Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

Our tour today of Wilkinsburg’s historic central business district explored not just the history and architecture of the borough, but also the collaborative nature of the different groups at the forefront of helping to jumpstart the economic revival of this storied first-ring suburb of Pittsburgh.

Incorporated in 1887, Wilkinsburg’s commercial district flourished, particularly along its Penn Avenue and Wood Street corridors, in part because of the scale of its changing built environment.

The borough saw smaller wood-frame buildings replaced with larger brick commercial blocks, and with larger, high-style architecture cropping up along its main thoroughfares.

That sudden growth of its “downtown” along with the addition of several passenger trains between Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh, and the construction of an electric streetcar line, transformed the borough and its central business district into a commercial hub serving the areas of Penn Hills, Monroeville, Edgewood, Forest Hills, and the Borough of Churchill.

That is the context through which our organization’s staff and docents partnered with the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation, Juci Architecture, and Civically, Inc., a social enterprise community development group, presented the broader picture of the renewal happening in Pittsburgh— not just with its built-environment but also with its people.

We were also delighted to be joined by architects John Evans and Chris Watt, formerly of MCF Architecture and now with LGA partners, who gave us a comprehensive picture of the technical work that went into the renovation of the historic Wilkinsburg Train Station building.

The main features of our tour today were the CDC offices in the Lohr Building, the former Mellon Bank building, and the full restoration of the historic former train station. Our tour also looked at other historic buildings—several of them restored and repurposed—contributing to the overall character of the central business, fully located within the boundaries of the Wilkinsburg Historic National Register-Listed Historic District, which was prepared and nominated by our organization.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride.

www.phlf.org

A group of students from Shady Side Academy's immersive program titled “From Troy to Troy Hill: Mythology from Ancient Greece to Local Legends” joined us to explore Downtown's architectural history as a part of their class' activities.

The immersive program explores how Ancient Greek ideas and myths have informed culture over time, and through their exploration of Downtown's storied architectural landscape, they were able to see the exceptional spaces and buildings featured on our Downtown's Best tour, which reveal not only the long heritage of ancient architectural ideas, but also the larger-than-life modern titans who created our city.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

"Every first and third Monday, visitors can pass under a granite archway on Ross Street — part of the original 1880s prison complex — then through security at Allegheny County’s family court building. Renovated in 2001 into the Court of Common Pleas’ Family Division, the courthouse still contains remnants of its former life as a jail, preserved today as a museum. Walking in, you can still see the contours of its original five-story rotunda, designed for maximum surveillance, where the radiating steel cell blocks once converged."

Get a rare look inside the Old Allegheny County Jail Museum For just three hours each month, the doors of the Old Allegheny County Jail Museum swing open. Every first and third Monday, visitors can pass under a granite archway on Ross Street — part of the original 1880s prison complex — then through security at Allegheny County’s family cou...

Earlier today, we explored the historic Allegheny West neighborhood on Pittsburgh's North Side in a private group tour for members of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (RAMP).

Known for its variety of Victorian architectural styles — Colonial Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque, Italianate, Second Empire, and Greek Revival — Allegheny West is one of the city’s smallest neighborhoods.

Its streets are lined with distinctive houses that highlight that story of a neighborhood that was possibly one of the most affluent places in Pittsburgh during its industrial heyday.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride.

www.phlf.org

Grant Street Throwback!

If you are lucky enough to have been on one of our organization’s tours of historic Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, you may have seen this picture before— it features Ruth E. Bates, the mother of ML Green, one of our docents, walking along Grant Street with a friend, sometime in 1935.

ML uses this picture to illustrate how the iconic street has evolved— or not— over time. ML believes this was a publicity photo for Gulf Oil, a company for which her mother worked as a tour guide from 1928 to 1949.

The picture was taken in front of the former Pittsburgh Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland building located at 717 Grant Street. That building has since been adapted for a new use and is now the Drury Plaza Hotel.

Grant Street, which cuts across town from the Monongahela River to Liberty Avenue is Downtown’s great civic thoroughfare, and it brings to life Pittsburgh’s history through its stellar mix of distinctive architectural buildings. In many ways, the story of Grant Street tracks with the story of the growth of Pittsburgh as a city of industry.

It is on Grant Street, after all, that you will see the mark that Henry Clay Frick left through his real estate ventures— including three great buildings, the Union Trust Building, the Omni William Penn Hotel and The Frick Building-- and it is on Grant Street still, that you can see and learn about the various avenues of authority, through which Andrew W. Mellon made an impact on the cityscape.

There is so much to see and learn on Grant Street, and also reflect on the history, if not of the buildings, then of the people, like Ruth E. Banks, our docent’s mother.

Join us as we explore the city, its neighborhoods, its singular landmarks, and the surrounding historic towns and communities. The more you know about a place, the more you love it!

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

Work is underway to replace the roof at St. Paul AME Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, which was one of 19 religious organizations to receive a Historic Religious Properties Grant from our organization this year.

“Thanks to PHLF we are able to get this project off the ground and completed before the serious rainy season starts. Thank-you so much for all that you do,” said Rev. Paul L. Waite.

A part of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which started in America primarily to protest against slavery and dehumanization of African people, St. Paul AME, operates an active and vibrant food pantry in McKeesport as a central tenet of its theological mission.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

Our sign went up today!

Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at 1500 Broadview Boulevard in Natrona Heights is one of 19 religious organizations that received a matching-grant from our organization’s Historic Religious Properties Grant Program in 2026.

We awarded a total of $125,000 in matching grants to religious organizations to undertake masonry restoration, roof repairs, renovation of wooden doors, and stained-glass windows, among other needs on their historic properties.

Housed in a Gothic building with a traditional stone façade, which was built in 1927, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church will use its matching grant to re-point the building’s historic stone façade.

Affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church started in 1972 following a merger of Calvary Lutheran Church and United Lutheran Church of Tarentum.

Our organization is the only nonprofit organization in Allegheny County offering a continuing program of financial and technical assistance to historic religious property owners. We have awarded more than 320 such grants, totaling nearly $4 million, since the program’s inception in 1997.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

This week, Pittsburgh welcomes visitors for the 2026 NFL Draft. Fans from across the country will gather on the North Shore and also spread out across the Allegheny in parts of Downtown, from Point State Park to Market Square and other spaces.

But a lot of the main action is going to unfold along the North Shore, in and around the site of the former Three Rivers Stadium, an iconic stadium that once was the home of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pirates from 1970 until 2001 when it was demolished in a great implosion. Both teams now each play in their own stadium.

Fun fact: The Gateway Clipper ferried fans to the stadium’s opening night on July 16, 1970…and will do the same during the draft this week!

As you prepare to take in all the fun and games, and the great atmosphere of the 2026 Draft, check out some of these historic photos we unearthed from our organization’s archives, including one of the models of the design of the former Three Rivers Stadium.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

Join us in May for a special Downtown tour to explore both the historic buildings of Wood Street and The Studio by PGH Candle, one of the hottest new store experiences in Downtown.

Saturday, May 16
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

For tickets: https://phlf.org/event/special-event-light-up-the-city/

Renewing Communities; Building Pride.

www.phlf.org

Preservation in Practice: A crew member of Wilson Restoration re-pointed the bell tower of the school chapel on the campus of the historic Waldorf School (c. 1896-98) in Bloomfield.

Our organization significantly restored the roof and gutter of its gymnasium in addition to the school chapel, and the brick and stone foundation of the school's main building as part of a program in which we invested about $350,000 to restore the facades of eight historic buildings owned by non-profit organizations over the last three years.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org