Father Pitt

Category: Churches

  • Mifflin Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, Regent Square

    Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church

    Still serving its original congregation, now as the Mifflin Avenue United Methodist Church. This church in the Wilkinsburg quarter of Regent Square, a single neighborhood divided among four municipalities, was built in 1923. The architect was Victor A. Rigaumont, who would later become nationally famous as a reliable designer of Art Deco movie palaces. Perhaps we can see a little Hollywood sensibility already in this church: the design is more flamboyant than the usual corner-tower Gothic church, and the huge Gothic arch that includes both the three front entrance doors and the windows above them is more like a set designer’s fantasy Gothic than a pedantically correct interpretation of medieval forms.

    Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church
    Entrance
    Door
    Lantern
    Basement door of the Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church

    Note the signature above this tiny basement door: “V. A. Rigaumont R. A. Architect.”

    Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church
    Entrance to the education wing

    The education wing was built thirteen years earlier, in 1910; the architects were Wilkinsburg’s own Milligan & Miller. The older building was used as the worship space until the main church was built.

    Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church
    Sony Alpha 3000 with 7Artisans f/1.4 35mm lens; Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

  • Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church (Christ Missionary Baptist Church), Brushton

    Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church

    This charming little church was built in 1912; and, having said that, old Pa Pitt has exhausted his knowledge on the subject. It now belongs to the Christ Missionary Baptist Church, which has kept it in beautiful and nearly original condition, as we can see from this photograph taken just before the dedication in December of 1912.

    Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Brushton, which is to be dedicated tomorrow
    “New Church to Be Dedicated,” Gazette Times, December 7, 1912, p. 2.
    Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church
    Cornerstone
    Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church
    Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church
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  • East Liberty Presbyterian Church

    East Liberty Presbyterian Church

    Like a great European cathedral, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, which Ralph Adams Cram considered his masterpiece, is too huge and complex to take in all at once. We can only appreciate some of the details, and then come back later for more. Here are some views from various spots in East Liberty.

    Spire
    Tower
    Oriel
    Oriel
    Highland Avenue entrance
    Weathercock
    The church from Highland Avenue
    Oriel
    From Penn Avenue
    Tower
    Detail of the tower
    Highland Avenue side
    Dormers
    From Highland and Baum
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • St. Ambrose Parish, Spring Hill

    St. Ambrosius Catholic Church inscription

    Three buildings of St. Ambrose parish (now part of Holy Wisdom parish) are lined up along Haslage Street on tiny lots. We begin with the church, built in 1894, when the parish was going by the Latin version of the name. (If the atmosphere in these pictures seems a bit murky, that is because they were taken on one of the recent days of Canadian smoke in the air.)

    St. Ambrosius Church

    The church has been crusted over with so many additions and alterations that it is hard to imagine what it looked like when it was built. It seems, however, to have been a typical small Romanesque church of the late 1800s, with the usual decorative brickwork and an outsized tower in front. Father Pitt did not succeed in finding the name of an architect.

    St. Ambrosius Church
    Detail

    These chimneys and the cross-bearing crest were obviously meant to be seen, but they are now almost completely invisible behind later construction.

    St. Ambrosius Church

    The next building to be put up was the convent, in 1911. It was designed by Edmund B. Lang,1 who (along with his brother Herman) designed many buildings for German Catholics.

    Convent
    School and church

    Finally, in 1928, the school was built. The architect was William P. Hutchins,2 who matched his design to the round arches and crenelated brick ornamentation of the church.

    Front elevation of St. Ambrose School
    Saint Ambrose School inscription
    Entrance
    Entrance
    Capital
    Entrance
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
    1. The Construction Record, November 19, 1910: “Architect E. B. Lang, House building, awarded to H. J. Eberz, 721-13 First avenue, Northside, the contract for erecting a 2½-story brick and stone convent, on Haslage avenue, Northside, for St. Ambrose’s Roman Catholic Congregation. Cost $6,000.” ↩︎
    2. “Lay Cornerstone of St. Ambrose School Sunday Afternoon,” Pittsburgh Catholic, May 31, 1928. “The new school was designed by William P. Hutchins, architect, and the Pittsburgh Engineering and Construction Corp. is the general contractor.” ↩︎
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  • Heinz Chapel, Oakland

    Heinz Chapel

    Heinz Chapel, built over five years from 1933 to 1938, is one of the complex of three great Charles Z. Klauder buildings at the center of the University of Pittsburgh, along with the Cathedral of Learning and the Stephen Foster Memorial. A while ago old Pa Pitt picked out some of the details with a long lens.

