Father Pitt

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Pittsburgh Myanmar Christian Church, Castle Shannon

Here is another wooden Gothic church whose details have been obscured by modern siding, and old Pa Pitt suspects the job was done by the same contractor who pasted siding over the First Presbyterian Church in Castle Shannon. The tower has been obscured beyond recognition—but note the railing on top, which suggests that it may be a fine place for a bird’s-eye view of the borough. This was the Castle Shannon United Methodist Church, but now it belongs to a lively congregation of immigrants from Myanmar.

A more than usually lush growth of utility cables is also prominent in this picture.

January 23, 2022
Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny West

Originally the Western Theological Seminary (a Presbyterian seminary), this building was designed by Thomas Hannah and finished in 1912. The seminary stayed here until 1959, when it merged with the other big Presbyterian seminary in town and became part of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Highland Park.

Like most of the other large buildings on Ridge Avenue, this one now belongs to the Community College of Allegheny County, which calls it West Hall.

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January 22, 2022
William Penn Snyder House, Allegheny West

Considering the traditional link between Pittsburgh and New York—the two cities shared millionaires, department stores, and many other cultural phenomena—it’s surprising that this is Pittsburgh’s only New-York-style brownstone palace. The architect was George S. Orth, who was also responsible for the Colonial Place development in Shadyside. The house was built in 1911, shortly before the millionaires began to flee the neighborhood. Since then it has been an office building, and the commercial addition to the right is a good example of how to expand a historic building sensitively without throwing money around like a Pittsburgh millionaire.

January 21, 2022
Witch Hazel

Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) is one of old Pa Pitt’s favorite plantings. It blooms in the dead of winter; it keeps its petals closed until a warmer day comes along, and then it unfurls its little red flowers and floods its surroundings with perfume. But if you bring in a few twigs and put them in a vase, you don’t have to wait for a warm day. The flowers will unfurl within hours, and then in a day or two the perfume will start filling your house. You can have a fresh bouquet from the garden in the middle of January.

The twiggy bouquets make an interesting display, and for some reason it occurred to Father Pitt that he should attempt to photograph one in the manner of the 1930s.

January 20, 2022
Willock House, Allegheny West

Here is another one-room-wide mansion crammed into a tiny lot. William Willock, a clerk, married Alice Jones, the daughter of steel baron B. F. Jones. For his daughter and her new husband, B. F. built this nice little French chateau huddled next to his own considerably larger house. Of course, when you marry the big chief’s daughter and live in a little chateau right up against his house, the big chief has an opportunity to notice your talent and ability. Mr. Willock ended up with a snug little berth in the Jones & Laughlin empire as the manager of the Monongahela Connecting Railroad.

The house was built in about 1892. In 1898, the stable behind it was added—itself a bigger building than many of the houses in Allegheny West.

Like many grand houses in the neighborhood, this house has a very detailed history published at the Allegheny West neighborhood site.

When old Pa Pitt visited, the house was still gaily festooned with Christmas decorations.

January 19, 2022
B. F. Jones House, Allegheny West

Benjamin Franklin Jones, Jr., was the Jones of Jones & Laughlin, the steel conglomerate. This 42-room Jacobean mansion was designed by Rutan & Russell. Like most of the ultragazillionaires’ mansions in Allegheny West, it now belongs to the Community College of Allegheny County.

January 18, 2022
Snow

Above: Snow on seedheads of Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea).

Below: Snow on seedheads of Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum).

January 17, 2022
Letitia Holmes House, Allegheny West

The Letitia Holmes house, with Harry Darlington’s one-room-wide mansion clinging to the right of it. Mrs. Holmes’ splendidly dignified Italianate house was built in about 1870, and instead of repeating its history here old Pa Pitt will simply refer you to a well-researched page on the Holmes house in the Allegheny West neighborhood site. Letitia Holmes was a widow when she built this house, but she built it for elegant entertainments: the room with the tall windows to the right of the front door is a ballroom that spans the entire depth of the house.

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January 17, 2022
Harry Darlington House, Allegheny West

Half a block deep, four storeys tall, and one room wide—that is the adaptation railroad magnate Harry Darlington made to build a big mansion on a tiny lot. This narrow but substantial Romanesque pile was built in about 1890.

To the left of it is the Holmes house, about which more soon.

January 16, 2022
Sweetgum Fruits

The unmistakable dried seedpods of Liquidambar styriciflua on the ground in the West Park arboretum. Sweetgum is not native to our area—its range ends a little south of us—but it is so widely planted that it is one of our more common trees.

January 15, 2022