Father Pitt

Tag: Milligan & Miller

  • Trinity Reformed Church, Wilkinsburg

    Trinity Reformed Church

    Wilkinsburg used to call itself “City of Churches,” and it still has a denser concentration of great church architecture than almost any other neighborhood or borough. This one is battered but still hanging on, now as the Arc of the Covenant Church. The building dates from 1896–1897; the architect mentioned in contemporary listings was Elmer B. Milligan,1 who would soon take on Francis M. Miller as a partner—probably while this church was under construction, since a fortieth-anniversary program names Milligan & Miller as the architects.

    Porch with inscription
    Porch
    Octagonal lantern

    The colossal octagonal lantern is the most striking feature of the church: there’s nothing else like it in Wilkinsburg.

    Trinity Reformed Church
    Trinity Reformed Church
    Trinity Reformed Church
    Sony Alpha 3000; Fujifilm FinePix HS10.
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  • South Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, Wilkinsburg

    South Avenue United Methodist Church

    Wilkinsburg’s own Milligan & Miller designed this rambling Gothic church, which is still in use by its original congregation, now South Avenue United Methodist. “One of the most important additions to the structural beauty of the place,” said a 1907 Pittsburg Press feature on Wilkinsburg,1 “will be the new South Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, which is to replace the old burned down last February. It is to cost $125,000 and will be one of the finest church buildings in the community. The construction is under the charge of Architects Milligan & Miller, who designed the plans.”

    South Avenue United Methodist Church
    Entrance
    Lantern

    Impressive stone lanterns flank the front steps.

    Cloister
    Olympus E-20N; Nikon COOLPIX P100.

    An arcaded porch after the manner of a medieval cloister runs along the side.

    1. “Old Town of Aspect All Modern,” Press, July 14, 1907. ↩︎
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