 | |
| Motto | Preserving a world made of steel, made of stone. |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-Profit |
| Purpose | To advocate for the preservation of historically important sites, structures, landmarks, and districts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| Location |
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Region | Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania |
| Website | www |
Preservation Pittsburgh is a non-profit advocacy group founded in 1991 to support the preservation of historic, architectural, cultural, and environmental sites and buildings within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Founded by Mary J. Paradise, Preservation Pittsburgh's origins lay in efforts to stop the Syria Mosque Concert Hall's demolishment in 1991. The organization emerged out of the public protest campaign titled "Save the Syria Mosque Organization." [1] Although this group sparked “one of the fiercest preservation battles in the city's history," the land was eventually sold to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, or UPMC, which constructed a surface parking lot on the site (that still stands today). [2]
In the early 2000s, Preservation Pittsburgh was one of the opponents of Mayor Thomas Murphy's "Fifth and Forbes" revitalization plan. Murphy's original plan would have demolished 62 buildings in the Downtown area. After opposition from Preservation Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, among others, Murphy opened up the revitalization plan to a broader group of stakeholders, including preservationists and building and business owners. [3]
Preservation Pittsburgh also advocated for the adaptive reuse of the Civic Arena, a contentious site given that it was built by displacing residents in the Hill District, a primarily African American neighborhood, using eminent domain. [4] Preservation Pittsburgh launched the "Civic Minded" design competition for the arena when it faced demolition in 2010, and announced four contest winners. These winners proposed various reuses for the arena: a park that would incorporate part of the arena's dome into the natural landscape, [5] an urban marketplace that would seek to amend the "double injustice of urban renewal and poor food access in the Hill District," [6] a natatorium that would information about the Hill District's history, [7] and a solar-power clad dome that would help power the Lower Hill District. [8] [9] The Civic Arena was demolished in 2011. [10]
According to Preservation Pittsburgh's website, the organization has nominated 35 Pittsburgh sites, structures, and districts for City of Pittsburgh Historic Landmark Designation since 1991. It has also nominated 3 historic districts (two parks and one neighborhood) for the National Register of Historic Places. Most of the nominations are structures, such as the Former Jones & Laughlin Headquarters Building and the Heathside Cottage, but some are also sites, like the Westinghouse Memorial, or districts, like Highland Park. [11]
After a structure, site, or district is nominated for a local designation in Pittsburgh, it must be approved by the Historic Review Commission, which is composed of seven members appointed by the Mayor of Pittsburgh. Matthew Falcone, who is the current president of Preservation Pittsburgh, is also a member of this Historic Review Commission. [12] [13] As of June 2019, 11 of Preservation Pittsburgh's nominations have been approved to be City Landmarks. [14]
Preservation Pittsburgh currently partners with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the City of Pittsburgh to list three Pittsburgh parks—Frick Park, Highland Park, and Riverview Park—on the National Register of Historic Places. [15] Frick Park and Highland Park were successfully listed on the Register in 2019, and Riverview Park is still under consideration. [16]
The Pittsburgh Modern Committee of Preservation Pittsburgh aims to raise awareness of modern sites in Pittsburgh and advocate for their preservation. The committee frequently gives tours of modern sites in neighborhoods like Downtown Pittsburgh. [17] The committee also assisted in the 2019 book launch for Imagining the Modern: Architecture, Urbanism and the Pittsburgh Renaissance, which followed an exhibit shown at the Heinz Architectural Center in the Carnegie Museum of Art. [18]
The Religious Architectural Heritage Committee focuses on promoting awareness of ecclesiastical architecture, centering on the borough of Wilkinsburg. In October 2018, Neighborhood Allies and other community groups partnered with Preservation Pittsburgh to give a “Sacred Spaces Tour” of churches, mosques, and other historic sites along with art programming. A second “Sacred Spaces Tour” was also held in October 2019, which allowed Wilkinsburg residents and others to watch artistic performances/exhibitions, participate in crafting workshops, and learn about religious sites’ history and architecture. [19] In 2016, Preservation Pittsburgh began advocating for the preservation of the Albright United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood. [20]
Preservation Pittsburgh was also among the groups and individuals advocating for preserving a historic tunnel mosaic by Virgil Cantini, a well-known Pittsburgh artist who founded the University of Pittsburgh's Studio Arts Department. [21] The mosaic was removed in 2019 and the City indicated that it has plans to relocate the artwork to a different location, although Cantini created the mosaic to be featured in the tunnel. [22]
Wilkinsburg is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, with an official population of 15,930. Wilkinsburg is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, which has a population of 2,324,743, thus the largest metropolitan area in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia, and also the second-largest in Pennsylvania, and the 27th-largest in the United States. Wilkinsburg is adjacent to five neighborhoods of the city of Pittsburgh and borders four other boroughs and one township. The population of Wilkinsburg was 15,930, according to the 2010 census, having declined by 13,923 official residents in the 70 years since the 1940 census, when 29,853 people were enumerated. The borough of Wilkinsburg was named for John Wilkins, Jr., a United States Army officer who served as Quartermaster General of the United States Army from 1796 to 1802.
