Preservation Opportunities & Awards
PHLF: Fourth Avenue Historic District Walking Tour
Friday, October 18
10:00 am to 11:15 am
$20.00 per person
This tour is limited to 20 participants.
Tickets will not be available after 11:30 pm on October 17.
Click here to purchase a ticket.
The Fourth Avenue Historic District encompasses a remarkable variety of buildings. From a Greek Revival building of 1836, to cast-iron-front structures of the 1870s and 1880s, to a majestic quartet of early-20th-century skyscrapers, the district includes distinguished structures designed by more than a dozen eminent Pittsburgh architects.
The tour focuses on the portion of the District once known as “Pittsburgh’s Wall Street” for its concentration of buildings that served the financial and investment industries. We also will see how old buildings are being re-purposed for contemporary uses and explore PPG Place—the postmodernist “cathedral of commerce” that brings full circle the fascinating story of this narrow but mightily impressive street.
PHLF: Walking Tour of Strip Historic District
Saturday, September 21
10:00 am to 12:00 (noon)
$20.00 per person
This tour is limited to 20 participants.
Tickets will not be available after 11:30 pm on September 20.
Click here to purchase a ticket.
The Strip District is a vibrant amalgamation of Pittsburgh’s past, present, and imagined future. It is probably best known locally for food sellers and other businesses that reflect the neighborhood’s long immigrant history. In its 200-plus-year history, however, the Strip has been a site of industry, the region’s wholesale produce distribution hub, a center for nighttime entertainment, and, most recently, a home to Pittsburgh’s flourishing technology sector. The Strip’s ongoing evolution and changing demographics are mirrored in the architecture in this sprawling neighborhood.
The tour focuses on the Strip Historic District, which extends from 15th Street to 22nd Street, between Liberty Avenue and Railroad Avenue. Preservation and repurposing of historic buildings have been key to revitalization of the Strip in the last 20 years, and we will see how the mix of old and new — sometimes in the same structure — has brought renewed life to one of Pittsburgh’s most distinctive neighborhoods.
PHLF: Walking Tour of Bridges and River Shores
Friday, September 20
10:00 am to 11:15 aam
$20.00 per person
This tour is limited to 20 participants.
Tickets will not be available after 11:30 pm on September 19.
Click here to purchase a ticket.
Pittsburgh is a city of bridges: hundreds of them span our waterways, valleys, and ravines. Bridges offer changing vistas on the natural and manmade features of the cityscape, and in Pittsburgh, these works of artful engineering are a source of civic pride.
This tour takes us on a loop bounded by the north and south shores of the Allegheny River and by two of the Three Sisters bridges that cross it. Taking in public art and historic buildings along with bridges and the river, this tour reveals the dynamic relationship between humans and nature that characterizes much of the Pittsburgh region.
PHLF: Walking Tour of Vandergrift
Saturday, August 24
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
$20.00 per person
This tour is limited to 20 participants.
Tickets will not be available after 11:30 pm on August 23.
Click here to purchase a ticket.
For as long as there has been industry in the United States, there have been company towns—that is, communities built by businesses. While many of the roughly 2,000 such towns built across the country were known for their abysmal conditions, Vandergrift, stands out for its exceptional history and design.
George G. McMurtry, who was president of Apollo Iron & Steel Co. and established the town in 1895, believed that good housing and a pleasant environment would ensure his workers’ loyalty and increase their productivity. To create a plan for “something better than the best,” as McMurtry described it, he hired the famed Olmsted family of landscape designers.
Join us to learn how the layout designed by Frederick Law Olmsted’s firm responded to both the landscape and McMurtry’s goals.
This tour will include insights from local business figures and residents of the community, leading us through this unique company town and discussing efforts to revive both the economy and community spirit.
The tour will wrap up at a new local winery built in a restored church.
PHLF: Preservation Advocacy & Tour Event
Featuring Easements as a Tool of Historic Preservation
Thursday, March 21, 2024
5:00 pm-6:30 pm
Mansions on Fifth Hotel
5105 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Fee: $20
This event is limited to 30 participants.
Click here to purchase a ticket
Join us at the historic Mansions on Fifth, a boutique hotel in the restored former McCook Mansion and residences in Shadyside, for a Preservation Advocacy reception to learn about the value of preservation easements as a critical tool in saving historic buildings.
Located in a stretch of Shadyside that was once famously known as Millionaire’s Row, what is now Mansions on Fifth Hotel was built in 1906 as the home of Willis McCook, a Pittsburgh lawyer and industrialist, who was Henry Clay Frick’s attorney. Designed by the Pittsburgh architectural firm Carpenter & Crocker, the house would go on to serve as a boarding house for many years before its complete restoration and conversion into a boutique hotel.
Join us to learn about our organization’s involvement in helping to save the building from demolition and the restoration of the main house and its sister building. The event will include a tour of the hotel, and you will also learn more about the use of preservation easements and how they can enable you to save and maintain your historic building. Our organization owns a preservation easement on Mansions on Fifth Hotel.
Hors d’oeuvres will be served.
Drinks and other refreshments available for purchase at the bar.
Downtown Walking Tour: Market Square Area
Friday, August 11
10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
$20.00 per person
This tour is limited to 20 participants.
Tickets will not be available after 11:30 pm on August 10.
Click here to purchase a ticket.
Ever since George Woods and Thomas Vickroy laid out the plan for the streets of Pittsburgh in 1784, Market Square has occupied an important place Downtown—geographically, economically, and culturally. In this area where the historic architecture meets recent construction, we will see how PHLF’s work has helped to revive a Downtown core that was once threatened by extensive demolition.
