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Framing the Cathedral of Learning

The Cathedral of Learning is nearly unique among large skyscrapers in that it sits in the middle of a large landscaped park, isolated from other tall buildings. That gives us the opportunity to practice the kind of photographic composition that was popular in the 1930s, when the building opened, by using trees to frame and draw attention to the central subject.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

Here is a different kind of framing: the Cathedral of Learning as seen from the Ailsa Mellon Brice Galleries at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

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September 26, 2026
Bottling Department, Eberhardt & Ober Brewery, Dutchtown

This building was put up in 1902 or thereabouts, by which time Eberhardt & Ober was a division of Pittsburg Brewing. The contractor was Charles Reiff; old Pa Pitt has not been able to find an architect. Joseph Stillburg, who designed the main buildings across the street, was still working (and was fond of big arches); but his career is better researched than most architects’ careers in Pittsburgh, and we find nothing specifically connecting him with this building.

Kodak EasyShare Max Z990; Sony Alpha 3000 with 7Artisans f/1.4 35mm lens.

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September 26, 2026
House with Carved Stone Trim, Allegheny West

Old Pa Pitt does not yet know the architect of this house on Western Avenue, which looks as though it dates from somewhere around 1890. The carving in the stone trim might have been done by Achille Giammartini, who is known to have decorated many of the houses in Allegheny West.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS; Sony Alpha 3000 with 7Artisans f/1.4 35mm lens.
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September 25, 2026
Medieval Modernism in Oakland

A matched set of apartment buildings, just behind St. Paul’s Cathedral, whose simple modernist forms are enlivened with just enough medievalistic detail to let the tenants imagine they live in a castle.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

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September 25, 2026
West End Bridge

Sony Alpha 3000 with 7Artisans f/1.4 35mm lens; Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

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September 24, 2026
The View from Fineview

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

Here is the view that gives Fineview its name. The neighborhood was originally called Nunnery Hill, but neighborhood business interests petitioned the city to change the name in 1915. The Fineview Overlook on Catoma Street at Lanark Street is difficult to find even if you know where you’re going, but the view is worth it.

Composite of five photographs from the Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR.

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September 24, 2026
Brick Houses on Wettach Street, Dutchtown

Kodak EasyShare Max Z990.

These brick rowhouses—or double houses with narrow passages between—are a little more substantial than the frame houses on the other side of the street, but they fit with them in scale. The decorated cornices and dormers elevate these houses from common lower-class rowhouses to common middle-class rowhouses, and they have been attractively restored.

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September 23, 2026
Presbyterian Hospital, Oakland

In spite of the ever-growing number of additions that obscure more and more of it, the original Presbyterian Hospital building is still a commanding presence in Oakland. It was built in 1926; the architect was E. P. Mellon, who flourished with his family connections: Presbyterian Hospital had strong ties to the Mellon family.

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

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September 23, 2026
Franklin Apartments, Park Place

A small and attractive apartment building in the part of Park Place that belongs to Wilkinsburg. Father Pitt does not know the architect, but these curved metal balconies that look as though they are serving the tenants up on platters were a favorite detail of Wilkinsburg’s own Milligan & Miller.

Kodak EasyShare Max Z990.

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September 22, 2026
South Side Market House

The South Side Market House, designed originally by Charles Bickel, and given its current form by Stanley Roush, taken on film in glorious black and white. We also have color pictures and some historical photos of the South Side Market House.

Ansco Memar with AristaEDU ISO 100 film.

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September 22, 2026

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