Father Pitt

Tag: Monochrome

  • Peoples Building, McKeesport

    Built by the Peoples Union Bank & Trust Company in 1906–1907, this is a perfect miniature Beaux-Arts skyscraper, with base, shaft, cap, and even the bosses’ floor (the third floor) outlined to mark its social importance. The building was abandoned for some time, but its latest buyer seems at least to have stabilized it. We’ll see pictures in natural color later, but for now, old Pa Pitt decided to render it in black and white with a red filter (simulated in the GIMP, which saves ever so much money on optical equipment), giving us a view that almost makes McKeesport look like a thriving and important metropolis again.

    Addendum: The architects were Mowbray & Uffinger, New York specialists in bank buildings.1 The rest of the article follows as originally written when old Pa Pitt did not have that information.

    The history of this building is obscure, like many McKeesport things. Father Pitt was not able to find the architect, though it must have been some well-known figure; and although he has not read of any expansion, it seems clear that the original building had four bays along Fifth Avenue, with the two bays to the right added later. Subtract those two bays, and the Fifth Avenue face would be perfectly symmetrical, with the roof ornament right in the center.

    Most of the people who mention the Peoples Bank on the Internet add the obvious apostrophe to the name, but it appears that the company itself, in line with many similarly named companies, always left out the apostrophe, as we see in this 1894 picture of its earlier building:

    The picture comes from The First One Hundred Years of McKeesport, where it is captioned “The People’s Bank,” with the apostrophe, because sensible people can’t help themselves and feel compelled to correct the name.

    1. Source: Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builders’ Guide, March 21, 1906, p. 181. “At McKeesport, Allegheny Co., the Peoples Bank will erect a building from plans by Architects Mowbray & Uffinger, 92 Liberty street, New York City. The cost will be $100,000. E. W. Pitts is president.” ↩︎

  • The First Crocus of Spring

    The grey background is meant to give an impression of what it feels like to see the first crocus of spring.

  • Outline of the Trimont

    The Trimont apartments on Mount Washington, outlined against winter clouds.

  • Ice Cascade in Banksville

    Icicles

    Every year this cliff face in Banksville grows a beautiful cascade of icicles, and old Pa Pitt has taken pictures of it more than once. Here it is again, and no excuse is necessary.

    Ice cascade

  • The View from Federal Street

    View of Pittsburgh from Federal Street

    Low clouds and rays of sunshine make an atmospheric picture, as seen from Lafayette Hilltop.

  • Backstreet Bar on the South Side

    Cupka’s Café

  • Moody View from the West End Overlook

    View from West End Overlook

    A pair of moody views taken on moody black-and-white film in 1999, probably with an Argus C3.

    Wider view

  • Beechview at Night

    Shiras streetcar stop in Beechview

    A streetcar stop in a quiet residential neighborhood of Pittsburgh after dark.

  • Chartiers Hill United Presbyterian Church in 1999

    Chartiers Hill Church

    The congregation was founded in 1775 by John McMillan; this building was put up in 1840. These pictures were taken with an Argus C3 in 1999. Three years later, while renovation work was in progress, the whole tower end collapsed.

    Chartiers Hill cemetery
    Old front

    The lens on Father Pitt’s old C3 didn’t like being pointed toward the sun, so we have a bit of glare in this picture; but it does show us the old front before it collapsed. It was replaced with a new front, somewhat different but in sympathy with the building, as we see in this picture from 2015.

    New front

  • St. Josaphat’s in Black and White

    Two attempts at arty photography with the old Samsung Digimax V4 set on monochrome mode. We also have more ordinary color pictures of St. Josaphat’s.