Category Archives: Pittsburgh

This school at 711 West Commons is within the larger Allegheny Commons urban renewal area. It was originally built in 1964 as St. Peter’s Catholic Elementary School to serve the church immediately next door, but it closed in 2011 most … Continue reading →

Another mid-century church in East Liberty, this one is at the corner of Penn Avenue and Penn Circle West. East Liberty Luther Church (ELLC) came to be through the merger of two existing congregations in 1964. A new building was … Continue reading →

This building at 202 Penn Circle West is currently vacant and slated for redevelopment as part of a larger parcel in  the East Liberty neighborhood. It was most recently used by the Police Investigations Unit and before that was the … Continue reading →

This building, formerly the Emory United Methodist Church, sits at the corner of North Highland Avenue and Rippey Street in the East Liberty neighborhood. It was built in 1973 to replace the previous church destroyed by arson in 1971. Designed … Continue reading →

This Brutalist office building from 1970 is directly across Fifth Avenue from Holy Spirit Church. It is the headquarters for WQED, the television station well-known for producing Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, among other … Continue reading →

Located in Emsworth on Orchard Street just off Ohio River Boulevard is Sacred Heart Church. It was built in 1955 and designed by Pittsburgh architect Casimir Pellegrini who worked on numerous projects for the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese. He died in 1967.

This church is located at 4815 Fifth Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The land was purchased for this new church in 1952, ground was broken in 1960 and the church was dedicated in 1962.  There are multiple entrances … Continue reading →

As a brief aside, I would like to note that there is not a lot of information out there on modern buildings in Pittsburgh, either major or minor works. Hopefully this will change soon. With the demolition of the famed … Continue reading →

This engaging public library sits in the quaint Woods Run neighborhood on Pittsburgh’s Northside. The rest of the area is largely vernacular, early 20th-century housing and utilitarian commercial structures so the Woods Run branch stands out quite prominently. It was … Continue reading →

Located at 4215 Forbes Avenue, this Brutalist style building was purchased in 2009 by Carnegie Mellon University as part of a large plot for $25 million. The entire site is being considered for redevelopment and it is expected this building … Continue reading →