Introduction | Series 1

ARCHITECTURAL GLASS IN PITTSBURGH
A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 1994-2007

GENERAL

Farnsworth, Jean M., et al. Stained Glass in Catholic Philadelphia. Philadelphia: St. Joseph’s University Press, 2002. The section “Biographical Sketches of Stained-Glass Studios and Selected Artists,” 423-458, is an invaluable resource and the most accurate compendium available.

First Lutheran Church: A History and a Guide [Pittsburgh, 2001].

Gaul, Joan. “Pittsburgh 1893 to 1912: Five Artists,” The Journal of Stained Glass America Issue, 28, 2004 (2005): 46-60.

Gaul, Joan, Bernard Kent Markwell, and Albert M. Tannler. A Tour of Later Gothic Revival Architecture and Stained Glass in Metropolitan Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 2000.

Madarasz, Anne. Glass: Shattering Notions. Pittsburgh: Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, 1998.

Sanger, Martha Frick Symington. The Henry Clay Frick Houses: Architecture, Interiors, Landscapes in the Golden Era. New York: Monacelli Press, 2001.

Tannler, Albert M. “‘We only have one window’: Stained Glass and the Arts and Crafts Movement in the United States.” The Journal of Stained Glass America Issue 28, 2004 (2005): 61-78, Plate 1.

Tannler, Albert M. “Ralph Adams Cram and the ‘Early School’ of American Stained Glass.” Connick Windows (June 2004).

Tannler, Albert M. “Pittsburgh’s Superb Stained Glass: Past, Present, and Future Exploration.” PHLF News 165 (October 2003): 15.

Tannler, Albert M. “‘A Strong Local Tradition of English Arts and Crafts Vernacular’ Architecture is Established, Nurtured.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Focus 26:68 (February 24, 2002): 8-11.

Torbert, V. W. III. The Sanctuary and the Stained Glass. Pittsburgh: Third Presbyterian Church, 1995.

ARTISTS

David Maitland Armstrong (1836-1918) and Helen Maitland Armstrong (1869-1948), New York

Tannler, Albert M. “Shedding Light on Some New Old Windows at the Presbyterian Church, Sewickley. PHLF News 171 (October 2006): 16.

Tannler, Albert M. Book review: “Jones, Robert O., D. Maitland Armstrong: American Stained Glass Master.” The Journal of Stained Glass 26, 2002 (2004): 195-96.

Charles J. Connick (1875-1945), Boston

Cormack, Peter. “Glazing ‘with careless care’: Charles J. Connick and the Arts and Crafts Philosophy of Stained Glass.” The Journal of Stained Glass America Issue 28, 2004 (2005): 79-94.

Gaul, Joan. “Connick’s Pittsburgh Years: Life before Boston.” Parts I and 2. Connick Windows (February 2000); (June 2000).

Gaul, Joan. The Heinz Memorial Chapel. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1994.

[Justice, Marilyn] “Connick in Pittsburgh.” Parts 1 and 2. Connick Windows (June 1995); (October 1995).

Tannler, Albert M. “The Edgewood Presbyterian Church.” PHLF News 172 (December 2007).

Tannler, Albert M. “Connick Family Friends.” Connick Windows (July 2007).

Tannler, Albert M. “Charles J. Connick and the ‘Early School’ of American Stained Glass Artists.” Orin E. Skinner Annual Lecture on Stained Glass, 2005. Charles J. Connick Stained Glass Foundation Ltd: www.cjconnick.org.

Ford & Brooks [1890-1905], Boston

Kasparian, Lance. “The Tree of Jesse Window (1904) by Ford & Brooks of Boston.” Connick Windows (February 2005).

Harry Eldredge Goodhue (1873-1918), Cambridge and Boston

Tannler, Albert M. “Harry Eldredge Goodhue: Pioneer of American Stained Glass.” Stained Glass 99:1 (Spring, 2004): 54-67.

Tannler, Albert M. “Art and Craft in the Church’s Service: John T. Comes and Harry E. Goodhue Collaborate in Latrobe.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Focus 27:27 (March 12, 2002): 8-10.

Harry Wright Goodhue (1905-31), Boston

Tannler, Albert M. “Harry Wright Goodhue: Stained Glass of Unsurpassed Distinction and Rare Beauty.” Stained Glass 99:2 (Summer, 2004): 134-147.

