Tag Archives: #savealbright

#SaveAlbright Update: Public Hearing on Wednesday 3/2

[TL;DR – Wednesday 3/2 is the public hearing for historic designation for Albright, this could be the last best chance for the public to support saving this 109-year-old historic church in Bloomfield, please sign the petition & attend the public hearing.]

If you had told me a year ago, that I would be a regular attendee of the Historic Review Commission meetings for the City of Pittsburgh, I probably would have laughed out loud. In high school, I had an English teacher tell me I would never write an A paper. So I stopped writing and reading and spent all of my time in math and science. To the surprise of everyone, including our teacher, my team won second place in the Chemistry Olympics. It is still funny to me that I now spend a lot of time writing. And I’ve come to understand that I really love history, especially the industrial history of the City of Pittsburgh. I once, very briefly spent 2 days thinking I would move to Boston for a job. The job wasn’t the right one for me, but I also just couldn’t get into all of the colonial history of New England.

Albright-July-24-2015If you have been a long time reader of IheartPGH and/or a regular follower on Twitter, first of all, thank you, every reader, every comment, like and retweet is way better than an A on an english paper. You may have noticed that I have been writing and tweeting about the Albright United Methodist Church building. This grand old church sits at the corner of S. Graham Street and Centre Avenue (486 S. Graham Street), next to the Wendy’s and the building that now is a mattress store, but if you spent your high school years in Pittsburgh’s East End you are likely to remember it as the other Blockbuster Video.

Last fall, I nominated the Albright Church building for historic designation in the city of Pittsburgh. On February 2nd, the Historic Review Commission met and determined that the nomination will move forward. You can read more about the February 2nd hearing in the Post-Gazette -“Preservation fight begins for Albright United Methodist Church in Bloomfield” (February 4, 2016). Next week is the public hearing on the historic designation for the Albright Church Building.

Take Action to #SaveAlbright

Albright-Public-Hearing

Please help me make sure this building stays in our city for another 110 years by attending the public hearing on Wednesday, March 2, at 12:30 p.m., at 200 Ross St., on the first floor, and by signing the petition showing your support for historic designation of the Albright Church building.

  1. Attend the Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 and voicing your support for historic designation. RSVP & share the Facebook event for the hearing.
  2. Send the Historic Review Commission a letter of support (sample letters and details here).
  3. Sign the petition & share with your friends!http://bit.ly/AlbrightPetition.
  4. Tweet your support – use the #SaveAlbright and please cc @BillPeduto & @DebGrossPGH.

A few reasons Albright Should Receive Historic Designation in the City of Pittsburgh

  • Built in 1906, the Albright church building will turn 110 years old this year.
  • The building was designed by architect Chancey W. Hodgdon.
  • The stained glass windows in the building are one of the best examples and most complete collections of stained glass created by the SS Marshall Glass company, which was located on the North Side.
  • The building located at 486 S. Graham Street has the original corner-stone from the previous church buildingwhich was located downtown before the congregation moved to the East End. These are just a few of the reasons this building should be nominated for historic designation.

More information on the history of the Albright Church building:

  • Read more about the history of the Albright Church building the East Liberty Valley Historic Society’s fall newsletter here.
  • Read the entire historic designation application for the Albright Church building here.

Albright – An Opportunity for Historic Preservation & Community Space

SAVEAlbright-heartI have nominated this building for historic designation because I care deeply about the fabric of our neighborhoods. There was a point in time where these churches were used for much more than a worship space on Sunday mornings. Churches and settlement houses provided activities, meals and services for their members all week long. Many churches offered preschool classes and recreational spaces.  Before we shutter these buildings, and in many cases tear them down, might this be the time to talk about transforming these spaces into third places that continue to provide child care, recreations, or many other things that the community needs today.

The Albright church is technically in Bloomfield, but sits at the intersection where Bloomfield meets Friendship and Shadyside. This is the ideal location for a community space that can serve multiple neighborhoods and populations from students to seniors. We have an exciting opportunity to preserve this building and to transform this space into a space that continues to serve our community.

Some other examples of how churches have been preserved, restored and re-purposed in Pittsburgh area:

  • Union Project – located in Highland Park, this building now houses and arts program, office space and is rented for a variety of community events.
  • Neu Kirche – located in East Deutschtown, this church was built in 1889 and now house a contemporary arts center.
  • Calvary United Methodist Church – the Allegheny Historic Preservation Society is a group of neighbors that has successfully raised millions of dollars to support the preservation and restoration of this church.
  • Mr. Smalls – former church in Millvale has been re-purposedas a music venue that attracts artists from around the globe.

