Fifth Avenue Place looms over the Diamond (which is spelled “Market Square,” but pronounced “Diamond”). At night, the needle at the top is illuminated from below, so it looks as if the building is about to emit a space probe.
-
Pigeons
Downtown Pittsburgh can be as crowded for pigeons as it is for people. This tree bears its strange avian fruit in Mellon Square.
-
Ornamental Ironwork on the William Penn
An ornate iron grille on the side of the William Penn Hotel. Even in the most prosaic things, beauty and function can get along happily together. —An update: The architect of the William Penn was Benno Jassen, whose favorite ironwork artist was Samuel Yellin. Although old Pa Pitt has not been able to find any reference to the artist who made them, he believes that these grilles are probably Yellin’s work.
-
Rare Surviving Victorian Lettering
The demolition of a building on Forbes Avenue downtown laid bare not only a splendid canvas for some rather unimaginative graffiti, but also half of a painted sign for a Victorian cafe that once occupied this spot. The part that survives is in an extraordinary state of preservation, so we can appreciate the rakish backslant of the bold but ornate letters that spell out “–mmel’s Cafe.”
-
Artist’s Market
The Three Rivers Arts Festival opened yesterday. Here we see the artist’s market behind the fountain at Gateway Center.
-
Frick Park Gatehouse
In the early evening, the Frick Park gatehouse at Reynolds Street and Homewood Avenue seems like the portal to an enchanted forest.
-
Robert Burns and Phipps Conservatory
Robert Burns stands guard in front of the Victoria Room at Phipps Conservatory. Schenley Park is full of unexpected statues around every corner.
-
A Bank in Lawrenceville
If you worship Mammon, here is your temple. This classical gem of a bank, built in 1903, refuses to allow its small size to curtail its Renaissance luxury.
-
Dame’s Rocket
Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) lights up the hillsides of Pittsburgh in late spring. Pittsburghers commonly refer to it as “phlox,” but it’s actually a member of the crucifer or mustard family, as you might guess by its four petals in a cross shape. It’s a foreign invader, a descendant of garden flowers brought by the first European settlers. But who can object to a weed as beautiful as this? The flowers commonly come in a range of colors from vivid purple through pink to white, but some patches have bicolor flowers delicately spattered with color in an infinite variety of patterns.
-
Phipps Hall of Botany
Tucked behind Phipps Conservatory, this grand little building houses an auditorium, some classrooms, and a huge portrait of Henry Phipps given by his friend Andrew Carnegie.
The delightful fountain in front is a recent installation, but looks like it belongs with the building.