Tannler, Albert M. “Gothic Greatness in Stone and Glass.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Focus 25:43 (August 27, 2000): 8-10.

Healy & Millet [1880-99], Chicago

Tannler, Albert M. “Diverse Artistic Legacy: Pittsburgh’s Church of the Ascension.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Focus 28:30 (June 1, 2003): 8-11.

Henry Hunt/Leake & Greene [1889-1906], Boston and Pittsburgh

Tannler, Albert M. “Seeking Pittsburgh at the Longfellow House and Finding Japan.” PHLF News 168 (January 2005): 17.

Tannler, Albert M. “A Visit to Boston.” PHLF News 163 (February 2003): 15.

John La Farge (1835-1910), New York

Tannler, Albert M. “Shedding Light on Some New Old Windows at the Presbyterian Church, Sewickley. PHLF News 171 (October 2006): 16.

J. Horace Rudy (1870-1940) and Rudy Brothers, Pittsburgh and York, Pa.

Gaul, Joan, and Albert M. Tannler. Art Glass in Pittsburgh: A Tour of Glass Designed by J. Horace Rudy and Rudy Brothers Company. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 1997

Gaul, Joan. “J. Horace Rudy and the Rudy Brothers Company Stained and Leaded Glass.” Stained Glass 91:4 (Winter 1996): 277-282.

Tannler, Albert M. “The ‘Tree of Life’: Arts & Crafts Motifs in the Pittsburgh Home of J. Horace Rudy.” PHLF News 148 (September 1997): 19.

Tannler, Albert M. “Horace Rudy: Pittsburgh’s Master of Glass.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Focus 21:21 (April 7, 1996): 8-10.

Herman T. Schladermundt (1863-1937), New York City

“Rodef Shalom Glass Identified.” PHLF News 169 (September 2005): 16.

Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933), New York City

Tannler, Albert M. “Tiffany: Who, What, and Why.” PHLF News 169 (September 2005): 14-15.

Mary Elizabeth Tillinghast (1845-1912), New York City

Tannler, Albert M. “‘Temple of the Skies’: Observatory Hill Renaissance of Art and Science.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Focus 30:15 (February 13, 2005): 8-10.

William Willet (1867-1921), Pittsburgh (later Philadelphia)

Tannler, Albert M. William Willet in Pittsburgh 1897-1913. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 2005.

Introduction | Bibiliography

What follows are eight brief illustrated essays about glass artists and windows in Pittsburgh-area buildings, often in buildings that are themselves architecturally noteworthy. Some of the windows-and the buildings for that matter-have been overlooked. The buildings are located in the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Point Breeze, Observatory Hill, Allentown, Oakland, East Liberty, and Squirrel Hill; Hazelwood; Crafton (all in Allegheny County), and Butler, Butler County, Pa., since St. Paul’s Butler is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

I am grateful to Fr. Harry R. Bielewicz, Beth Braughler, Fr. Hugh Fleming, Pam Kimmel, Greg Langel, Rev. Ann Morris, Robin Pflasterer, Renee Pollice, Rev. James N. Shaver, Jr., Rev. Cynthia Bronson Sweigert, Rev. Don Youse, and Fr. Thomas Wilson for providing access to their buildings.

