Spotlight On Main Street

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

“The best way to save our history is to care about what we have.” --student quote

The Bead Mine: 1703 East Carson Street; Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Date and Style: Built in the 1880s; --Victorian (Italianate) style; Erected during the reign of Queen Victoria of England (1837-1901), this Victorian Italianate building is based on the style of Italian Renaissance villas. Notice the projecting eave, or overhanging roof edge, with carved wooden brackets, and the slightly arched window openings decorated with stone window hoods.; Facade improvements funded through the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Streetface Program

In 1916, the building was owned by H. E. Miller and S. Arnold.
In 1963, Anthony F. Petraglia bought Wagner Shoe Store, located at 1703 East Carson Street (see advertisement below). The store which remained open until his retirement in 1991, catered mostly to South Side families and many Polish immigrants.
The Bead Mine has been on East Carson Street since 1997. When the building was being remodeled for The Bead Mine, the owner discovered old letters underneath the floor boards and cases of beer from the Duquesne Brewery, once on the South Side. The owner speculates that a “speak easy” may have been located on one of the upper floors. A “speak easy” was a bar that served alcohol during Prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s, when it was illegal to do so.

The owners' family has lived and owned businesses for three generations on East Carson Street.
Famous visitors to The Bead Mine include Weird Al and Dave Matthews.
The upper stories of the building are now apartments, and the basement serves as a storage space for The Bead Mine.