 – Rachel Carson dies of a heart attack at her home in Maryland
1975 – Rachel Carson Homestead Association is established
1976 – Rachel Carson Homestead added to the National Register of Historic Places

Visit the Rachel Carson Homestead in Springdale, PA

By ccbarr (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Docent led tours of the Rachel Carson Homestead are available on Saturdays from April 22, 2017 through November 2017.

Hours: Homestead is open 10:30am-1:30pm, tours starts on the hour at 11am, noon & 1pm.
Cost: A minimum donation of $10 is requested for each adult, $3 for children.
Website: rachelcarsonhomestead.org
Social Media: Facebook Page,

Tours are also available by appointment, email Info@RachelCarsonHomestead.org for details.

Special Events at the Rachel Carson Homestead

The Rachel Carson Homestead hosts a number of special events throughout the year, especially during the summer. In fact, my first visit to the Rachel Carson Homestead was for a welcome home party and lecture from Mark Dixon and the filmmakers, who spent a year traveling to all 50 states to make a documentary, YERT – Your Environmental Road Trip. The documentary is about how people are embracing sustainability. (I wrote a blog post about their homecoming back in 2008 , You Can See a Year of Garbage at the YERT Homecoming. Yes, they carried all of the trash from the entire trip with them)