Father Pitt

Why should the beautiful die?


Byers-Lyons House, Allegheny West

Byers-Lyons House
Father Pitt will admit to having removed an ugly utility pole from this picture. Perhaps some day he will do an article about the utility pole and remove the house.

Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, Pittsburgh’s most prestigious firm, were the architects of this Flemish Renaissance mansion, which is now Byers Hall of the Community College of Allegheny County. Of the surviving millionaires’ mansions in Allegheny West, this is old Pa Pitt’s favorite. It is impressively huge, but the details are inviting rather than forbidding. Even the huge iron gate in front seems to be there more to invite you in than to keep you out.

Gate
Arcade and entrance

The arcade on two sides of a garden court forms a pleasant cloister in front of the house, rather than behind it, suggesting that the residents do not turn their backs on their neighbors.

Byers-Lyons house
Byers Hall
Chimney
Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

Are these the most artistic chimneys in Pittsburgh? They are certainly in the running, at any rate.



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