Albert M. Tannler

1. Alfred Godwin (1850-1934), Philadelphia: “Harvest” window, 1883/1891, Clayton, Henry Clay Frick residence; Andrew W. Peebles (1882) and F. J. Osterling (1890-92), renovation architects
2. Ludwig Grosse (1862-1917), Pittsburgh: Robert S. Johnston Memorial, 1892, Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Hazelwood; William Halsey Wood, architect
3. Henry Hunt (1867-1951) for Leake & Greene (1889-1906), Pittsburgh: Window, 1895-96, Hawthorne Avenue Presbyterian Church, Crafton, Pa.; Boyd & Long, architects
4. Mary Elizabeth Tillinghast (1845-1912), New York: Urania, 1903, Allegheny Observatory; T. E. Billquist, architect
5. Leo Thomas (1876-1950) for George Boos (1859-1937), Munich, Germany: Chancel window and detail of transept angel, 1910-11, St. Paul?s Roman Catholic Church, Butler, Pa., John T. Comes, architect; “Tu Es Petrus” and St. George, 1911-12, St. George’s Roman Catholic Church; Herman J. Lang, architect
6. George W. Sotter (1879-1953), Pittsburgh: St. Matthew and St. John, 1914-15, Synod Hall; Edward J. Weber, architect
7. Henry Wynd Young (1874-1923), New York: “Christ Enthroned”, c. 1922, Chapel chancel window in East Liberty Presbyterian Church; Ralph Adams Cram for Cram & Ferguson. Window originally installed in a transept of the previous building, Longfellow, Alden & Harlow (1886-88), architects
8. Howard Gilman Wilbert (1891-1966), Pittsburgh: Nave and Lady Chapel windows (details), from windows designed and made 1939-62 for the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer; E. Donald Robb, for Frohman, Robb & Little, architects

Bibiliography | Series 1

Introduction

Albert M. Tannler
Historical Collections Director
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

Architectural stained glass is a dangerously neglected field in the United States, especially in comparison to its study by European agencies. Such neglect extends to the fragile nature of the medium itself; many of the windows are over a century old and have never been repaired. Once lost, the loss is permanent. The very nature of the medium, at once craft product, an architectural element, and a figural image, disturbs the comfortable categories of contemporary art. . . . Yet, glass may be possibly the most wide-spread public art form, certainly far more ubiquitous than public sculpture or mural painting in our country.

Glory in Glass exhibition catalog (American Bible Society 1999)

Today it is likely that more people associate Chicago with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright than with Al Capone. Pittsburgh, outside the “buzz” of fashionable scrutiny, retains its identification with heavy industry. Visitors are likely to reassess the stereotype. Peter Cormack, Honorary Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, and an authority on 19th- and 20th-century stained glass, visited Pittsburgh in 2001 and spoke of its “magnificent heritage of architecture and stained glass.” The leader of the 2005 National Trust Study Tour of Pittsburgh wrote to me that the group I had led on an architectural tour of Pittsburgh “kept raving over the wonders of Pittsburgh. Everyone kept saying ‘I had no idea…..’” Pittsburgh’s superb ornamental and stained glass is the city’s most significant public art form. Although undocumented and unreliable, Virginia Lewis’s “Stained Glass in Pittsburgh,” Stained Glass (1948) remained the standard treatment for many years. The serious assessment of stained glass in Pittsburgh began when the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (Landmarks) mounted Stained Glass in Pittsburgh, an exhibition held at the Old Post Office Museum in May 1976. Matthew Roper’s article, “Stained Glass in Pittsburgh: Styles, Techniques, Innovators,” Carnegie Magazine 1978 was a useful overview, despite repeating some of Lewis’s factual errors. Little of substance was written until the mid-1990s when free-lance writer Joan Gaul and I began to explore the work of Pittsburgh glass firms, and I wrote about Pittsburgh buildings with glass by important artists from Boston, Chicago, and New York. Curator Anne Madarasz mounted an exhibition on regional glass manufacturing at the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania; the catalog, Glass: Shattering Notions, appeared in 1998.

This website has been created to provide a readily accessible means of presenting research and analysis. “Eight Glass Artists in Nine Pittsburgh-area Buildings 1883-1962” is our initial presentation. Other illustrated articles will be added from time to time.

A select bibliography of recent articles and books about architectural glass and glass artists in the Pittsburgh-area is available on this website.

Essays

• Series 1: Eight Glass Artists in Nine Pittsburgh-area Buildings 1883-1962

Friday, April 18, 2008
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Frick Fine Arts Auditorium
University of Pittsburgh

RSVP : by April 11
Emily Schantz
412-648-2400

Themes

Striving to capture the bold spirit of a new nation through a synthesis of historic models and modern technologies, the work of Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-86) transcended the eclecticism of much nineteenth-century architecture, inspiring countless imitators across the United States and abroad. On the 120th anniversary of the dedication of his Pittsburgh masterpiece, the Architectural Studies program presents a public symposium on the Allegheny County Courthouse, its place within Richardson’s career, and its impact on public architecture throughout North America. All are welcome to attend.

