Spotlight On Main Street | Schwartz Market

Help save history in your community by restoring and reusing historic buildings.

“Buildings tell stories in a way, and help us remember the past. They are nice for decoration.” --student quote

Schwartz Market: 1317 East Carson Street; Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Date and Style: Built around 1900; --American Renaissance; In this style, beginning in the 1880s, American architects were inspired by Italian and French renaissance forms. Notice the patterned brickwork and large, semi-circular-arched windows with decorative keystones. The cornice has a series of small ornamental brackets called modillions set within large brackets.; Facade improvements funded through the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Streetface Program

In 1916, this was the “American Building,” owned by G. A. Jones, and others. Mr. Jones was a real estate salesman.
As you can see from the historic photograph below, the American Building had a fancier roofline originally, and six flags proudly flew above the building.
In the early 1920s, Mr. Schwartz opened Schwartz Sanitary Supermarket at 1507 East Carson Street. The “sanitary” sounds unusual now, but the name reflected the new way food was being packaged.
The Schwartz family purchased the building in 1938 and operated the store until 1985.

The Schwartz family still owns the building, but sold the grocery business to Martin Dorfner and Richard Stanton. The new business owners retained the Schwartz name because it was so familiar to South Siders.
The upper stories of the building provide warehouse space for the grocery.