Father Pitt

Tag: Gothic Architecture

  • Mifflin Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, Regent Square

    Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church

    Still serving its original congregation, now as the Mifflin Avenue United Methodist Church. This church in the Wilkinsburg quarter of Regent Square, a single neighborhood divided among four municipalities, was built in 1923. The architect was Victor A. Rigaumont, who would later become nationally famous as a reliable designer of Art Deco movie palaces. Perhaps we can see a little Hollywood sensibility already in this church: the design is more flamboyant than the usual corner-tower Gothic church, and the huge Gothic arch that includes both the three front entrance doors and the windows above them is more like a set designer’s fantasy Gothic than a pedantically correct interpretation of medieval forms.

    Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church
    Entrance
    Door
    Lantern
    Basement door of the Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church

    Note the signature above this tiny basement door: “V. A. Rigaumont R. A. Architect.”

    Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church
    Entrance to the education wing

    The education wing was built thirteen years earlier, in 1910; the architects were Wilkinsburg’s own Milligan & Miller. The older building was used as the worship space until the main church was built.

    Mifflin Avenue M. E. Church
    Sony Alpha 3000 with 7Artisans f/1.4 35mm lens; Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

  • Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church (Christ Missionary Baptist Church), Brushton

    Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church

    This charming little church was built in 1912; and, having said that, old Pa Pitt has exhausted his knowledge on the subject. It now belongs to the Christ Missionary Baptist Church, which has kept it in beautiful and nearly original condition, as we can see from this photograph taken just before the dedication in December of 1912.

    Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Brushton, which is to be dedicated tomorrow
    “New Church to Be Dedicated,” Gazette Times, December 7, 1912, p. 2.
    Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church
    Cornerstone
    Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church
    Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church
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  • Second Italian United Presbyterian Church, Brushton

    Second Italian United Presbyterian Church

    This little church was designed by the Hunting-Davis Company, a firm usually associated with warehouses and industrial buildings, for an Italian mission of the United Presbyterian Church.1 It is kept standing as a community center.

    Front of the Promise Center
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
    1. The Construction Record, February 14, 1914: “Architects Hunting-Davis Company, Century building, have preliminary plans in progress for a one-story brick and concrete Italian mission, to be erected on Hamilton avenue, near Hale street, for the Brushton Italian Mission. Cost $12,000.” ↩︎
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  • East Liberty Presbyterian Church

    East Liberty Presbyterian Church

    Like a great European cathedral, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, which Ralph Adams Cram considered his masterpiece, is too huge and complex to take in all at once. We can only appreciate some of the details, and then come back later for more. Here are some views from various spots in East Liberty.

    Spire
    Tower
    Oriel
    Oriel
    Highland Avenue entrance
    Weathercock
    The church from Highland Avenue
    Oriel
    From Penn Avenue
    Tower
    Detail of the tower
    Highland Avenue side
    Dormers
    From Highland and Baum
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • Heinz Chapel, Oakland

    Heinz Chapel

    Heinz Chapel, built over five years from 1933 to 1938, is one of the complex of three great Charles Z. Klauder buildings at the center of the University of Pittsburgh, along with the Cathedral of Learning and the Stephen Foster Memorial. A while ago old Pa Pitt picked out some of the details with a long lens.

    Heinz Chapel
    Heinz Chapel
    Entrance
    Reliefs over the entrance
    Reliefs over the entrance
    Lamb
    Reliefs and Gothic decorations

    The decorations include the arms of various colleges and universities.

    Reliefs and Gothic decorations
    Reliefs and Gothic decorations
    Reliefs and Gothic decorations
    Reliefs and Gothic decorations
    Pinnacle
    Base of the spire
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • Grace Lutheran Church, Troy Hill

    Grace Lutheran Church

    A church crammed into a tiny lot, so that it is as tall as it is long. This is one of the many city churches with the main worship space upstairs, the ground floor being devoted to Sunday-school rooms and offices.

    Cornerstone with date 1894

    The architect was Edward M. Butz, most famous today for the colossal Western Penitentiary.1 The construction was begun in 1894, but the church was built in two stages: at first only the ground floor was put up, with a temporary roof.

    View of the old place of worship

    This was designed as a large open space that, when the main sanctuary was built above it, could be converted to Sunday-school rooms divided by folding doors.

    The congregation grew rapidly, and less than five years later the church was completed.2

    Grace Lutheran in 1899
    Rev. S. T. Nicholas

    A Pittsburg Press article published when the church was dedicated in February of 1899 describes the building:

    The new church is one of the handsomest church buildings in that section of Allegheny. Its dimensions are 60×75, and it is built of red brick with stone trimmings. The style is purely Gothic, and it has beautiful large glass painted windows. The building contains two stories, the lower floor being used for Sunday school purposes. It is divided in seven separate class rooms, which are connected by sliding doors. On this floor also is the pastor’s study. About 450 children are enrolled at present as Sunday school pupils.

    The auditorium is situated in the second story. It has a seating capacity of 500, the seats being arranged in amphitheater style. A bell, which is said to have a more beautiful tone than any other church bell in Allegheny, has been given by William Eberhardt, of the Eberhardt & Ober Brewing company, and it is hoped that Andrew Carnegie will provide a pipe organ for the church. The members recently applied to the generous iron king and hope that their petition will receive favorable consideration.