Chair

Drew Armstrong, Director of Architectural Studies, University of Pittsburgh

Schedule

WELCOME – Drew Armstrong, University of Pittsburgh [9:00-9:10]

SESSION 1 – The Allegheny County Courthouse [9:10-10:40]

1. Arthur Ziegler, Jr., President of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and Chair of the Allegheny County Historic Properties Committee: Preserving the Allegheny County Courthouse
2. Franklin Toker, University of Pittsburgh: H. H. Richardson: One Fierce Competitor
3. Martin Aurand, Carnegie Mellon University: The Spectator and Pittsburgh’s Civic Mount

BREAK [10:40-11:00]

SESSION 2 – Models and Competitors [11:00-1:00]

1. Tim Kelly, Saint Vincent College + Michael Cary, Seton Hill University: ‘Things of Importance Will Happen Here’: The American Renaissance and the Westmoreland County Courthouse
2. Mary Alice Molloy, Chicago: W.W. Boyington and the 1882 Competition for Chicago’s Board of Trade Building
3. Jeffrey Cohen, Bryn Mawr College: An Ambitious Scot, the Red Queen, Big Henry, and the Bigger Picture in the 1880s

LUNCH [1:00-1:40]

SESSION 3 – H. H. Richardson, Architect [1:40-3:40]

1. Hope Mayo, Houghton Library, Harvard University: H. H. Richardson’s Archive at Harvard University
2. Kate Holliday, University of Texas at Arlington: ‘Mongrel’ Architecture: H. H. Richardson and Leopold Eidlitz at the New York State Capitol
3. Maureen Meister, Boston: H. H. Richardson and the Arts and Crafts Movement in Boston

BREAK [3:40-4:00]

SESSION 4 – Richardsonian Romanesque in North American [4:00-6:00]

• Jeffrey Ochsner, University of Washington: From Pittsburgh to the Pacific: The Allegheny Courthouse as Paradigm
• Douglas Richardson, University of Toronto: ‘How long, oh Lennox, how long?’: the Toronto Municipal Building Competitions of 1885 and 1886, and the City Hall, 1887-1900
• Kenneth Breisch, University of Southern California: Pittsburgh on the Plains: The Great Richardsonian Roundup in Texas

Pittsburgh and the Architectural Sublime: H. H. Richardson’s Allegheny County Courthouse

Public exhibition of architectural drawings, documents, and photography relating to the competition, design, and history of the Allegheny County Courthouse.

September 2nd through October 17th , 2008

University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery
Frick Fine Arts Building
University of Pittsburgh

Whenever we publish a major book, we give our members the opportunity to contribute.We all benefit because each contributor’s name is listed in the publication and all the contributions help defray our photography, design, and printing costs–– and keep the book price affordable.

We’re pleased to announce that in the fall of 2008, in conjunction with the City’s 250th anniversary, Landmarks will publish Charles J. Connick: His Education and His Windows in and near Pittsburgh, by Albert M. Tannler.

After a decade of research and the discovery that buildings in metropolitan Pittsburgh possess some of the most extraordinary architectural glass to be found anywhere, Albert Tannler, Historical Collections Director of Landmarks, has written a guidebook that will be the first to comprehensively document Connick’s formative years in Pittsburgh and Boston and his extraordinary windows in ten architecturally-significant landmarks in the Pittsburgh region: First Baptist Church; First Presbyterian Church (Edgewood); Gordon Chapel (Church of the Ascension); First Presbyterian Church (Greensburg); St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (Butler); Calvary Episcopal Church; East Liberty Presbyterian Church; and the University of Pittsburgh (Stephen Foster Memorial, Cathedral of Learning, and Heinz Memorial Chapel).

The approximately 150-page soft-cover book (5.75 x 9 inches) will include more than 70 color photographs.

Reared and trained in Pittsburgh, Charles Connick (1875–1945) significantly contributed to the American Arts and Crafts Movement and played a leading role in the revitalization of stained glass in America. When Connick died in 1945, The New York Times wrote that he “was considered the world’s greatest contemporary craftsman in stained glass.” In 2004 British scholar Peter Cormack called Connick “the greatest of all American stained glass artists.”

