Manchester residents hope to have history on their side - June 1st, 2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
By Diana Nelson Jones,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A year ago, Duane Hill went Downtown from his home on Sheffield Street to ask the ... Read More
Threatened Historic Resources
North Side’s ‘Mala Jaska’ deteriorates as Route 28 grows - May 20th, 2009
By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Wednesday, May 20, 2009 Helen Kusar sold her house in old Mala Jaska to PennDOT two years ago; now she lives in Reserve with her daughter. The sidewalk along Route 28 is as wide as it needed to be when ... Read More
Landmarks supports the nomination of the Old Stone Tavern as a City-Designated Historic Structure. - April 1st, 2009
PREPARED TESTIMONY OF ANNE E. NELSON, ESQ. GENERAL COUNSEL PITTSBURGH HISTORY & LANDMARKS FOUNDATION BEFORE HISTORIC REVIEW COMMISSION, CITY OF PITTSBURGH PUBLIC HEARING ON THE OLD STONE TAVERN CITY HISTORIC STRUCTURE NOMINATION April 1, 2009 Landmarks supports the nomination of the Old Stone Tavern to become a City-Designated Historic Structure. The building was surveyed in both of Landmarks’ architectural ... Read More
Landmarks Joins City of Chicago’s Appeal of Landmark Decision - March 11th, 2009
by Anne E. Nelson, General Counsel PHLF News March 11, 2009 On March 11, 2009, Landmarks joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Landmarks Illinois, New York Landmarks Conservancy, Cleveland Restoration Society, sixty-three Illinois municipalities and other organizations in filing an amicus curiae motion before the Supreme Court of Illinois in ... Read More
Landmarks opposes the demolitions of 1403 and 1414 Nixon Street and 1109 Bingham Street - January 7th, 2009
PREPARED TESTIMONY OF ANNE E. NELSON, ESQ., GENERAL COUNSEL PITTSBURGH HISTORY & LANDMARKS FOUNDATION BEFORE HISTORIC REVIEW COMMISSION, CITY OF PITTSBURGH PUBLIC HEARING ON CITY DEMOLITIONS JANUARY 7, 2008 Landmarks opposes the demolitions of 1403 and 1414 Nixon Street and 1109 Bingham Street because the City ... Read More
Group campaigns to save historic bridge in Collier - December 13th, 2008
By Jim Ritchie TRIBUNE-REVIEW Saturday, December 13, 2008 One of the oldest bridges in Allegheny County -- built before cars were invented -- will be replaced in 2009 unless a group wishing to preserve the Collier span is successful. Local and national groups want to raise enough money to safely ... Read More
Undeveloped Strip District land a focus of riverfront master plan - November 2nd, 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008 By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Tom Balestrieri is raring to go. For years, a prime Strip District riverfront parcel owned by the firm he heads has served as a parking lot for shoppers, revelers and commuters. But Mr. Balestrieri, the Buncher Co.'s chief executive officer and ... Read More
City of Pittsburgh Offers Properties For Sale - October 6th, 2008
PHLF News October 6, 2008 The City of Pittsburgh, in an effort to reduce the number of vacant or abandoned properties, has created a web site that offers a menu of properties for sale. Many of these properties are in Pittsburgh's most historic neighborhoods.
