Father Pitt

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The Grand Lady of Sheffield Street, Manchester

Update: This house has a whole history written by the late Carol J. Peterson (PDF), so old Pa Pitt has more information now. The house was built between 1872 and 1877; it was built as a double house, and divided into six apartments by 1910. The article as originally written follows.

Father Pitt does not know the whole history of this building. It was probably built in the 1870s, though a change of outlines on the map between 1882 and 1890 may indicate that it was enlarged then. It appears as a double house on the old maps, though always under single ownership, so perhaps the single entrance is newer, from the time it was converted to apartments. It is certainly a grand example of the Italianate manner.

Konica-Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

April 19, 2024
Waxing Gibbous Moon

Fujifilm FinePix HS10.

With Calvary Methodist Church, Allegheny West, in the foreground.

April 19, 2024
A Stony Row on Liverpool Street, Manchester

Kodak EasyShare Z1285.

This row of stone-fronted houses is a good example of late-Victorian eclecticism. The heavy rustic stone and elaborate foliage decorations say “Romanesque,” but the porch columns have “modern Ionic” capitals typical of the Renaissance. And it all works together just fine, though it might give an architectural pedant hives.

Nikon COOLPIX P100.

The stonecarving was probably done by Achille Giammartini, who lived a few blocks away on Page Street.

Hiding in the shadows is a whimsical grotesque face that may remind us of somebody we know.

Note the old address, 185, carved in stone beside the door to what is now 1305 Liverpool Street. The addresses in Manchester changed at about the time Allegheny was taken into Pittsburgh.

April 19, 2024
Backlit Tulips

Because there’s no such thing as too many tulips.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6.

April 18, 2024
Tulips

April 18, 2024
Buena Vista Street, Mexican War Streets

Buena Vista Street is typical of the Mexican War Streets, which are themselves typical of many neighborhoods in the old city of Allegheny, though better preserved than most of the others. There are elegant middle-class rowhouses, churches, small shops, and small apartment buildings, all mixed side by side, as neighborhoods tended to develop in the age before zoning laws.

Nikon COOLPIX P100.

This small apartment building had its balconies filled in to make sunrooms early in its history, probably in the 1920s or thereabouts.

Sony Alpha 3000 with 7Artisans 35mm f/1.4 lens.

April 18, 2024
Victorian Commercial Building on Sarah Street, South Side

Formerly a storefront with apartments above, but the storefront—as with many backstreet stores—has been converted to another apartment. The well-preserved Victorian details are picked out with a colorful but tasteful paint scheme.

Kodak EasyShare Z981.

April 17, 2024
Chimney Pots in Manchester

Nikon COOLPIX P100.

April 17, 2024
J & K Building, Allegheny West

This building, in a Deco Gothic style, appears to have been part of the Western Theological Seminary, and perhaps an expert in Allegheny West history can shed some light on it. Old Pa Pitt published a picture of it once before, but recently he noticed the concrete flaking away from the obliterated date stones by the door.

This is the stone to the right of the door. The date was purposely obliterated (why do people do that?), but it is clearly legible now through the later layer of concrete: 1933, which, judging by the architectural style, would be just right for the date of the building itself.

The stone to the left of the door bore the date 1872, and Father Pitt must admit to being ignorant of its significance. It is not one of the various dates usually claimed as the foundation of the Western Theological Seminary, which in 1884 claimed to have been founded in 1825. Perhaps a historian from its successor, the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, can enlighten us.

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

This floral ornamentation is carved in the stone that frames the main entrance.

April 16, 2024
Ziegler Block, Mexican War Streets

Composite of six photographs.

This substantial building in the narrow Mexican War Streets was probably put up in the 1890s; it belonged to I. Ziegler from the beginning of the twentieth century at least through 1923, and it was built on land marked as belonging to F. Ziegler in 1890. It is a whole little civilization unto itself, with a three substantial rowhouses, two storefronts, and apartments.

Nikon COOLPIX P100.

Sony Alpha 3000 with 7Artisans 35mm f/1.4 lens.

April 16, 2024