Your tax-deductible contribution will help us publish a handsomely illustrated, beautifully designed and printed guidebook.

Please complete the donation form below to make a secure on-line donation. Thank you for contributing.

PS: Your gift of $1,000 or more in support of the Connick book will enable you to become a member of the 2008 Landmarks Heritage Society. Contact Jack Miller at 412-471-5808, ext. 538 for details.

The annual scholarship award is to recognize and reward at least one senior high school student in Allegheny County who is interested in the history, architecture, and/or landscape design of the Pittsburgh region and who will be a full-time college student, beginning in the fall of 2008. Since the program’s inception in 1999, twenty-five graduating seniors from area high schools have been awarded scholarships in the amount of $4,000 each to colleges of their choice.

• The Landmark Scholarship Award Application - Students/Parents Click Here To Download:
  A program funded by the Brashear Family Fund of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation: Deadline Is Friday, April 25th, 2008 (For High School Seniors)

• The Landmark Scholarship Award Fundraiser Event: Tuesday, June 3, 2008 Click Here To Join In

Landmarks Scholarship Celebration
House Tour & Fund-Raising Event
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 • 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Event Sponsors

• PNC
• BNY Mellon
• The David and Janet Brashear Foundation
• Chatham University

PHLF will be celebrating and building support for its Landmarks Scholarship Program that provides financial assistance to City and County students attending college who have demonstrated a love for the Pittsburgh region and excel as students and citizens in their communities.

Since 1999, Landmarks has awarded college scholarships to 25 outstanding young people, thanks to contributions from the Brashear Family Named Fund and from several trustees.

Our goal is to build Landmarks’ Scholarship Fund from $100,000 to $200,000 or more, so we can increase the amount of each scholarship award and so we can award more scholarships. (Since the program’s inception in 1999, each scholarship recipient has been awarded a total of $4,000 over a four-year period and between two and four winners have been selected each year.)

Agenda:

5:30 p.m.

Guided tours of three historic landmarks:

• Betty and Irving Abrams House, designed by Robert Venturi, 1979-82
• Alexander M. Neeper House, designed by Vrydaugh & Wolfe, c. 1903
• Andrew W. Mellon Hall, designed by MacClure & Spahr, c. 1902; alterations and additions 1917 and after. Ken Doyno, AIA, Rothschild Doyno Architects, will describe how the below grade swimming pool with its Guastavino tile ceiling was converted into a conference room with direct access to the surrounding landscape, while maintaining plantings layed out by Olmsted Brothers in 1920.

Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served at all three locations.

6:45 p.m.

Mellon Board Room, Andrew W. Mellon Hall

Scholarship Awards and Recognition

Remarks by:

• David Brashear, Trustee of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and founder of The Landmarks Scholarship Program;
• Esther Barazzone, President, Chatham University;
• Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr., President, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation; and
• Former Scholarship Recipients

PHLF invites its members, friends, and the public. Reservations are required.

What’s Distinctive About The Landmarks Scholarship Program?

• It is the culmination of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation’s educational programs involving more than 6,000 students (K-12) from the City and County each year.
• It gives students an incentive to excel in school, become involved in their community, and explore their city in a meaningful way.
• It is a way for our nonprofit organization, rooted in the Pittsburgh region, to connect with capable young people who care deeply about this region.

“In 2008, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of our Scholarship Program. Through the years, we have provided awards to a remarkable group of young leaders who have become advocates for the region and the preservation movement. We look forward to expanding the Program in the near future, and to building relationships with many more accomplished students who share a love and passion for our great City.”

––David Brashear, Trustee and Founder of the Landmarks Scholarship Program

“The Landmarks Scholarship Program ties into the concepts of keeping our youth and talent in Pittsburgh, rejuvenating our wonderful city, teaching the value of historic preservation to a new generation, and showing the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation’s support of the young people who will keep its philosophy alive in the years to come.”

––Sylvia Dallas, Trustee and Landmarks Scholarship Committee Member

“One of the striking things about human progress is that so many of the world’s most important new ideas were the work of young people.”

––Bill Gates, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 24,

PHLF offers a range of planning and services that are critical to achieving a sustained revitalization of a traditional main street business district and its surrounding community.

