Mr. J. B. Ford was the founder of the glass empire that today is PPG, and his mausoleum spared no expense. These statues flank the entrance.
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Mourners on the Ford Mausoleum, Allegheny Cemetery
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Kneeling Venus in the Phipps Palm House
You have to look hard to find her, but this statue, a gift from Henry Phipps to his conservatory, is still kneeling in the jungle to the left of the main entrance as you walk into the palm house.
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St. Paul
The statue of St. Paul (by Joseph Sibbel) over the main entrance to St. Paul’s Cathedral in Oakland. He is reading from, presumably, one of his own letters, and he casually holds the sword that beheaded him. -
Telamones on the Park Building
The Park Building, designed by George B. Post and built in 1896, is a feast of classical detailing, and probably our oldest existing skyscraper, depending on our definition of “skyscraper.” (The Conestoga Building, built in 1892, is our earliest steel-cage building, but it is only seven storeys high.)
No one knows for sure who sculpted the row of telamones that hold up the roof, but it is certainly one of Pittsburgh’s most memorable and yet most neglected sights—neglected because few pedestrians ever look up to see the figures glowering down at them.
The Park Building is at Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street, a short walk from either Steel Plaza or Wood Street subway station.
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Christopher Columbus
The Columbus memorial by Frank Vittor, in Schenley Park at the end of the Junction Hollow Bridge, is heroic and more than a little Art Deco. A historical marker nearby tells us a little about the artist, who was Pittsburgh’s favorite monumental sculptor for decades.
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James B. Oliver Monument, Allegheny Cemetery
An unusual bronze monument with a wealth of detail. Father Pitt has uploaded this picture at 2-megapixel resolution; click on the picture to enlarge it.
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Joseph Horne Monument, Allegheny Cemetery
Joseph Hone, the department-store baron, certainly had enough money for a mausoleum, but chose to be remembered by this beautiful monument instead. Because the relief is worth examining, old Pa Pitt has given you this picture in a larger size than usual: click on it to load the picture in your browser, then magnify it to full size.
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Dolphin Fountain, Highland Park
Frank Vittor gave us these striking classical dolphins for Pittsburgh’s parks, and a number of them remain in place and working. Some kindhearted soul has set out a water dish for the many dogs who come to walk their people in Highland Park.
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Highland Park Entrance Portal
Giuseppe Moretti, one of Pittsburgh’s two favorite sculptors (the other being Frank Vittor), gave us the statuary on the Highland Avenue entrance to Highland Park. Moretti loved Pittsburgh, and predicted it would be the Athens of America; Pittsburghers probably laugh when they read that, but if they counted the number of priceless sculptures and great works of architecture they passed every day, they might realize that Moretti was closer to right than they thought.
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Mourner on the Braun Mausoleum, Carrick
The South Side Cemetery in Carrick does not have monuments by famous architects like the ones in the Allegheny Cemetery, but some of its residents did have good taste in sculpture.
