Father Pitt

Tag: Scheuneman (Paul)

Fairy-Tale Palace in Cedarhurst Manor, Mount Lebanon

This fairy-tale palace, finished in 1930 or 1931, was designed by Paul Scheuneman, whom old Pa Pitt has already pointed out as a skilled practitioner of what we call the fairy-tale style—see these two houses in Green Tree. This one was featured in the Sun-Telly on Washington’s Birthday in 1931:

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, February 22, 1931. Note how much lighter the stones were when they were new.

“English Design—Caste Brothers, builders, have recently completed this home in Cedarhurst Manor, new residential park on the outskirts of Mt. Lebanon. The architect was Paul R. Scheuneman. Several more homes are being planned.”

Nikon COOLPIX P100.
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January 3, 2025
Haller Baking Company, Emsworth

Built in about 1933, the Haller Baking Company was designed in an up-to-the-minute Art Deco style by Paul Scheuneman. You can see a picture of the building as it originally appeared at the Avonworth Historical Society. “Oven to Home” was the company’s slogan: it delivered bread, cakes, and other baked goods straight to your house. In the 1950s the building was turned into a furniture store, with glassy additions in front that were later bricked in when it became an office.

Father Pitt does not know the origin of this stylish compass rose. It does not look new, but it is not in the photographs of the bakery or the furniture store that replaced it.

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS; Kodak EasyShare Z1285; Fujifilm FinePix HS10.

There’s not much to see in the rear of the building, but old Pa Pitt climbed the hill to document it anyway, just for the sake of completeness.

December 16, 2024
Two Demonstration Houses by Paul Scheuneman, Green Tree

In domestic architecture, Paul Scheuneman was a skillful exponent of what old Pa Pitt calls the Fairy-Tale Style: designs that emphasize a fantastically romantic vision of the past rather than historically accurate architecture.

The Arkansas Soft Pine Mansion was a demonstration home sponsored by the Pittsburgh Press and the Arkansas Soft Pine Bureau. The use of Arkansas soft pine for interior paneling, was, of course, a prominent feature of the house.

Across the street is another demonstration house designed by Scheuneman:

“The American Home” opened for inspection in 1935. It was sponsored by the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph and General Electric, and of course General Electric appliances were installed wherever electric appliances could be demonstrated.

November 23, 2024