Strategic Planning

PHLF has a long history working with local communities to develop strategic plans that provide a detailed roadmap identifying how to get from current conditions to a implementation vision that brings new energy to downtown. We have no interest in producing a planning document that will get put on a shelf to collect dust. Our strategic plans provide practical paths forward that build on community assets and address critical challenges head-on.

Market Research

PHLF’s market research provides baseline information that underpins and informs our strategic planning. We work to determine and assess the current market conditions for the main street commercial corridor. We verify the strengths and weaknesses of the market. We benchmark this against comparable business districts that have achieved a healthy retail and services mix. And we provide recommendations on optimal business mix and for attracting more customers from the of the residential population.

Real Estate Strategies

PHLF identifies key properties and focused redevelopment strategies. We are able to draw on our real estate development experience and expertise to provide detailed and reliable pro formas. Our Planned Giving expertise enables us to gain site control of many properties at a deep discount, while providing property owners with a real tax benefit. We also assist with business and storefront merchandising, and business recruitment.

Real Estate Development

PHLF has over 40 years of experience developing real estate and restoring historic properties in some of the most challenging real estate markets in the region. This includes formulation of the Carson St. program when it was experiencing real decline, redeveloping Station Square, and our current renovation of three contiguous historic properties at Market and Fifth in Downtown Pittsburgh and housing restoration in Wilkinsburg.

Design Guidelines

PHLF has the architectural and design expertise to provide detailed design guidelines that can help significantly improve the appearance of a central business district. These design guidelines include detailed descriptions of projects and practices that are encouraged and those that are not. This includes façade restorations, external signage, storefront windows, exterior lighting, and new construction within the traditional downtown core.

Historic Review Analysis

PHLF is able to conduct a thorough inventory of buildings in a downtown that have significant historical and/or architectural characteristics – even ones that simply contribute in important ways to the character of the downtown. This includes interesting and useful historical information on the building and the architecture. This analysis can help inform real estate strategies and support National Register Designation applications.

Zoning and Code Review

PHLF is able to review existing zoning ordinances and code enforcement practices and provide detailed recommendations on revisions that would make sure that zoning and code enforcement support the goals of main street revitalization. Recommendations might include changes to zoning, refining and editing the zoning ordinance to make sure that new construction is sensitive to the existing built environment, language that better ensures quality restorations of existing buildings, and appropriate signage and lighting.

Traffic and Parking Analysis

PHLF can provide detailed traffic and parking analysis. We analyze traffic mobility within and around a downtown core to make sure traffic flow maximizes business exposure and that access to and within the core is smooth and reliable. We work to address bottleneck situation and safety concerns, and work to promote a pedestrian friendly atmosphere. Our parking analysis determines whether or not parking is really a serious problem. We check to see how much on street and off street parking is used throughout the day. And we offer practical recommendations to improve the supply.

PHLF is known for the work we do restoring signature historical buildings. That work is critical, but it’s only part of what we do. We take pride in our ability to achieve a sustained revitalization in communities that face difficult challenges. We are passionate about this work. And we have a strong team with broad experience and expertise in identifying and implementing effective business district revitalization strategies.

The results speak for themselves. We created one of the nation’s first Main Streets: to Carson Street on the South Side at a time fourty years ago when most people had given up on the South Side. It remains vibrant today. We brought new life to Station Square in the face of deep skepticism from many in the financial and development communities. And today, we are deeply involved in breathing new life into another community many had given up on – Wilkinsburg. We just finished restoring four historic homes and are now working to restore two significant buildings including the Penn Lincoln Hotel, which is located in the heart of Wilkinsburg’s Main Street district.

It is fair to say that our efforts in Wilkinsburg extend well beyond bricks and mortar projects. Soon after we started work in Wilkinsburg, we realized that high property tax rates were a substantial barrier to community reinvestment. To address this, we recruited Carnegie Mellon graduate students to conduct a thorough analysis of the impacts of Wilkinsburg’s property tax rates. The report came out in December. Already, Wilkinsburg is taking action to implement specific recommendations from that report.