    Heinz Chapel
    Heinz Chapel
    Entrance
    Reliefs over the entrance
    Reliefs over the entrance
    Lamb
    Reliefs and Gothic decorations

    The decorations include the arms of various colleges and universities.

    Reliefs and Gothic decorations
    Reliefs and Gothic decorations
    Reliefs and Gothic decorations
    Reliefs and Gothic decorations
    Pinnacle
    Base of the spire
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • Grace Lutheran Church, Troy Hill

    Grace Lutheran Church

    A church crammed into a tiny lot, so that it is as tall as it is long. This is one of the many city churches with the main worship space upstairs, the ground floor being devoted to Sunday-school rooms and offices.

    Cornerstone with date 1894

    The architect was Edward M. Butz, most famous today for the colossal Western Penitentiary.1 The construction was begun in 1894, but the church was built in two stages: at first only the ground floor was put up, with a temporary roof.

    View of the old place of worship

    This was designed as a large open space that, when the main sanctuary was built above it, could be converted to Sunday-school rooms divided by folding doors.

    The congregation grew rapidly, and less than five years later the church was completed.2

    Grace Lutheran in 1899
    Rev. S. T. Nicholas

    A Pittsburg Press article published when the church was dedicated in February of 1899 describes the building:

    The new church is one of the handsomest church buildings in that section of Allegheny. Its dimensions are 60×75, and it is built of red brick with stone trimmings. The style is purely Gothic, and it has beautiful large glass painted windows. The building contains two stories, the lower floor being used for Sunday school purposes. It is divided in seven separate class rooms, which are connected by sliding doors. On this floor also is the pastor’s study. About 450 children are enrolled at present as Sunday school pupils.

    The auditorium is situated in the second story. It has a seating capacity of 500, the seats being arranged in amphitheater style. A bell, which is said to have a more beautiful tone than any other church bell in Allegheny, has been given by William Eberhardt, of the Eberhardt & Ober Brewing company, and it is hoped that Andrew Carnegie will provide a pipe organ for the church. The members recently applied to the generous iron king and hope that their petition will receive favorable consideration.

    Grace Lutheran Church from the side
    Perspective view
    Kodak EasyShare Max Z990; Sony Alpha 3000.
    1. “Grace Lutheran Church,” Commercial Gazette, July 27, 1894, p. 2. “The Grace Lutheran church of Allegheny took out a permit yesterday for the erection of a new church. It is to be located on Tinsbury street, Troy hill and will be a brick structure one story high 45×70 feet. E. M. Butts [sic] is the architect and M. Lemon the contractor. It is estimated to cost about $7,000.” ↩︎
    2. “Troy Hill Church,” Press, February 12, 1899. The illustrations are taken from this article. ↩︎

  • St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Wilkinsburg

    St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

    George Nattress & Sons of Philadelphia were the architects of this church, one of the dwindling number of black stone churches in Pittsburgh. The Nattresses were favorites among Episcopalians. Old Pa Pitt can think of any number of Pittsburgh architects of the era who could have done just as well or better from at least an external point of view, but perhaps the Philadelphians had an innate sense of the rhythm of Episcopalian worship.

    Main entrance
    Wooden doors

    Impressive wooden doors form the main entrance.

    My house shall be called the house of prayer for all people

    The inscription “My house shall be called the house of prayer for all people” is from Isaiah 56:7, which was later quoted by Jesus on the one occasion in his earthly career when he got really angry: the Cleansing of the Temple.

    Black stones of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

    The rough-cut black stones of the front arcade. Old Pa Pitt still thinks the sooty blackness adds dignity to many an otherwise prosaic church, and he encourages congregations that still possess black stone churches to keep their historical soot.

