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Brighton Theater, California-Kirkbride
One of the most exuberantly gaudy Art Deco façades in Pittsburgh is in a neighborhood almost no one ever visits. Fortunately things are looking up in California-Kirkbride—or Calbride as it’s called by denizens—which was once a notoriously bad neighborhood. Restoration mania has taken root in the Old Allegheny Rows Historic District, spilling over from the Mexican War Streets and Allegheny West nearby. Meanwhile, this building is preserved by lucky economics: it houses a letter-carriers’ union and some other tenants who will keep it standing without spending the money to change its appearance significantly. According to comments on this page at Cinema Treasures, the theater was built in 1928, replacing an earlier Brighton Theater on Brighton Road (this one is on the parallel Brighton Place).

The architect’s scheme called for three masks to decorate the central section, so we have one Comedy and two Tragedies. And don’t miss the thoroughly Art Deco elephants on the corners:

Addendum: The architects were Rubin & Veshancy;¹ the theater opened toward the end of 1928.²
1. “Plan New Theater for Center Avenue,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, November 20, 1927. ↩︎
2. “North Side’s Newest Playhouse to Open Soon,” Pittsburgh Press, November 4, 1928. ↩︎
August 8, 2019
Reflections Along Liberty Avenue

EQT Plaza reflected in the K & L Gates Center, and the Keenan Building and the Clark Building reflected in Two PNC Plaza.

Camera: Samsung Digimax V4.

August 8, 2019
St. Casimir’s High School

Like most of the other schools on the South Side Flats, this one has been converted to loft apartments. Externally, though, the building has changed very little.

August 6, 2019
The Kaufmann’s Clock

For decades this clock, on the Kaufmann’s department store at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street, marked the busiest corner of Pittsburgh’s retail district. “Under the clock” was the designated meeting-place downtown, and Kaufmann’s premier restaurant was called the Tic-Toc in its honor.

The Kaufmann’s building (like everything else) is being redeveloped as condominium apartments, and the clock is featured prominently in the advertising art.

August 3, 2019
Polish School, South Side

This old Polish school on 15th Street, built in 1898, was attached to St. Adalbert’s, the big Polish parish just down the street.

August 2, 2019
Caryatids on the Dollar Bank Building

These unusual grotesque caryatid pilasters are seldom noticed by visitors admiring the famous Dollar Bank lions, but they add to the impression of Victorian exuberance in the Dollar Bank’s façade.

August 1, 2019
Roses of Sharon

Roses of Sharon are literally weeds in the city, though often planted as ornamentals. The colors are quite variable when they grow from seed. These were all volunteer seedlings that grew into prosperous bushes.

August 1, 2019
The Royal (and Its Neighbor)

The Royal was one of at least four movie houses on the South Side. From the architectural style we can guess that it was one of the earlier ones, dating from the silent era. These two buildings are currently under restoration.

July 30, 2019
Sweeping the Cathedral Steps

In old-postcard colors, a view of the front steps of St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland.

July 30, 2019
St. George’s Serbian Orthodox Church, South Side

Like most of the other churches on the South Side, this one—at 15th and Roland Streets—has been repurposed, in this case as a studio. But its outward appearance has hardly changed.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/export/embed.html?bbox=-79.98922348022462%2C40.42605029552272%2C-79.97725009918214%2C40.430787137931915&layer=mapnik&marker=40.42841875843012%2C-79.98323678970337

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July 29, 2019