The Financial District of Lower Manhattan, also known as FiDi, is a neighborhood located on the southern tip of Manhattan island in New York City. It is bounded by the West Side Highway on the west, Chambers Street and City Hall Park on the north, Brooklyn Bridge on the northeast, the East River to the southeast, and South Ferry and the Battery on the south.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The Commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for the construction of the current Madison Square Garden. The Commission is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings and sites by granting them landmark or historic district status, and regulating them once they're designated. It is the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation.
The Civic Arena, formerly the Civic Auditorium and later Mellon Arena, was an arena located in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Civic Arena primarily served as the home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the city's National Hockey League (NHL) franchise, from 1967 to 2010.
Station Square is a 52-acre (210,000 m2) indoor and outdoor shopping and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States across the Monongahela River from the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. Station Square occupies the buildings and land formerly occupied by the historic Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Complex, including the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station, which are separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Regent Square is a neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. According to its civic association, it "includes portions of the municipalities of Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Swissvale and Wilkinsburg". It is also the name of one of the 90 neighborhoods within the City of Pittsburgh's limits, which leads to some confusion among residents. In 2017, it was named the #1 neighborhood to live in Pittsburgh and the #17 best neighborhood in the United States by Niche.com.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Westinghouse High School, also known as The Academy at Westinghouse, is one of 10 high schools and of four 6-12 schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. It is located in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is named for Pittsburgh resident George Westinghouse.
The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 to support the preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
The Lummus Park Historic District or simply Lummus Park, is on the National Register of Historic Places and a locally historic designated district in Miami, Florida. It is roughly bound by Northwest Fifth Street to the north, Flagler Street to the south, Northwest Third Avenue to the east, and the Miami River to the west. On October 25, 2006, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Lummus Park has some of the oldest structures in Miami, and over the decades, has been able to retain a large part of its early pioneer character.
Virgil David Cantini was an American enamelist, sculptor and educator. He was well known for innovation with enamel and steel and received both local and national recognition for his work, including honorary awards, competitive prizes and commissions, along with a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1957. Cantini long served as a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, where he helped to create the Department of Studio Arts. A longtime resident of the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cantini died on May 2, 2009 at the age of 90. Today, many of his large scale works are on display throughout the city of Pittsburgh.
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) is a non-profit membership organization that documents, honors and preserves the architectural heritage and cultural history of several neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan, New York City: Greenwich Village, the Far West Village, the Meatpacking District, the South Village, NoHo, and the East Village. In 2019, it was rebranded, but not renamed, as Village Preservation.
Koning Eizenberg Architecture (KEA) is an architecture firm located in Santa Monica, California established in 1981. Working collaboratively, principals Hank Koning, Julie Eizenberg, Brian Lane, and Nathan Bishop think with developers, cities and not-for-profit clients to reveal new possibilities for the design of housing and neighborhood places that strengthen community. Their groundbreaking work has been published extensively both in the US and abroad, and has earned over 125 awards for design, sustainability and historic preservation.
Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation is a non-profit educational institution in Washington, Pennsylvania. Its purpose is to encourage and assist the preservation of historic structures in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The foundation operates its own landmark certification process, as well as working with the National Park Service to document and place landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places. It also offers advice and assistance for historic building owners who wish to preserve their facilities. Since its inception, the foundation has been successful in helping many historic building owners in the preservation of their structures.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Station-Wilkinsburg is located in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, on Hay Street at the foot of Ross Avenue. The building was completed in 1916 when the railroad embankment through town was elevated above street level to eliminate hazardous grade crossings. The two previous stations had been located three blocks southeast along Wood Street between Franklin and Rebecca Avenues.
Hamnett Historic District is a historic district in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. Bordered roughly by Rebecca Avenue, the rear property lines on the east side of Center Street, Sewer Way, and Lytle Way, it encompasses 77 buildings and 114 acres.
Thomas H Scott was an architect in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is credited with designing the Benedum-Trees Building (1905) in downtown Pittsburgh at 221 Fourth Avenue. It was added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 1973. The Garden Theater (1915) in Pittsburgh's Central Northside neighborhood, also designed by Scott, was placed on the List of City of Pittsburgh historic designations by Pittsburgh City Council on March 25, 2008.
The former Jones and Laughlin building is located at 200 Ross Street in the Downtown neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Built in 1907 in the Jacobean Revival architectural style, the building served as the headquarters of the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company from its construction until 1952 and currently holds offices for various governmental agencies in the City of Pittsburgh. In July 2020, the City of Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission determined that the building's nomination to be a City of Pittsburgh Historic Landmark was viable.