 

Lecture this Sunday on the History of 109-year-old Bloomfield Church

Albright United Methodist Church

One of my favorite summer photos of Albright United Methodist Church. Photo Credit: Larry Rippel.

Last fall, the East Liberty Valley Historical Society put together a monthly lecture series on historic buildings around the East End. I had the opportunity to attend two of these lectures, both were filled with fascinating facts about buildings I see every day and building that are no longer in the neighborhood.

The Albright United Methodist Church building, which sits on the corner of Centre and S. Graham Streets, is one of the many buildings that is at risk of vanishing from the Bloomfield neighborhood. I submitted a nomination for the Albright Church building to the City of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission last fall and the commission will be reviewing the nomination at their February meeting next week.

Not only is Albright a beautiful building, but it has quite a bit of architectural significance. This Sunday, local historian and member of the East Liberty Valley Historic Society, Justin Greenawalt will be giving a lecture on the history of the Albright United Methodist Church building. Justin is an excellent and entertaining speaker and his talk is sure to contain some interesting neighborhood stories.

This lecture will be held at East End Cooperative Ministries Community House and is free and open to the public. All are welcome to attend the lecture or come early and join the Albright congregation for their weekly church service which is also held at EECM.

This is a great opportunity to meet some fellow history lovers and learn more about Albright, East End History and some of the great things EECM does for the community.

Allbright-correct-header

LECTURE: History of Albright
11 am – Albright Sunday Service
12 pm – Lecture on History of Albright
East End Cooperative Ministries Community House (There are several entrances to EECM, please use entrance A on Station Street. There is lots of on street parking on Station Street and more in the EECM parking lot).

Looking to learn more about local historic architecture?

Will you come to church with me on Sunday?

“Will you come to church with me on Sunday” is most certainly not a blog post title I thought I would be writing this summer, or ever.  Last Sunday, I attended the service that Albright United Methodist Church held on the lawn in front of their church on Centre Ave.  I don’t often go to church, I am not Methodist and I had not attended a church service at Albright before. If I go to church it is to look at the architecture or I will on the rare occasion sneak in the back of East Liberty Presbyterian Church in time for the sermon. Sometimes I go to church because it feels like it is the one place where there are no cell phones or emails.

So how did I get to Albright and why am I asking you to come with me? In 2012, I was asked by a good friend to help with the Community Thanksgiving Dinner at Albright.  Albright has hosted a free Thanksgiving dinner for the last 40 years. I have been happy to lend a hand with the event and it is one of the nicest ways I can think of to spend Thanksgiving eves in Pittsburgh.

This is the post I wrote after the last Albright Community Thanksgiving Dinner:

My latest favorite photo of Albright with the stained glass illuminated.

My latest favorite photo of Albright with the stained glass illuminated.

Over the past years Albright, I have worked with my friends who have been life long members of the Albright congregation and a dedicated group of volunteers to help envision a future for this grand old 109-year-old church building.  There are so many ways that this church building can not only continue to be a bright spot in the neighborhood (Albright is technically in Bloomfield, but sits across the street from Friendship & Shadyside) as a beautiful building and as a community space that is much more than just a place to worship on Sunday mornings. This summer, I have been working every weekend and many weekday evenings to help the congregation spruce up their church so they can return to worship in the sanctuary. There are still a few more things to clean up before the congregation and the community can use the building again, but we have been working very hard to show off this beautiful space to the city of Pittsburgh. Last month we hosted a community block party and had an incredible response from all over the city.  You can see some photos from the block party here.

Albright-8-16-SquareI know this is last minute, I know it is a Friday afternoon in August and many of you are at the beach or wishing you were at the beach, but if you are free this Sunday, I want to invite you to come with me to the Albright church Sunday service and to stay for the community meeting that will follow the service. If worship isn’t your thing, just come and sit with me in the back of the service (I will be sitting in the back, and I will happily save you a seat). If church isn’t your thing, that is ok too. Feel free to come just for the community meeting or stop by and drop a few dollars in the collection basket.  All funds are being used to repair and restore the church so that it can continue to serve as a bright spot in the neighborhood for many more years to come.

Albright Sunday Service & Community Meeting
Sunday, August 16, 2015
486 S. Graham St. – Corner of Centre & S. Graham
10:30-11:15 Sunday Service
11:30-12:30 Community Meeting
Facebook Event

If you can’t make it this Sunday, but are interested in learning more about Albright and how you can help preserve this building for the future: