Tag: Berkshire Avenue

  • A Few Houses on Berkshire Avenue, Brookline

    1001 Berkshire Avenue

    Brookline is a museum of early-twentieth-century middle-class housing. You can stop almost anywhere in the neighborhood and find an eclectic mixture of houses in interesting styles—many of them altered over the years, but usually a few in nearly original condition. Here are five quite different houses from half a block of Berkshire Avenue, beginning with a solid-looking brick bungalow.

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    1001
    1003

    This stone Tudor is the most recent house in our collection; it probably dates from the late 1930s.

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    1011

    A typical Pittsburgh Foursquare in form, but with the somewhat unusual variation of a shingled second floor.

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    1023

    A Craftsman cottage that would have looked even more Craftsman with its original three-over-one windows.

    1025
    Kodak EasyShare Max Z990.

    A more unusual form of Craftsman cottage whose carved wooden brackets are well preserved. If the porch rail is not original, it is a well-chosen replacement that fits with the spirit of the house. Painting the aluminum awnings to match the trim makes them almost attractive.


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  • A Marble House in Brookline? Well, Almost…

    Mrs. Mary M. Otterman house, Brookline, Pittsburgh

    The white facing blocks of this house set it apart from its neighbors, and from most other houses in Pittsburgh. Are they stone? Are they concrete? Well, mostly concrete, but a bit of both.

    Mrs. Mary M. Otterman house, Brookline, Pittsburgh

    When the house was going up, it attracted some attention for its novel material. From the Gazette Times, December 20, 1914:

    MARBLE DUST WITH CEMENT.

    New Brookline House Discloses Novelty in Material Used.

    A house nearing completion in Brookline, attracting much attention, is the home being erected by Mrs. Mary M. Otterman, on Berkshire avenue, near Castlegate avenue. Its construction is hollow tile, veneered on the outside with white “marble” blocks. These blocks are made on the premises by the use of a molding machine, the material used being white cement and marble dust. While this method of construction is not expensive, it has a very beautiful effect. The white “marble” walls, with rich brown trim and colored roof, make it one of the most attractive homes in the South Hills. The property is being visited dally by architects, contractors and prospective builders and no doubt many “marble” veneer houses will be built around Pittsburgh in the early spring.

    Mrs. Mary M. Otterman house, Brookline, Pittsburgh

    Well, it’s surprising how few of these “marble” houses we do see around Pittsburgh. It may be that architects and contractors missed out on a good idea. Here it is, 111 years later, and the “marble” blocks are still in perfect shape.

    Mrs. Mary M. Otterman house, Brookline, Pittsburgh
    Mrs. Mary M. Otterman house, Brookline, Pittsburgh
    616 Berkshire Avenue
    Olympus E-20N.

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