Father Pitt

Why should the beautiful die?


St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, West View

St. Luke’s Lutheran Church

William Henry King, Jr., was the architect of this pretty country church in the city, built in 1927.

Cornerstone with dates “founded 1907, erected 1927
Center Avenue side

The lot Mr. King had to work with was difficult. West View topography is absurd even by Pittsburgh standards. Here Center Avenue, which meanders all over the borough—it originally carried streetcar tracks, so in many spots it is unexpectedly wide where the streetcars ran in a median—runs in a sort of ravine under Ridgewood Avenue, which crosses it on an overpass. The architect turned the difficulties into advantages; he made the most picturesque use of the setting, and he gave the church entrances on multiple levels. The extra width allows for angle parking on both sides of Center Avenue.

Center Avenue entrance
Tower

The tower is a streamlined adaptation of the style of English country Gothic parish churches.

Ridgewood Avenue front
Front elevation

They teach punning in seminaries. If you have the humility to put up with it, you are qualified for the clergy.

Ridgewood Avenue view
Oblique view of the Ridgewood Avenue front
Entrance
Entrance
Hinge

At the special request of one particular reader, old Pa Pitt is collecting elaborate metal hinges.

St. Luke’s
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.


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