Father Pitt

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Twentieth Century Club, Oakland

The Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh once was filled with elite clubs. Many of the buildings have been absorbed by the ever-expanding University of Pittsburgh, but the Twentieth Century Club—a name that sounded dashing and futuristic when the club was founded in 1894—remains, still a private women’s club. The building is larger than it looks, and the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh has been staging its summer season here for the past few years.

Every so often, Father Pitt rifles through his archives and finds perfectly good pictures that, for one reason or another, he never got around to publishing. This one was taken in October of 2013.

Camera: Konica-Minolta DiMAGE Z3.

September 15, 2015
Skyline and Sixteenth Street Bridge

From the shore of the Allegheny. The immensity of the U. S. Steel Tower is particularly obvious from this angle.

Camera: Konica-Minolta DiMAGE Z3.

September 15, 2015
North Zion Lutheran Church, Baldwin Borough

North Zion Lutheran Church is about a mile due south of Zion Lutheran Church in Baldwin Borough. Father Pitt will leave worrying about the cardinal directions to foreigners; Pittsburghers expect everything to be turned upside-down or sideways. The main part of the little church was built in 1859, and the congregation that inhabits it has been here for more than two centuries. Burials in the graveyard adjacent go back to 1812, but the earliest legible tombstones seem to be from the 1840s.

Camera: Olympus E-20n.

September 15, 2015
Armstrong Cork Factory from the River

Frederick Osterling, one of Pittsburgh’s most interesting architects, designed the Armstrong Cork Company buildings, a masterpiece of functional yet attractive industrial architecture. They have now been turned into expensive loft apartments. You can see the buildings from a different angle here.

September 14, 2015
Locust Borer

This colorful beetle (Megacyllene robiniae) is very destructive to locust trees in its larval stage; but since Pittsburgh has an infinite supply of locust trees, we need not worry about it. Probably these creatures are the only things that keep the locust trees from taking over and imposing martial law. The adult beetle looks very dashing in its striped livery. It eats goldenrod pollen, which means that our Locust Borers are very happy right now.

Camera: Konica-Minolta DiMAGE Z3.

September 13, 2015
Scattered Showers

A shower hits downtown, as seen from the 31st Street Bridge. The rain moved rapidly eastward, leaving Father Pitt not quite enough time to walk to the end of the bridge with his dignity intact. But he kept the camera dry, which is the important thing.

Camera: Konica-Minolta DiMAGE Z3.

September 13, 2015
Misty Morning

Camera: Canon PowerShot A540 (hacked). The panorama at top is made from six photographs.

September 12, 2015
Siemens SD-400 Trolley

Here are two pictures especially for trolley geeks. These 4200-series Siemens cars (this one is number 4232) were bought in the 1980s and completely rebuilt in the 2000s. They make up about two-thirds of the fleet. They are very similar to the later CAF cars, but easily distinguished by the two headlights in the center (rather than at the sides) and the “cyclops eye” high beam mounted on the roof. Of course, they are also easily distinguished by being numbered in the 4200 series; the CAF cars make up the 4300 series. This car is southbound on the Red Line, heading for central Beechview.

The picture above gives us a good look at what old Pa Pitt calls the “Pittsburgh door,” the extra street-level doors that have to be added to all Pittsburgh trolleys to deal with our odd combination of platform-level stations and street-level stops.

Camera: Canon PowerShot A540 (hacked).

September 11, 2015
First Presbyterian Church

Composite picture, about 36 megapixels.

This splendid Gothic church sits on Sixth Avenue right next to Trinity Cathedral (Anglican/Episcopal) and right across from the Duquesne Club, forming a perfect triangle of old money. The architect was Theophilus P. Chandler, Jr., who also designed Third Presbyterian in Shadyside and the Duncan mausoleum in the Union Dale Cemetery.

An interesting feature of the front is the outdoor pulpit, perfectly positioned for thundering denunciations at the rich robber barons coming out of the Duquesne Club. But that never happens.

Camera: Olympus E-20n.

September 10, 2015
Cluster of Skyscrapers

September 7, 2015