Oakdale is a pleasant little borough in the western suburbs. The town was devastated by floods from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, and some of it never recovered; but the back streets are full of pleasant houses, and the business district has business in it, and the population is growing.
The tiny urban core of Oakdale is a row of shops on Noblestown Road.
This building, 120 years old this year, has kept its corner entrance. Addendum: This was the First National Bank of Oakdale; the architect was Max Brenning.1
The odd polygonal end of this building probably had large showroom windows at one time.
Finally, an old service station. Few old-fashioned service stations have survived without massive alterations, but this one still keeps its attractive little red-roofed hut with—once again—a corner entrance.
- Record & Guide, May 10, 1905, p. 297. “Plans are being revised by Architect Max Brenning, Whitfield Building, for a bank and office building, to be erected for the First National Bank, Oakdale, Pa., to cost $12,000.” A Sanborn map from 1923 shows “Bank” at the current location of 5021 Noblestown Road, with an obtuse angle and pillar at the corner entrance. ↩︎
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