The twentieth century did not pass old Pa Pitt by entirely: sometimes he indulges in a bit of abstract expressionism. This is the Dithridge Street wall of the Software Engineering Institute in Oakland, as seen obliquely with a long lens.
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Software Engineering Institute
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The Four Evangelists on St. Paul’s
In order: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, on the Fifth Avenue front of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Oakland.
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Lamppost, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial
Details matter. The bronze lampposts in front of the building are exceptionally elegant, which adds to the effect even if you don’t notice the lampposts themselves.
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Gargoyles of St. Paul’s
Look for them on the Fifth Avenue front of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Oakland.
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Reflections of St. Paul’s
St. Paul’s Cathedral reflected in the Software Engineering Institute across the street.
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Roof Ornaments, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial
Above, the distinctive grotesque eruption at the pinnacle of the pyramid roof. Below, the alternating eagles and torches of the cornice.
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Twentieth Century Club and Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Oakland
Two great cultural institutions that vacated their landmark buildings for different reasons. The Twentieth Century Club, Pittsburgh’s premier women’s club, fell on hard times like most clubs in our antisocial twenty-first century. The Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, on the other hand, prospered and moved its collection to the Heinz History Center in the Strip. Old Pa Pitt is delighted to see that the old Historical Society building will soon be a Latin American Cultural Center, so that once again it will be a cultural landmark in Oakland.
The Twentieth Century Club was designed by the prolific Benno Janssen.
The Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania was by the firm of Ingham and Boyd.
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Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, Oakland
The story told by architectural historian Franklin Toker is that the architect Henry Hornbostel wanted this building to face Fifth Avenue, with a long vista back from the street, but the clients insisted that it had to face Bigelow Boulevard. Reluctantly Hornbostel acquiesced—and then built it his way anyway. What are you going to do? Tear it down and do it over?
This is one of a number of buildings in Pittsburgh inspired by the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and this is the one that most obviously follows its model.
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Cathedral of Learning
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America, by Charles Keck
This larger-than-life allegorical bronze sits over the entrance to the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial in Oakland.