This is how PHLF is able to make a difference. We don’t limit ourselves to what can easily be achieved. We don’t just offer a formulaic approach. When we start work in a community, we begin by taking a step back to try and get a good look at the whole picture. We work to understand the local and regional market. We identify local assets that can be built on and challenges that must be overcome. We work hand in hand with the community to lay out a vision and a plan that can have a dramatic long term impact. And then we start to take steady strides toward that vision. Step by step, we build momentum. We see the community’s sense of pride and optimism about the future begin to return. It becomes less about specific projects and more about individuals willing to step up and invest in themselves again. Getting to this point isn’t easy. It takes patience and perseverance. But it is possible. And it’s how you can begin to move mountains.

Main Street initiatives often focus on streetscape improvements. That’s understandable – they are defined projects that, though not always easy, are certainly achievable. And an improved streetscape can play a helpful role as a component in a larger strategy. In fact, no Main Street initiative would be complete with a shabby streetscape. But, on its own, even the grandest streetscape project cannot fill vacant storefronts, it cannot give customers a more varied retail offering, it cannot bring new energy to main street. There are scores of towns across Pennsylvania that have stuck to this model and have learned that a temporary facelift will do little to fundamentally alter the underlying economics.

PHLF is now managing the Main Street program in Vandergrift and we have been selected as the lead consultant for Allegheny Together, Allegheny County’s Main Street initiative that is focusing initially on the business districts in Stowe, Swissvale, Tarentum and Elizabeth. In each of these communities, we are respecting the four point Main Street approach while bringing PHLF’s full resources, creativity and expertise to bear. We are bending the Main Street mold to apply the lessons we have learned and to set a path that we believe can lead to a sustained revitalization. We want to be able to look back on these efforts in thirty years and see more than a worn a streetscape project. As with Carson Street, we hope to see a re-energized, viable and thriving business district.

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If your favorite site is not listed, or if one of the listed links is not working, please e-mail us with the problem. We do not maintain, endorse, or are responsible for the content, availability, or integrity of any of the listed sites. We provided this as a guide
only.

A

• Albany Township Historical Society
• Allegheny City Society
• Allegheny County
• Allegheny Heritage Development Corporation
• Allegheny Institute for Public Policy
• Allegheny Kisky Valley
• Allegheny Observatory
• Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church
• American Civil Liberties Union,Pittsburgh
• American Institute of Architects
• American Italian Cultural Institute
• Andy Warhol Museum Home Page

B

• BCCC Historic Preservation Program Bucks County, PA
• Beaver County History
• Beaver Falls Historical Society
• Berks County Historical Society
• Berlin Area Historical Society
• Bethel Township Preservation Society
• Beulah Presbyterian Chapel
• Blair County Historical Society
• Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation
• Braddock Carnegie Library
• Breachmenders
• Bridges & Tunnels of Allegheny County
• Brighton Heights Citizens Federation
• Brownsville Historical Society
• Bucks County Historical Society
• Butler County Historical Society

C

• California Area Historical Society
• Carnegie Historical Society
• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
• Carnegie Mellon University Architecture Archives
• Carnegie Museum of Natural History
• Carnegie Science Center
• Carpatho-Rusyn Society
• Carrick Business Association (CBA)
• Catasauqua Preservation Association
• Central Northside Neighborhood Council
• Centre County Historical Society
• Chadds Ford Historical Society
• Chester County Historical Society
• City Theatre
• Clarion County Historical Society
• Clinton County Historical Society
• Community Literacy Center
• Concord Township Historical Society
• Conestoga Area Historical Society
• Conneaut Valley Area Historical Society
• Connellsville Historical Society
• Crawford County Historical Society
• Cumberland County Historical Society

D

• Dauphin County Historical Society
• Derry Area Historical Society
• Donora Historical Society
• Downingtown Historical Society

E

• East Liberty Development Inc.
• Elizabeth Township Historical Society
• Ellwood City Historical Society
• Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania

F

• Fineview Citizen’s Council
• Forest County Historical Society
• Frackville Area Historical Society

G

• Germantown Historical Society
• Green Tree Historical Society
• Greene County Historical Society

H

• Harmony Museum
• Haverford Township Historical Society
• Hermitage Historical Society
• Hill Community Development Corp
• Hill House Association
• Historic Harrisburg Association
• Historical Society of Pennsylvania
• Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
• Homewood-Brushton Revitalization and Development Corporation
• Housing
  Authority City of Pittsburgh

