Belmar School

Belmar School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	7109 Hermitage St., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°27′39″N79°53′50″W / 40.46083°N 79.89722°W / 40.46083; -79.89722
Built	1902
MPS	Pittsburgh Public Schools TR
NRHP reference No.	100011513
Added to NRHP	March 14, 2025

The Belmar School is a former public school in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It opened in 1902 ^[1] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2025. ^[2]

History

The school was built by the Homewood sub-district, which served what was then Pittsburgh's 21st Ward. In 1911, all of the old ward schools were consolidated into Pittsburgh Public Schools. According to the school district's first annual report in 1912, Belmar was in excellent condition but was overcrowded with 825 students and 21 teachers: ^[3]

The Belmar building... contains sixteen rooms, but accommodates only the children of the first five grades. Four rooms in this building are now on half day sessions. A full equipment for manual training, cooking and sewing is now being installed in excellent rooms in the basement of this building and this school ought to be independent with all grades.

In 2004, Belmar was one of ten schools closed by Pittsburgh Public Schools in order to cope with declining enrollment across the district. ^[4] Subsequently, the building was used by the Homewood Montessori program from 2004 to 2006 and then housed middle-school students from Lincoln K–8 from 2006 to 2011. It has been vacant since 2011. ^[5]

In 2022, the building was sold to a private developer with the help of an adaptive reuse loan from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. ^[6]

References

1. "Work on School Delayed". Pittsburgh Press. August 20, 1901. Retrieved March 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "National Register of Historic Places Weekly List 2025 03 14". National Park Service. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
3. Annual Report. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Board of Public Education. 1912. pp. 153–158. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
4. Schaarsmith, Amy McConnell (May 27, 2004). "Board Spares 3 Schools". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Clippings of the first and second pages via Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
5. Chute, Eleanor (March 10, 2013). "City Schools Spent $23M on now-closed buildings". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Clippings of the first and second pages via=Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
6. "Landmarks Community Capital Corporation: Made $4.2 Million Available to Incentivize Historic Preservation Through Financing Adaptive Use in Historic Buildings" (PDF). PHLF News. No. 186. Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. December 2022. p. 14. Retrieved March 28, 2025.