The tour includes residential, commercial, corporate, and hotel buildings, several of which the U.S. Green Building Council has awarded its highest certifications for environmental sustainability. Together, the sites on the tour demonstrate how the combination of historic preservation and thoughtful new development can create a livable urban environment.
PHLF: Downtown Walking Tour of Fourth Avenue Historic District
Saturday, July 15
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
$20.00 per person
This tour is limited to 20 participants. Tickets will not be available after 11:30 pm on July 14.
Click here to purchase a ticket
In 1889, Mary Schenley donated 300 acres of land to the City of Pittsburgh to create the park that bears her name. By the turn of the 20th century, the construction of other amenities transformed Oakland into Pittsburgh’s original cultural district.
This tour focuses on the section of Oakland that includes Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, and the main branch of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, which drew people from around the growing industrial city for respite, enlightenment, and aesthetic pleasure.
Stops at additional sites around these landmark institutions will reveal not only how the neighborhood has continued to evolve, but also the mix of features that still attracts people to Pittsburgh’s original home of culture.
2023 Allegheny West Preservation Award
The Allegheny West Local Review Committee, along with The Allegheny West Civic Council, announces the 13th Annual Allegheny West Preservation Awards. These awards are presented to property owners in Allegheny West who have completed projects over the recent years, retaining or restoring appropriate elements of historic character, and adhering to the neighborhood guidelines. The success of these projects was attained by doing research, creating well thought-out plans, following neighborhood historic guidelines, and working with the neighborhood LRC and the City HRC to seek advice on the application process and guidelines.
The 2023 Award Recipients Are:
Greg Kobulnicky for the restoration of 908 Beech Avenue, main house and ancillary building/electric shop.
The main house, built in 1868, is an example of the Italianate style, the most popular in the Pittsburgh area between 1860 and 1885. It is one of the oldest along Beech Avenue. The ancillary building was added in 1895.
Over the recent years the most prominent reconstruction projects that Greg has undertaken are the replacement of the side porch, highly visible from Beech Avenue, and the reconstruction of the ancillary building in the rear. On the porch, chamfered columns were used, with brackets that match those above the front door. The porch deck and ceiling are tongue and groove wood. The roof is standing seam metal, and the door onto the porch is paneled wood with a glass lite. The new porch reflects the Italianate style.
The new first floor windows along the porch side are wood.
The reconstruction of the ancillary building involved masonry work and the rebuilding of the roof and chimneys. New windows were installed, and a new door added.
This restoration is successful because of the extensive research, well thought-out plans, and adherence to our neighborhood guidelines.
Paula Cellini for the restoration of 929 Western Avenue
This is a very special award because Paula is no longer with us. Not only did she restore the Western Avenue façade of 929 and replace garage doors in the rear, but she served on the LRC and was a strong advocate of historic preservation in Allegheny West.
Paula had just received approvals to add a second floor living space above her garage. She was preparing to start construction. She related her experiences in getting City permits and approvals to LRC members. Her experience in restoration in historic districts, both Allegheny West and Manchester will be greatly missed.
What is the Allegheny West LRC and What is its function?
The Allegheny West LRC is a group of residents in the AW City Historic District convened by the City Historic Review Commission to review exterior renovation projects, to help property owners manage the building permit process, and to provide our recommendations to the property owner, and the City Historic Review Commission.
Because Allegheny West is one of 13 city historic districts, all exterior work that is visible from a right-of-way, a street or alley, needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, and, depending on the type of project, possibly a building permit. Once you have a concept, idea, or plan, check the Allegheny West Historic Guidelines. These guidelines are posted on the City HRC site. If your project fits the guidelines or if it is fairly simple and straightforward, such as painting, you may be able to get approval for a Certificate of Appropriateness “over the counter” at 200 Ross Street, Downtown. The persons that you will need to contact for this are Sarah Quinn, 412-255-2243 or sarah.quinn@pittsburghpa.gov. or Sharon Spooner, sharon.spooner@pittsburghpa.gov, the City Historic Planners.
However, if you are planning a more significant project, such as replacement of windows or doors, installation of a fence, porch, addition, or a garage, you will need to have a hearing before the Historic Review Commission. In the second instance, please contact us, your local committee. We will review your plans, make recommendations, and help you get through the process. To be put on the LRC’s agenda, contact Carole Malakoff, carolemalakoff@hotmail.com.
Warning – Do not proceed with work without a building permit or a CofA! Property owners who have done so in the past have been cited by Building Inspection. Time and money had to be expended to resolve the situations, and projects were delayed.
More information about the Allegheny West City designation can be found on the City’s web-site under City Planning/HRC:
- guidelines for our neighborhood
- the other 13 historic districts
- applications to apply for a Certificate of Appropriateness
PHLF: A Showcase of Pittsburgh Architecture
In June 2022, we launched a 10-part series of short videos to showcase Pittsburgh’s distinctive historic architecture. The series, titled “Past is Present” was meant to give viewers some insight into aspects of our city and region’s history and built environment. Through this series we profiled singular buildings, bridges and landmarks, and even how the landscape— hills, rivers, and valleys— help define the Pittsburgh aesthetic.
With this final episode, we take a broader look at the architecture of Pittsburgh and consider some of the themes and attributes that make this city and region an architectural gem. We hope you enjoyed the series, which we created as an aspect of our educational and advocacy programs.
CLICK HERE to watch the entirety of the series on our YouTube channel.
This program was funded by a grant from Colcom Foundation.