An ornate iron grille on the side of the William Penn Hotel. Even in the most prosaic things, beauty and function can get along happily together. —An update: The architect of the William Penn was Benno Jassen, whose favorite ironwork artist was Samuel Yellin. Although old Pa Pitt has not been able to find any reference to the artist who made them, he believes that these grilles are probably Yellin’s work.
The demolition of a building on Forbes Avenue downtown laid bare not only a splendid canvas for some rather unimaginative graffiti, but also half of a painted sign for a Victorian cafe that once occupied this spot. The part that survives is in an extraordinary state of preservation, so we can appreciate the rakish backslant of the bold but ornate letters that spell out “–mmel’s Cafe.”
The Three Rivers Arts Festival opened yesterday. Here we see the artist’s market behind the fountain at Gateway Center.
The double-decker Fort Pitt Bridge over the Monongahela enters downtown Pittsburgh from the Fort Pitt Tunnels, giving first-time visitors a shockingly spectacular introduction to the skyline as they arrive from the airport. The bridge itself matches the Fort Duquesne Bridge over the Allegheny, framing the Point with bright yellow arches.
Seeing downtown Pittsburgh from Point State Park, you might be forgiven for supposing that Pittsburgh had not existed before World War II. Not a single prewar building is visible; the “Renaissance” seems thorough and complete. The entire Point, once a seedy warehouse district, was redeveloped after the war, with a big chunk left open for Point State Park, and the rest covered with modernist towers.
Seeing the Granite Building in black and white (taken with a Zenit camera with a 28-mm Vivitar lens) brings out the variety of textures and ornaments. In the background is the Keenan Building.
Taken with a Zenit-B camera, which is a Soviet-era SLR, and a Vivitar 28-mm lens, which is of course not Soviet, this picture from Equitable Plaza shows Gateway Center as the perfect modernist ideal. No wonder it got so much attention.
Gateway Center is just across the street from the Gateway Center subway station.
In the late afternoon, the declining sun plays with the shining surface of Three Gateway Center. Below, this modernist fountain is one of Gateway Center’s chief attractions.
The colossal central jet wasn’t jetting, but there was plenty of spray to make rainbows at the Point Fountain yesterday.
On a spring or summer evening, a favorite Pittsburgh pastime is to ride a streetcar or drive to Station Square, and then take a boat to the baseball game. The short trip actually takes us on all three rivers. Above, the Majestic, flagship of the Gateway Clipper fleet, chugs under the Fort Pitt Bridge on its way to PNC Park; below, the little Countess and the Princess make the same trip.
