Built in 1883, this church now belongs to the New Bethel Baptist Church. It is typical of its era, but unusual in preserving its octagonal steeple.
For some reason these pictures got lost in the piles of photographs old Pa Pitt is always stacking up here and there. They were taken in September of 2022.
Perhaps Father Pitt held off on publishing these pictures because he was debating whether he should do something about that jungle of utility cables. The cables won that debate.
Oakmont is very proud of its Victorian houses, most of which bear plaques with “circa” (in the common American meaning of “here comes a date”) and the date of the construction. But many other styles are represented in Oakmont, from Edwardian through 1920s fairy-tale and 1960s modern—and many of these other houses are excellent examples of their own styles. Here is a little album that will suggest the variety of domestic architecture to be found in Oakmont.
Cameras: Sony Alpha 3000; Fujifilm FinePix HS10.
Chinatown in Pittsburgh was an almost stiflingly dense neighborhood that was virtually destroyed when the Boulevard of the Allies ramp was built. Nevertheless, a number of Chinese merchants and organizations rebuilt on Court Place, the new street along the base of the ramp. This building was designed by Sidney F. Heckert, otherwise known as a reliable architect of Catholic schools and churches. It goes right through from Court Place (above) to Third Avenue (below), and for many decades it has been the home of the Chinatown Inn, the only remaining Chinese business in Chinatown.
Columbus Avenue is at the ragged back end of Manchester, where there are still many crumbling and abandoned buildings. This one, however, has been beautifully restored; it is the home of a marketing company that obviously sees the value in having a landmark building for its headquarters.
Acute-angled intersections are common in Pittsburgh, and in business districts they produce some odd-shaped buildings. This one in Point Breeze has been tastefully modernized with an eye for what is most distinctive about it. The oriel over the entrance on the corner is especially appealing.
Crescent Drive is just a block and a half long, but it has the broad assortment of styles that makes the whole Beverly Heights plan such a delight to wander in. Here’s an album of houses on the street.
You might think this was a building that had been abandoned a century ago and somehow pickled in an unusually intact state (though a few bricks have crumbled off the top). But in fact the Allegheny Auto Spring Co. is still in business, still serving the people who need auto springs and need them done well. The painted signs are legible, so why replace them? Thus we have a glimpse of the Pittsburgh of the early automobile age surviving into the twenty-first century.
The building itself predates the current business. It was probably built in the 1890s; in the early 1900s it appears on old maps marked “Wisconsin Granite Co. Lessee”; in 1910 it is marked “Paint Whs.”; and in 1923 “Thompson & Co.” Old Pa Pitt does not know when the Allegheny Auto Spring Co. moved in, but it has to have been a couple of generations ago at the latest.
A deservedly popular ground cover often seen in Pittsburgh, noted for its silvery foliage and its carpet of pure white flowers in May and June.
A rich-looking little bank dripping with terra-cotta ornaments on the façade. It later became the headquarters of the Pan-Icarian Brotherhood, a fraternal society whose membership “is open to anyone over 18 years of age (or their spouse) whose ancestry can be traced to the eastern Aegean Greek islands of Icaria or Fournoi.” These two islands made up an independent country, the Free State of Icaria, for a few months in 1912—which, by an odd coincidence, is the year this bank was built. The Pan-Icarian Brotherhood was founded in Verona; it now has a number of other chapters around the country.