... Read MoreParishioners Decry Demolished 157-Year-Old Church in Elizabeth - August 26th, 2008
WTAE August 26, 2008 A wrecking ball demolished a 157-year-old church in Elizabeth on Monday after decades of debate over the building's future. St. Michael the Archangel Church, built in 1851, closed its doors in 1987 after the Pittsburgh Diocese deemed the structure unsafe. Long-time ... Read More
Pittsburgh council OKs historic status for Malta Temple - July 30th, 2008
By Jeremy Boren TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, July 30, 2008 In a preliminary vote today, Pittsburgh City Council dubbed the 81-year-old Malta Temple building on the North Side a historic structure.The historic status prevents the Salvation Army, the owner, from demolishing the building without the Historic Review Commission's consent. The nonprofit ... Read More
Council delays vote on status of historic North Side shelter - July 17th, 2008
By The Tribune-Review Thursday, July 17, 2008 Pittsburgh City Council delayed a vote Wednesday on whether to give historic protection to a North Side building that serves as a Salvation Army homeless shelter and chapel. The Salvation Army wants to demolish the 81-year-old building, which once served as the headquarters of the ... Read More
Councilman protests forced preservation of Malta Temple - July 15th, 2008
By Jeremy Boren TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, July 15, 2008 Forcing the Salvation Army to preserve an 81-year-old North Side religious and social services center would violate a city rule that says a church's owner -- not interlopers -- must willingly seek historic protection, a Pittsburgh councilman said Monday."Churches have an ... Read More
Market Square street closure may alter apartment project - July 3rd, 2008
By Jeremy Boren TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, July 3, 2008 The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, a major investor in Market Square's revitalization, might nix a new seven-unit apartment complex if the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership sticks to a plan to close some of the square to vehicles.The foundation is spending $3.5 million ... Read More
Former church in West Tarentum caught up in fraud scandal - July 3rd, 2008
By Celanie Polanick VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Thursday, July 3, 2008 A former Roman Catholic church in West Tarentum was one of two in the Greater Pittsburgh area bought by Raffaello Follieri, an Italian real estate mogul recently accused of fraud for pretending to work for the Vatican.A century ago, ... Read More
Historic review panel OKs Market Square makeover - July 3rd, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008 By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Work on pedestrian-friendly project might begin next spring The proposed $5 million revamp of Market Square got a boost yesterday when Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission gushed over the reduced traffic, piazza-type design and nicer trees. "This will be a miniature ... Read More
Dramatic redesign approved for Market Square - July 2nd, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The city of Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission today approved a dramatic redesign of Downtown's Market Square, clearing the way for construction planning but urging that the architects meet with Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation officials about their concerns. The redesign would ... Read More
Market Square’s makeover shifts into high gear this week - June 30th, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008 By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Market Square's transition is in full swing. Dunkin Donuts opens there at 6 a.m. today. Moe's Southwest Grill will open Thursday. A dark, romantic bar is to follow later this summer. In addition, a veteran restaurant, Buon Giorno, is dressing up ... Read More
School board votes to close Schenley building - June 26th, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008 By Joe Smydo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The Pittsburgh school board last night voted 5-4 to close the Pittsburgh Schenley High School building, rejecting a proposed referendum on the issue and saddening school supporters who spent months fighting to save the historic structure. Voting to close Schenley were ... Read More
Last bell at Schenley: Historic high school closes - June 11th, 2008
By Bill Zlatos TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, June 11, 2008 Students left Schenley High School on Tuesday more with a sense of resignation and eagerness for the summer than sadness for their school's storied past. "You may not see any depression today, but I think in September it'll hit us," said ... Read More
Vacant North Side church may find new life - March 25th, 2008
By Jim Ritchie TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, March 25, 2008 The North Side church nearly sold to a Manhattan developer and twice threatened with demolition has another chance at salvation.Talks began this month over whether the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh would sell the vacant St. Nicholas Church to a Croatian group ... Read More
Owners’ fear: Razing houses will bring down theirs too - March 10th, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008 By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The estate of her dead neighbor owns the condemned vacant row house beside Cynthia Powell's home on Chateau Street. Its facade is strenuously bowing and trying to persuade hers to come with it. No contractor has been willing to touch the offending building, ... Read More
St. Nicholas North Side - March 7th, 2008
