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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Torath Chaim Congregation, East Liberty
Some work has been going on at this abandoned synagogue, so perhaps it will find a new purpose. The abstract menorah (it once had electric light bulbs for candles) and irregular horizontal stone date it to the middle twentieth century. But although you wouldn’t know it from the front, this is really a luxurious early-1900s private house with a modernist façade grafted on.
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St. Mary of the Mount at Sunrise
The first rays of morning sun strike St. Mary of the Mount Church on Mount Washington.
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Staghorn Sumac
It is difficult to pick a favorite tree for bright fall colors, but the Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) is certainly one of the champions for brightness and variety. It is sometimes confused with the invasive Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), also known as Pittsburgh Palm or Tree from Hell; but fall quickly distinguishes them. The leaves of Tree of Heaven just turn sickly yellow, or drop before they turn any color at all. Staghorn Sumac is a native, and like most Northeastern trees it seems to take pride in its autumnal display.
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Corner House, South Side
Remarkable mostly for its unremarkableness, this little house in the back streets of the South Side is a good demonstration of how to keep an old house (it might be 150 years old or more) tastefully up to date.
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Old Stable, Shadyside
With the limited research he was willing to put into it, old Pa Pitt was not able to confirm his impression that this building on Elmer Street was once a stable. But it certainly has the look of a stable. Well into the early twentieth century, the city was full of stables where the thousands of draft horses that pulled every kind of conveyance were kept.
