Few Pittsburghers from between the rivers ever find their way into the West End, but there are some minor architectural treasures to be seen there. This interesting terra-cotta front faces Main Street at the corner of Wabash Street.
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Art Deco in the West End
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Art Deco Row, East Liberty, 1999
East Liberty was down on its luck at the end of the twentieth century, but this row was still filled. The buildings have not changed much since then, fortunately, since this is one of the better Art Deco streetscapes in Pittsburgh, which never really embraced Art Deco as much as many other cities did. Surprisingly enough, Sam’s (no longer Bostonian) Shoes is still here; the terra-cotta tiles have disappeared from the front of that building. Its neighbor Anthon’s is also still in business. Most of the rest of the businesses in the row have changed, but the buildings are still there, and since East Liberty is a trendy neighborhood now, they have a good chance of preservation.
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World War II Memorial at St. Basil’s
A modestly late-Art-Deco memorial to St. Basil’s parishioners who served in World War II. It remembers their service in the war, but its message is “PAX.”
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Pigeons and Eagles
Pigeons gather on the Mount Lebanon Municipal Building, happily oblivious to the Art Deco eagles.
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Art Deco Masks
The auditorium of Allegheny High School on the North Side was built in 1936, at the height of the Art Deco era. There are three exits, and the architect’s scheme demanded a relief over each one. So we have Art Deco interpretations of the three masks of the classical theater: Comedy. Tragedy, and Meh.
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Art Deco Details in Mount Lebanon
Colorful Art Deco ornament on a building in the Washington Road business district, the Pittsburgh area’s most thoroughly Art Deco neighborhood.
These splendid details are on a building that, at first glance, seems utterly undistinguished. A bit of sensitive restoration to the storefronts could emphasize the Art Deco character of the building and make it more of an ornament to its streetscape.
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Washington Road at Alfred Street, Mount Lebanon
Art Deco buildings line Washington Road at Alfred Street, which is about the center of the Uptown business district in Mount Lebanon. (“Uptown” in southwestern Pennsylvania is the common term for a downtown business district that happens to be on a hill.)
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Art Deco Planter at County Airport
Two Art Deco planters flank the entrance to the Allegheny County Airport terminal. They bear plaques emblematic of aviation: planes, propellers, and eagles.
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Allegheny County Airport
The Art Deco terminal was built in 1931 to a design by Stanley Roush, with additions in 1936 by Henry Hornbostel. At that time this was the largest airport in the world.
Because a new airport opened in the western suburbs right after the Second World War, this is one of the few nearly unchanged prewar airport terminals in the world, and it has played in period-piece movies.
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Art Deco Doorway