I

L

• Lancaster County Historic Preservation Trust
• Lancaster County Historical Society
• Lawrence County Historical Society
• Lawrenceville Development Corporation
• Lawrenceville Historical Society
• Lehigh County Historical Society
• Linglestown, Pennsylvania
• Luzerne County Historical Society
• Lycoming County Historical Society

M

• Manchester Craftmans Guild
• Manchester Historical Society
• Manheim Historical Society
• Marple Newtown Historical Society
• Mattress Factory
• Mercer County Historical Society
• Mifflin County Historical Society
• Monessen Historical Society
• Monroe County Historical Society
• Monroeville Historical Society
• Mount Lebanon Historical Society

N

• National Aviary in Pittsburgh
• New Hope Historical Society
• North Side Chamber of Commerce
• North Side Civic Development Council
• Northampton Township Historical Society

O

• Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC)
• Observatory Hill Inc .
• Old St. Lukes Historic Church

P

• Penn Brewery
• Pennsylvania Association of CDC’s
• Pennsylvania Federation of Museums & Historical Organizations
• Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission
• Pennsylvania Preservation Consortium
• PennsylvaniaTax Credit
• Philadelphia Historic Preservation Corporation
• Philadelphia Area Preservation Resources
• Philadelphia Preservation Alliance
• Philadelphia, PA/Camden, NJ Empowerment Zone
• Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
• Pike County Historical Society
• Pittsburgh Architecture: A Guide to Research
• Pittsburgh Bonsai Society
• Pittsburgh Children’s Museum
• Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership
• Pittsburgh Partnership for Neighborhood Development
• Pittsburgh Pirates
• Pittsburgh Public Theater
• Pittsburgh Steelers
• Polish Hill Civic Association of Pittsburgh
• Port Authority Transit
• Potter County Historical Society
• Preservation Alliance of Philadelphia
• PreservationPennsylvania
• Preservation Pittsburgh
• Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society

Q

R

• Rachel Carson Homestead
• Regent Square Civic Association
• Riverlife Task Force
• Rivers of Steel
• Rostraver Township Historical Society

S

• Schuylkill County Historical Society
• Sewickley Heights History Center
• Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center
• Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology
• Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall
• South Side Local Development Company
• Springfield Historical Society
• Steel Industry Heritage Corporation
• Susquehanna County Historical Society
• SustainablePittsburgh

T

• Three Rivers Arts Festival
• Three Rivers Free Net
• Tour-Ed Mine & Museum
• Troy Hill Citizens Council

U

V

W

• Warhol Museum
• Warren County Historical Society
• Washington County Historical Society
• Wayne County Historical Society
• Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
• Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society
• Westmoreland County Historical Society

Y

• York County Heritage Trust

News and links related to legislation or advocacy in Historic Preservation.

Over a decade ago, the Allegheny County Commissioners appointed a committee to provide advice to the County on the restoration of the County Courthouse and its maintenance. The committee has advised about roof repair and the pointing of some of the masonry. Several years ago the murals in the front hall were restored under the auspices of the committee, a new directory was installed in the lobby and County Records Bureau removed stacks of poorly stored records in the attic of the building and put them in good order in a building in the north side. The committee also has produced new signage specifications to eliminate needless and redundant signage, and paper, hand-written signs prevalent throughout the building.

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation has chaired this committee since its formation and over the ensuing years the organization has contributed chairs for the courtyard, two new free-standing bulletin boards on either side of the grand lobby, created a walking tour, two information panels and tourism program for local citizens and visitors and determined the original colors in the building.

Recognizing that permanent seating is needed throughout the Courthouse, the committee chose a local firm to design historic reproductions of benches for the Courthouse. Six of 20 of those benches have been acquired with a plaque acknowledging respective sponsors. We would like to give you or your firm the opportunity to sponsor a bench, or benches. These benches will be utilized by many people for many years and represent an important public contribution.

In addition to the engraving along the horizontal stringer (see above illustration), a 6"x2" engraved bronze plaque may be affixed to the top of the back-rest of the bench acknowledging you or your firm’s gift to the public. Should you have any questions, please feel free to call Anne E. Nelson at Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation 412-471-5808 or email her at anne@phlf.org.

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