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Gateway Center from Point State Park

Some miscellaneous views of Gateway Center from Point State Park. Above: One Gateway Center. Irwin Clavan, working for Eggers & Higgins, designed the three original Gateway Center towers, which he meant to be Le Corbusier imitations in brick, but which—possibly after intervention from Eggers & Higgins themselves—ended up being coated with the chrome-alloyed steel that makes them uniquely beautiful.

The Hilton, now the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown, was designed by William Tabler, who was the Hilton company architect. Originally it was coated in shiny gold, but the gold was painted over years ago.

Gateway Towers was designed by the firm of Emery Roth & Sons. Mr. Roth himself was too dead to do any of the design work, having died sixteen years before this building opened in 1964.

Sony Alpha 3000.

Three Gateway Center reflected in Four Gateway Center.

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November 10, 2026
Marshall House, Acorn Hill

Acorn Hill is the little enclave of interesting and eclectic houses at the southern end of Observatory Hill, where Marshall Avenue meets Perrysville Avenue. Old maps show us that this house was here by 1872, owned by Thomas Marshall, who at that time owned the land that would later become Acorn Hill. It remained in the Marshall family, for whom Marshall Avenue and Marshall Road were named, for many years after they had sold off most of the rest of the land for development. A neighborhood historian may be able to tell us more, so comments are welcome.

The house has been sheathed in aluminum siding, but its Second Empire tower still stands proud, with its little decorative railing at the top to suggest that a miniature sea captain’s wife could stand at the top to watch for her husband’s toy boat coming in to port.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

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November 10, 2026
Fall Colors in West Park, North Side

A man who has the geese for his friends fears no enemy.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

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November 9, 2026
River Rescue

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

Near the Sixth Street Bridge.

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November 9, 2026
Another Visit to St. Joseph’s Church, Manchester

A few more details of this splendid church, built in 1897, which probably will not stand much longer—although the demolition order had been removed from the front door when old Pa Pitt visited most recently. The architect was Frederick Sauer.¹ We have many more pictures in an earlier article.

If the church is demolished, Father Pitt will buy these hinges. He has no idea where he would put them or even whether he could lift one, but they ought to be preserved.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS; Kodak EasyShare Max Z990.

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November 8, 2026
Allen Chapel A. M. E. Church, Manchester

We’ve seen this little church before, where we also learned some of its history, but we need no excuse for seeing it again other than that it is a charming little church with a long history. Built for a Lutheran congregation in 1894, it was sold to the African Methodist Episcopal congregation only eleven years later, and they worshiped here for a century.

Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR.

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November 8, 2026
November Colors in the Union Dale Cemetery

November is the month that gives us an excuse to use the word “russet” over and over.

The receiving vault (now the Columbarium), built in 1878, was designed by Bailey & Anglin, Allegheny architects who designed some important projects in Allegheny and the rest of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6; Sony Alpha 3000 with Wirgin Telepar 105mm lens; Kodak EasyShare Max Z990.

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November 7, 2026
Three Storefronts on Highland Avenue, East Liberty

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

Father Pitt’s constant endeavor is to point out the things we never look at and show why they are worth looking at. Here is a row of three small storefronts in East Liberty—a very modest building, but the architect nevertheless strove for an interesting and unusual effect. The shallow arches (we can be fairly sure there were three of them; seams and paler blocks mark where the storefront on the right has been repaired and rebuilt) and stone face give the little building an air of permanence and make the merchants occupying it (currently three different restaurants) seem just a little more opulent than they actually are. Plat maps suggest that it was built in about 1900.

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November 7, 2026
The Railroad That Cuts Through West Park, North Side

One corner of West Park is cut off from the rest by an iron fence. It’s a triumph of landscaping: until you get close to the fence, you can’t see that the reason for the fence is a broad railroad cut, four tracks wide, that slices right across the park. It could have ruined the whole effect of this urban paradise, but instead artistic landscaping has made it picturesque—especially in November, when the long rows of ginkgo trees are shedding their golden leaves.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

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November 6, 2026
Downtown Through the Trees

Some views from two different divisions of the Union Dale Cemetery.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6; Sony Alpha 3000 with Wirgin Telepar 105mm lens; Kodak EasyShare Max Z990.

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November 6, 2026

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