Homestead Park was originally a suburb of Homestead in Mifflin Township; it later became the upper part of Munhall Borough. This school (now just called Park Elementary School) has been built in multiple stages. The largest part, built in 1928, was designed by Adam G. Wickerham of Homestead,1 who combined enough traditional decoration to please conservative tastes with some interestingly modern ideas, like the stark second-floor cutout above the Cambria Street entrance.
A blank wall is enlivened by a bit of decorative brickery that must have been fun to plan, perhaps with the aid of children’s blocks.
The Main Street end of the school is earlier; it is probably the “addition” designed by Ulysses J. Lincoln Peoples in 1919.2
There is also a modernist section of the school, probably built in the 1960s, that old Pa Pitt didn’t capture, because he was stopping very briefly on his way from here to there. Maybe next time.
- Notice to Contractors, Post-Gazette, July 31, 1928, p. 24. “Plans and specifications may be seen at the office of A. G. Wickerham, Registered Architect, 135 E. Eighth Avenue, Homestead, Pa.” ↩︎
- Notice to Contractors, Press, June 14, 1919, p. 19. “All particulars, including plans and specifications, will be furnished by U. J. L. Peoples, architect…” ↩︎
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