PHLF News March 7, 2008 St Nicholas Church on East Ohio Street was closed several years ago by the Roman Catholic Diocese and merged with St. Nicholas Millvale. A group envisioned saving the church and using it as a Croatian Heritage Museum, a goal that we were glad to see set forth. ... Read More
Worrisome in Manchester - March 7th, 2008
PHLF News March 7, 2008 City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Building Inspection continues to list deteriorated, but architecturally valuable houses in Manchester for demolition. If these houses are lost, the magic of historic Manchester will be forfeited and can never be recovered. It is the architectural continuity of Manchester that ... Read More
Black leaders seek delay in Schenley decision - February 27th, 2008
By Bill Zlatos TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, February 27, 2008 A group of black community leaders is urging the city school board tonight to postpone or vote against a proposal to move students from Schenley High School in Oakland. In a letter dated today to board members, the Black Political Empowerment Project or B-PEP urged ... Read More
North Side groups at odds over former bank’s historic status - February 27th, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The city planning commission will leave it up to City Council to decide whether a North Side building linked to prominent Chicago architect D.H. Burnham will be preserved or perhaps face the wrecking ball. In a 3-1 vote with one abstention, the commission decided ... Read More
Vote on closing Schenley High School delayed - February 21st, 2008
By Bill Zlatos TRIBUNE-REVIEW Thursday, February 21, 2008 City schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt said he delayed a vote on closing Schenley High School to give supporters time to raise money to fix it and to study if it would be cheaper in the long run to repair the structure. "We think it is ... Read More
Preservationist seeks delay in sale of land for library - December 27th, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007 By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A historic preservationist yesterday asked Pittsburgh City Council to withhold approval of a land sale that would allow the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to move its Allegheny Regional branch, warning that he and others may sue. David Tessitor argued in a letter to Council ... Read More
Future of historical buildings precarious - December 24th, 2007
By Craig Smith TRIBUNE-REVIEW Monday, December 24, 2007 The stone house built two centuries ago by John Woods played host to the movers and shakers of its day but stands silent, its windows and doors boarded shut. Composer Stephen Foster was a frequent visitor to the two-story home in Hazelwood, often entertaining the ... Read More
North Side library debate at historic dimension - December 19th, 2007
By Bill Zlatos TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Supporters of a new Carnegie library on Federal Street say the city can develop the North Side and still preserve a 117-year-old branch that has been closed for 20 months. Annette Green, 66, of the North Side told City Council on Tuesday evening that redevelopment does ... Read More
Library’s plan to build anew on North Side meets strong opposition - December 17th, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007 By Diana Nelson Jones, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette When Carnegie Library officials decided last year not to reopen the Allegheny Regional branch -- the second Carnegie Library in the country and one that had been damaged in April 2006 by lightning -- traditionalists and preservationists were livid. After heated public meetings, most ... Read More
Farmers like option to ’save’ agriculture - December 2nd, 2007
By Michael Aubele VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Sunday, December 2, 2007 Butler County farmer Ed Thiele said he has no regrets about enlisting in the state's Farmland Preservation program. "I've had a lot of people tell me I was foolish for doing it," he said. "But I did it to preserve the ground. We ... Read More
Private, public groups encourage farm protections - December 2nd, 2007
By Bob Stiles TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, December 2, 2007 Levi Miller's straw hat and long, white beard moved from side to side as he shook his head at the notion of the Amish accepting government money to preserve farmland. "I don't think any of our people would go for that," said Miller, 80, of ... Read More
District presses to close Schenley - November 22nd, 2007
By Bill Zlatos TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, November 20, 2007 Sixty-eight percent of the materials tested at Schenley High School contained asbestos, according to a report released Monday by city schools Superintendent Mark Roosevelt. AGX Inc., Wexford-based environmental consultants, collected 406 samples from the plaster, ceiling, tiles, carpet and other areas of the Oakland school ... Read More
ARC building avoids wrecking ball - November 4th, 2007
By Craig Smith TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, November 4, 2007 Two community groups have saved a North Side building from the wrecking ball by asking a city commission to decide if the structure qualifies as historically significant. The Historic Review Commission of Pittsburgh will hold a hearing Wednesday on whether the former Alcohol Recovery Center House ... Read More
Union Trust Building excites latest suitor - November 2nd, 2007
By Ron DaParma TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, November 2, 2007 An investment group led by executives of the Mika Realty Group in Los Angeles said Thursday it hopes to complete the purchase of the historic Union Trust Building, Downtown, by the end of the month. The group, which includes Michael Kamen, founder of the privately ... Read More