Father Pitt

A century ago, if we read our old maps right, this building was a garage—and probably warehouse—for the Pennsylvania Motor Sales Corp. (Addendum: It was built in 1919, probably finished in 1920; the architect was Thomas Hannah.¹) The ground floor now houses a large Asian market full of delicious things; the upper floors still seem to be used for storage. The original windows are still in the upper floors, making this an unusually well-preserved example of commercial architecture of the First World War period.

The utilitarian square front (whose proportions are already dignified) is livened up by brightly colored tile decorations.

---

1. Source: American Architect, June 11, 1919. “Pittsburgh, Pa.— T. Hannah, Architect, 209 Ninth Street, is receiving bids for five story, 80 x 100 ft., fireproof garage, on Penn Avenue and Seventeenth Street, for Seventeenth Street Garage Co.” The 1923 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps shows the Penna. Motor Sales Corp. on this site, the only garage on this corner, and this building has five floors. ↩︎