Father Pitt

Tag: Milligan & Miller

  • Graff Building, Wilkinsburg

    Graff Building, front elevation

    This is an unusually interesting building, and old Pa Pitt wishes he could say something more definite about it than that. It was built in 1912, and it bears a plaque from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation saying it is “attributed to Frederick Scheibler.” However, Scheibler’s biographer Martin Aurand lists it among the “misattributions,” and old Pa Pitt’s eye sees nothing Scheiblery about it, other than that it is a striking building in an East End neighborhood.

    Central section

    Since the construction listings we have found mention no architect, saying only that it was built for the General Improvement Co. of Wilkinsburg, Father Pitt will either have to remain silent or indulge in wild speculation. And since remaining silent has never been among his virtues, Father Pitt will suggest that Wilkinsburg’s own Milligan & Miller might have been the architects. They designed numerous apartment buildings in Wilkinsburg and nearby; they watched the latest trends from Chicago and adapted them to local tastes; they liked broad eaves like the ones on this building; and several of their buildings have a narrow masonry stripe setting off the top floor.

    Balcony and French doors

    The huge bright French doors with surrounding windows are the most distinctive feature of this building.

    Graff Building
    Graff Building
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS; Samsung Galaxy A15 5G.
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  • South Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, Wilkinsburg

    South Avenue United Methodist Church

    Wilkinsburg’s own Milligan & Miller were the architects of this church, built in 1907.1

    South Avenue United Methodist Church
    Arcaded porch

    Old Pa Pitt’s favorite features of this church are the arcaded porches, like medieval cloisters, on both sides of the building.

    Porch

    The wheelchair ramp on this side was added with good taste (and a high budget).

    Date stones: Wilkinsburg M. E. Church, built 1878; Methodist Episcopal Church Built A. D. 1843; Organized 1832

    Cornerstones from the previous churches are set in the wall under the roof of the right-hand porch.

    Porch
    South Avenue United Methodist Church
    Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

    We also have some monochrome pictures of the South Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church.

    1. “Old Town of Aspect All Modern,” Pittsburg Press, July 14, 1907. “One of the most important additions to the structural beauty of the place 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.” ↩︎
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  • 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.

  • 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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