Father Pitt

A church in a typical Pittsburgh interpretation of Perpendicular Gothic. The stubby battlemented towers make it look like a chapel built into the wall of a castle; we would guess that the larger one was meant to hold up a spire. The white Kittanning brick gives some of the effect of stone without the expense of stone.

Addendum: The architect was John A. Long; the church was built in about 1911.¹

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1. Source: The Construction Record, November 12, 1910: “Architect John A. Long, Machesney building, has plans completed and bids will soon be taken on the erection of a brick and stone church building, for the First Presbyterian Church, Oakdale, Pa.” From the American Architect, June 15, 1910: “OAKDALE.—Drawings are being made by John A. Long of a $25,000 brick church, to be erected for the First Presbyterian congregation.” There is another formerly Presbyterian church in Oakdale, but since the style (white bricks with stubby battlemented towers) makes it very likely that both churches were designed by the same hand within a few years of each other, it makes little difference in our attribution. ↩︎