    Grace Lutheran Church from the side
    Perspective view
    Kodak EasyShare Max Z990; Sony Alpha 3000.
    1. “Grace Lutheran Church,” Commercial Gazette, July 27, 1894, p. 2. “The Grace Lutheran church of Allegheny took out a permit yesterday for the erection of a new church. It is to be located on Tinsbury street, Troy hill and will be a brick structure one story high 45×70 feet. E. M. Butts [sic] is the architect and M. Lemon the contractor. It is estimated to cost about $7,000.” ↩︎
    2. “Troy Hill Church,” Press, February 12, 1899. The illustrations are taken from this article. ↩︎

  • Dilworth School, East Liberty

    Dilworth School

    In 1915 the city of Pittsburgh was on a school-building binge and could hardly find architects to keep up with the demand. Thus there are schools from that era in widely different styles. Here we have a fine example of Collegiate Gothic with just a touch of Art Nouveau. The architects were Vrydaugh & Wolfe, otherwise best known for churches and millionaires’ mansions.

    The Dilworth School ni 1916

    In 1916, when the school was a year old, the architects showed their design and this photograph at the Pittsburgh Architectural Club’s annual exhibition, so we can see that very little has changed about the exterior of the school. The most obvious change is to the windows, which have been replaced with modern windows, the same size as the originals but without the multiple small panes. (The very dark shade of the brick is the result of the film stock of the era, which was not very sensitive to red light.)

    Entrance
    Crest
    Inscription: Dilworth School
    Inscription and terra-cotta decorations
    Main entrance
    Dormer
    Dilworth School
    Sony Alpha 3000; Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Wilkinsburg

    St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

    George Nattress & Sons of Philadelphia were the architects of this church, one of the dwindling number of black stone churches in Pittsburgh. The Nattresses were favorites among Episcopalians. Old Pa Pitt can think of any number of Pittsburgh architects of the era who could have done just as well or better from at least an external point of view, but perhaps the Philadelphians had an innate sense of the rhythm of Episcopalian worship.

    Main entrance
    Wooden doors

    Impressive wooden doors form the main entrance.

    My house shall be called the house of prayer for all people

    The inscription “My house shall be called the house of prayer for all people” is from Isaiah 56:7, which was later quoted by Jesus on the one occasion in his earthly career when he got really angry: the Cleansing of the Temple.

    Black stones of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

    The rough-cut black stones of the front arcade. Old Pa Pitt still thinks the sooty blackness adds dignity to many an otherwise prosaic church, and he encourages congregations that still possess black stone churches to keep their historical soot.

    Tower of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
    Tower entrance
    St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
    Parish house

    The parish house is built of matching stone (or at least the stones matched after a few years of exposure to Pittsburgh’s blackening atmosphere), but the neat frames for the windows and doors give it a more urbane and less rustic appearance.

    Entrance to the parish house
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
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  • Carnegie Free Library, Swissvale

    Inscription: Carnegie Free Library
    Carnegie Free Library

    This charming little Gothic library was designed by Andrew Isles and built in about 1916. Back in February, old Pa Pitt caught it in the middle of a thorough restoration and renovation—and then for some reason forgot about the pictures until now. As he was taking pictures, Swissvale residents walking by stopped to point out how beautiful the library was going to be when the restoration was finished: it was obvious that they love their library, and a borough that loves libraries deserves one like this.

    Carnegie Free Library
    Entrance
    Carnegie Free Library
    Sony Alpha 3000; Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR.
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  • St. Bede Church and School, Point Breeze

    Crest of the school with inscription

    The school was built first, in 1926, so we begin with the school. The architect was William P. Hutchins, who chose the “collegiate Gothic” style to send the twin messages that this was a school and it was Catholic.1

    St. Bede Catholic School
    Entrance to the school
    Entrance

    The congregation, meanwhile, worshiped in a small frame church for more than twenty years. After the Second World War, Leo McMullen was hired to design a new church and school expansion.2 Both the era and McMullen’s taste dictated a simpler style, but the new building fits well with the school to which it is attached.

    St. Bede Church, front elevation

    The pictures of the church are from back in March; the pictures of the school are from last week. Yes, it does sometimes take old Pa Pitt that long—or longer—just to complete a set of pictures.

    Perspective view of the church
    St. Bede statue in niche

    The Venerable Bede was the great light of the Dark Ages, the author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, which is the best source for very early English history. Here he is depicted pausing to think while writing one of his books. Bede was exceptionally good at thinking, which set him apart in the early 700s.

    Face of Bede
    Bede writing
    Bede in his niche
    Entrance and statue
    Entrance
    Sony Alpha 3000; Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.
    1. “St. Bede’s School to Be Dedicated Sunday,” Press, September 3, 1926, p/ 19. “Architecture is of collegiate gothic design by Architect William P Hutchens [sic].” ↩︎
    2. “Tremendous Building Program Looms in Pittsburgh Diocese,” Pittsburgh Catholic, March 28, 1946. “St. Bede’s, Rev. John F. Enright, pastor: Combined school and church building; Leo A. McMullen, architect.” ↩︎
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