The most extraordinary riot of polychrome terra cotta in Pittsburgh greets students coming into this school, still in use as the Catalyst Academy charter school. The architect was Edward Weber, who was commissioned by the Pittsburgh school system’s supervising architect Marion Steen; the school was built in 1937–1938.
On a school that is full of surprises, the second-most-surprising thing is the “five races of man” frieze that runs along the top of the front. In the early twentieth century, it was common to divide the human species into five “races”: African, Asian, Caucasian, American Indian, and Australian. Modern scientists would say that the “five races” theory is untenable, but it was widely accepted in the 1930s, and this school was topped with a visual assertion that it would be for everybody.
Caucasian Man looks quite surprised to find himself stuck in a frieze.
We said that the “five races of man” were the second-most-surprising thing about the school. The most surprising thing is the Aztec or Central American influence in the decoration. It was very rare for American architects to look to the Americas for inspiration, and almost unheard-of in Pittsburgh: the only other significant example old Pa Pitt can think of at the moment is the South Park Golf Club by Henry Hornbostel.
This entrance seems plain after the explosion of terra cotta at the two main entrances, but the details are carefully balanced. Note the textured brickwork, with a brick sticking out at regular intervals to create shadowed detail on what would otherwise be a plain brick wall.
Even the grates are unique works of metal art.
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