Father Pitt

Author: Father Pitt

  • St. Michael’s Mädchen Schule, South Side Slopes

    St. Michael’s Mädchen Schule

    It seems certain that this building, formerly the girls’ school for St. Michael’s parish, will be demolished sooner or later; what has saved it so far is the expense of demolishing a large building in a neighborhood with low property values. But the South Side Slopes, like many city neighborhoods, have become much more valuable lately.

    Right now, the building appears to house a whole alternate civilization of “homeless” squatters. In an ideal city, perhaps, it could continue to do so, but with a city budget for maintaining it and providing the elementary comforts to the residents. We do not live in that ideal city.

    At any rate, it seemed worth stopping to record a few details of the building before it disappears entirely, and another piece of Pittsburgh’s rich German history is gone. We also have a few pictures from a year and a half ago, including a composite view of the front.

    Entrance, perspective view
    Entrance
    Inscription

    “St. Michael’s Mädchen Schule” (“St. Michael’s Girls’ School”).

    Inscription

    “Errichtet A. D. 1872” (“Erected A. D. 1872”).

    Inscription

    “Wiedererbaut A. D. 1900” (“Rebuilt A. D. 1900”).

    Pilaster
    St. Michael’s Mädchen Schule
    Kodak EasyShare Z981.

  • Base and Bosses’ Floor of the Benedum-Trees Building

    Base and bosses’ floor of the Benedum-Trees Building

    Built in 1905 as the Machesney Building, this early skyscraper was designed by Thomas Scott, who kept his office there, which doubtless made a strong first impression on potential clients. It was renamed eight years later when it was bought by a pair of oil barons, and it has been the Benedum-Trees Building ever since.

    Here we see the generous base of the building, with three-storey Corinthian pilasters and huge windows. Above it is the “bosses’ floor.” For a short lesson in reading a Beaux Arts skyscraper like this, see our article on the West Penn Building.

    Entrance to the Benedum-Trees Building
    Window

  • The Grand Lady of Sheffield Street, Manchester

    1100 Sheffield Street

    Update: This house has a whole history written by the late Carol J. Peterson (PDF), so old Pa Pitt has more information now. The house was built between 1872 and 1877; it was built as a double house, and divided into six apartments by 1910. The article as originally written follows.

    Father Pitt does not know the whole history of this building. It was probably built in the 1870s, though a change of outlines on the map between 1882 and 1890 may indicate that it was enlarged then. It appears as a double house on the old maps, though always under single ownership, so perhaps the single entrance is newer, from the time it was converted to apartments. It is certainly a grand example of the Italianate manner.

    Perspective view
    Konica-Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

  • Waxing Gibbous Moon

    Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church with waxing gibbous moon
    Fujifilm FinePix HS10.

    With Calvary Methodist Church, Allegheny West, in the foreground.

  • A Stony Row on Liverpool Street, Manchester

    Row at Liverpool and Fulton Streets
    Kodak EasyShare Z1285.

    This row of stone-fronted houses is a good example of late-Victorian eclecticism. The heavy rustic stone and elaborate foliage decorations say “Romanesque,” but the porch columns have “modern Ionic” capitals typical of the Renaissance. And it all works together just fine, though it might give an architectural pedant hives.

    Modern Ionic capital
    Nikon COOLPIX P100.
    Foliage

    The stonecarving was probably done by Achille Giammartini, who lived a few blocks away on Page Street.

    Achille Giammartini advertising his services

    Hiding in the shadows is a whimsical grotesque face that may remind us of somebody we know.

    Grotesque foliage face
    Row of stone houses
    Front door

    Note the old address, 185, carved in stone beside the door to what is now 1305 Liverpool Street. The addresses in Manchester changed at about the time Allegheny was taken into Pittsburgh.

    1301–1309 Liverpool Street, Manchester

  • Backlit Tulips

    Because there’s no such thing as too many tulips.

    Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

  • Tulips

    Red velvet tulip
    White tulip with red edge
    Pink tulip

  • Buena Vista Street, Mexican War Streets

    East Side of Buena Vista Street

    Buena Vista Street is typical of the Mexican War Streets, which are themselves typical of many neighborhoods in the old city of Allegheny, though better preserved than most of the others. There are elegant middle-class rowhouses, churches, small shops, and small apartment buildings, all mixed side by side, as neighborhoods tended to develop in the age before zoning laws.

    1510 Buena Vista Street
    1518 Buena Vista Street
    Rowhouses in the Mexican War Streets
    Apartment building on Buena Vista Street
    Nikon COOLPIX P100.

    This small apartment building had its balconies filled in to make sunrooms early in its history, probably in the 1920s or thereabouts.

    Porches
    Sony Alpha 3000 with 7Artisans 35mm f/1.4 lens.

  • Victorian Commercial Building on Sarah Street, South Side

    2616 Sarah Street

    Formerly a storefront with apartments above, but the storefront—as with many backstreet stores—has been converted to another apartment. The well-preserved Victorian details are picked out with a colorful but tasteful paint scheme.

    Lintel
    Dentils and diamond
    Cornice
    Kodak EasyShare Z981.

  • Chimney Pots in Manchester

    Chimney pots
    Nikon COOLPIX P100.