    Tower of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
    Tower entrance
    St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
    Parish house

    The parish house is built of matching stone (or at least the stones matched after a few years of exposure to Pittsburgh’s blackening atmosphere), but the neat frames for the windows and doors give it a more urbane and less rustic appearance.

    Entrance to the parish house
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • St. Bede Church and School, Point Breeze

    Crest of the school with inscription

    The school was built first, in 1926, so we begin with the school. The architect was William P. Hutchins, who chose the “collegiate Gothic” style to send the twin messages that this was a school and it was Catholic.1

    St. Bede Catholic School
    Entrance to the school
    Entrance

    The congregation, meanwhile, worshiped in a small frame church for more than twenty years. After the Second World War, Leo McMullen was hired to design a new church and school expansion.2 Both the era and McMullen’s taste dictated a simpler style, but the new building fits well with the school to which it is attached.

    St. Bede Church, front elevation

    The pictures of the church are from back in March; the pictures of the school are from last week. Yes, it does sometimes take old Pa Pitt that long—or longer—just to complete a set of pictures.

    Perspective view of the church
    St. Bede statue in niche

    The Venerable Bede was the great light of the Dark Ages, the author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, which is the best source for very early English history. Here he is depicted pausing to think while writing one of his books. Bede was exceptionally good at thinking, which set him apart in the early 700s.

    Face of Bede
    Bede writing
    Bede in his niche
    Entrance and statue
    Entrance
    Sony Alpha 3000; Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
    1. “St. Bede’s School to Be Dedicated Sunday,” Press, September 3, 1926, p/ 19. “Architecture is of collegiate gothic design by Architect William P Hutchens [sic].” ↩︎
    2. “Tremendous Building Program Looms in Pittsburgh Diocese,” Pittsburgh Catholic, March 28, 1946. “St. Bede’s, Rev. John F. Enright, pastor: Combined school and church building; Leo A. McMullen, architect.” ↩︎
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  • Belmar Christian Church (Baptist Temple Church), Homewood

    Belmar Christian Church

    Edwin V. Denick was the architect of this neat little corner-tower church, which was built in 1905.1 The current congregation, the Baptist Temple Church, keeps it scrupulously tidy. “We do what we can,” one member modestly told old Pa Pitt—modestly because the man had just spent hours cleaning inside.

    Parsonage and church

    Old maps show that the attached parsonage was built later than the church, but it was matched very well to the style and material of the main building.

    Parsonage
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Allegheny West

    Emmanuel Episcopal Church

    There is only one National Historic Landmark on the North Side, and this is it. Modest as it is, it would appear on many historians’ lists of the greatest American buildings of the nineteenth century. It is the other great work of Henry Hobson Richardson in Pittsburgh, after the Allegheny County Courthouse. One is sometimes tempted to say that it was ahead of its time (it was finished in 1886, when high Victorian style usually demanded a thick crust of ornamentation), but it would probably be better to say that it stands out of time. It is never stale, and yet it was never outrageously modern. It stands as an inspiration and a reproach to every other building.

    Emmanuel Episcopal Church

    It earns all those accolades from architects in spite of one serious engineering mistake. Those walls were not meant to lean outward the way they do. The weight of the huge roof pushed them out within a few years after the church was finished. The congregation called in Richardson’s old associates Longfellow, Alden & Harlow to see whether anything could be done, and their conclusion was that the structure was stable the way it was and should be left alone. A century and a third have proved them right.

    Side entrance
    Windows
    Dormer

    These simple triangular dormers are the single feature of this church most often directly imitated; compare, for example, the ones on St. Paul’s Episcopal on the Hill (designed by Elise Mercur), or the ones on the First United Presbyterian Church of Etna (Father Pitt hasn’t figured out the architect of that one yet), or the ones on the Watson Memorial Presbyterian Church on Observatory Hill (designed by Allison & Allison)—all direct quotations from Richardson’s dormers here.

    Emmanuel Episcopal Church
    Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR.
    Front elevation

    This front elevation is a 36-megapixel composite, so you can enlarge it and enjoy the details of the wonderfully varied brickwork that nevertheless seems natural and organic and avoids all suggestion of ostentation.

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