Father Pitt

Tag: Island Avenue

  • House from the 1880s in McKees Rocks

    Kodak EasyShare Z1285.

    In the 1880s, the old Lorenz Hufnagle property was sold off in lots and built over with little frame houses like this.

    1890 Hopkins plat map with this house circled
    1890 Hopkins plat map with this house circled. Frame houses are yellow on these maps; brick houses are red.

    Later, when Island Avenue became a commercial district, the little frame houses were replaced by storefronts and apartment buildings—except this one, which survived almost unaltered. At some point it was sheathed in diamond asbestos-cement shingles, which are nearly perfectly preserved. It would probably cost a fortune to remove them because of the asbestos, but in this stable state they pose no danger.

  • Two Commercial Buildings in McKees Rocks

    908–914 Island Avenue

    In its prime, this Renaissance palace on Island Avenue had four storefronts on the ground floor and three floors of apartments above. The storefronts have also been turned into apartments, but in a cheap way that could probably be reversed when McKees Rocks is prosperous again. The building is still in pretty good shape, and the details are worth appreciating, for which reason we give you a very large picture above. Old Pa Pitt especially likes the round and oval windows in the stairwells.

    Perspective view
    907 Island Avenue

    Across the street is a smaller building whose storefronts have also been turned into apartments, but with even less alteration. The big display windows are still there. It’s easy to imagine the ground floor becoming trendy little shops again in that rosy future when Island Avenue is a busy commercial street once more.