This old sign is still fairly clear on the back of a peculiarly triangular building on Liberty Avenue. You can see it from the Diamond; it’s just off Forbes Avenue over the little alley called Delray Street.
-
Tunnel Park
Tunnel Park is a strip of green on the river side of the SouthSide Works development. The name comes from the fact that there is a railroad tunnel beneath the green. And here is the entrance to the tunnel, which is not very picturesque but is something of a curiosity.
-
Monongahela House
Back in the 1800s the Monongahela House was Pittsburgh’s first-class hotel. Charles Dickens stayed here, which was not enough to give him a good impression of the city. The hotel went through several incarnations; this is how it looked in 1888.
Source: Allegheny County Centennial.
-
Standard Life Building
This Fourth Avenue tower is smaller than some of the others, but just as splendid as its most ostentatious neighbors. It was designed by Alden and Harlow in their usual exquisite taste.
-
Pittsburgh Piety, by David Gilmour Blythe
Old Pa Pitt does not know what church this is meant to represent, but he suspects a Presbyterian church: the preacher is clearly the main attraction, but the Gothic details suggest the commercial wealth that Pittsburgh Presbyterians have traditionally been known for. This painting hangs on the wall of Blythe paintings at the Carnegie; the curators date it 1860-1862.
-
First Baptist Church
The First Baptist Church in Oakland was designed by Bertram Goodhue, a disciple of Ralph Adams Cram, the greatest figure in American Gothic architecture.
-
Morse School
Now part of the Morse Gardens apartments, this fine-looking 1874 school was designed by T. D. Evans, who also designed the similar Springfield School in the Strip, St. Adalbert’s School a few blocks away on the South Side, and the McNally Building downtown.1 The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
- In the original version of the article, Father Pitt had said that he knew nothing about T. D. Evans, but he has learned more since then. ↩︎
-
Reliefs on the City-County Building
On the left, the arms of Allegheny County; on the right, the arms of the City of Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County.
Pittsburgh.
Addendum: The sculptures are by Charles Keck, who also worked with architect Henry Hornbostel on numerous other buildings, including Soldiers and Sailors Hall.
-
Gargoyle on the Marine Bank Building
Frederick Osterling designed the small but splendid Marine Bank Building on Smithfield Street at Third Avenue. This gargoyle on the corner is old Pa Pitt’s favorite gargoyle in Pittsburgh.
One response
-
Carvings on the Mt. Lebanon Municipal Building
The Art Deco architecture of the Mount Lebanon Municipal Building demanded Art Deco ornamentation. Old Pa Pitt is not quite sure what the standing heads along the cornice are meant to be. He suspects either crusaders or golems.
