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Father Pitt in Winston-Salem

A little while ago, Father Pitt found himself in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for three days with a bag of cameras and nothing to do but walk around. It’s a city made for walking, and the result was hundreds of pictures. The obvious thing to do was to set up a separate subdomain to publish them in a similar style to the main site here. Old Pa Pitt is still sorting through the pictures, but since there are already more than sixty articles over there, now is a good time to make a public announcement of Father Pitt in Winston-Salem.

March 15, 2025
Store and Apartments by S. A. Hall, Oakland
This building at the corner of Forbes Avenue and Craig Street was designed by S. A. Hall in 1904.¹ It still holds down its corner very well, and most of the original details are preserved—including the art-glass transoms.

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.
1. Source: Pittsburg Press, April 26, 1904. “Architect S. A. Hall has awarded to the Iron City Construction Co. the contract for the erection of a two-story brick and stone store and apartment building on the corner of Craig and Forbes streets for George A. Charles. The structure will cost $25,000.” The building ended up with three floors instead of two, but Mr. Charles is shown as owner of the property on plat maps. Thanks to David Schwing for the information. ↩︎
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March 15, 2025
South Hills Trust Company, Mount Washington

Built as a bank and still operating as a bank, this is a little building that gets the message right. It did not have the budget for stone, but the blond Kittanning brick gives it the color of stone, and the simple classical arches convey the impression of a rich and substantial bank where your money will be safe.

Note how the definition of “South Hills” has changed since this bank was built on Shiloh Street, just a block back from Grandview Avenue.

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

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March 15, 2025
Resurrection School, Brookline
John T. Comès, perhaps Pittsburgh’s greatest contribution to ecclesiastical architecture, designed this school in 1909.¹ As often happened in growing parishes, it was meant to serve as the church as well until a bigger sanctuary could be built (which finally happened in 1939). The upper floor was added in 1912, and wings (invisible from the front) were added after Comès died by the Kauzor Brothers, one of whom had briefly been Comès’ partner. Today the school has been turned into retirement apartments without much change to the exterior.

Canon PowerShot SX150IS.
1. Source: A very thorough Chronology of Resurrection Parish published in 1934. ↩︎
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March 14, 2025
Let Spear Feather Your Nest

For a century, this section of Penn Avenue was the furniture district, and Spear and Company had one of the largest stores. The building was designed by Charles Bickel, who festooned it with terra cotta in blue and white.

The picture above comes from 1915. The original is at Historic Pittsburgh; Father Pitt has brightened the shadows a little to bring out more detail.

Nikon COOLPIX P100.

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March 13, 2025
Church of the Annunciation Convent, Perry South

Edward J. Hergenroeder, who worked with Benno Janssen on the school for Annunciation Parish, was the architect of this convent, built in 1928. The style is a sort of modernized Gothic, though the crenellations in the peak at the end of the building look back to the middle 1800s. The building is now home to Angels’ Place, so it is well kept.

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March 12, 2025
Houses on Cola Street, Mount Washington

Cola Street was originally called Coal Street, but at some point there was a transposition of letters. It clings to the edge of Mount Washington, and it was originally built up with the cheapest grade of frame houses. Some of those houses have been adapted to expensive eyries for Pittsburghers who want the most dramatic view of the city; they have been joined by newer houses also specialized for sucking in as much view as possible. Below, a local architect’s own home, perhaps his childhood dream house that he finally prospered enough to build for himself.

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

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March 11, 2025
St. Mary’s Priory, Dutchtown

Built in 1888 to house the priests from the adjacent St. Mary’s Church, this is now the Priory Hotel.

Sony Alpha 3000; Nikon COOLPIX P100.

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March 10, 2025
Exchange Way

Exchange Way is an ancient alley that has served the backs of buildings on Liberty Avenue and Penn Avenue for two centuries or more. It has never been completely continuous, and a two-block interruption caused the name of the stub of the alley that branched off Cecil Way to be forgotten, so that it was renamed Charette Way when the Pittsburgh Architectural Club opened a clubhouse with its entrance on the alley. But originally that alley was part of Exchange Way, too.

A good alley is a symphony of textures, and some of Father Pitt’s favorite pictures are black-and-white photographs of alleys.

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March 10, 2025
Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische St. Paulus Kirche, Uptown

The last time we looked at this church, it was undergoing some renovation. Here it is with a fresh coat of paint. It was perhaps a shame to cover up the original blond bricks, but in a transitional neighborhood like Uptown, paint is certainly the easiest way to keep a building looking sharp and fresh. The painting was done with care to leave the stone trim unpainted, and the church looks very good.

This church was also known as Second German Lutheran, and to English-speaking neighbors it was known as the Dutch Lutheran Church. It now belongs to an Anglican ministry called Shepherd’s Heart.

Fujifilm FinePix HS10.

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March 9, 2025