Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

10/24/2026

Rising on a bluff above the valley carved by the Chartiers Creek, the Borough of Thornburg is a little piece of Southern California in southwestern Pennsylvania.

This morning, we toured the planned suburb, which was created in 1899 by Frank Thornburg and his cousin David on land that had been in the family since 1806. Most of the early houses built here were in the Queen Anne Style.

By 1904, however, the Pittsburgh Gazette celebrated the “model and aristocratic suburb” for its “most unique collection of houses near Pittsburgh.”

The variety of historical residential styles would soon be augmented by homes inspired by Frank Thornburg’s personal passion: the contemporary Mission- and Craftsman-style houses he saw and studied during travels in Los Angeles and vicinity.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

10/18/2026

Our tour of the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning (Charles Klauder, 1926-1937), on Saturday, explored the core of the Oakland Civic Center Historic District— the neighborhood around the Cathedral, which helps define its identity. The iconic building is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

Our tour explored the neighborhood and the Cathedral of Learning itself, where we visited select interior spaces that are not open to the public.

We are grateful to our special guests for this part of the tour, Dr. Drew Armstrong, Associate Professor of Architectural History and Director of Architectural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Nicola Foote, Dean of the David C. Frederick Honors College, who not only gave us access but also shared some of the intriguing insights and discoveries they have made in two decades of observing students and studying in this extraordinary example of campus architecture.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

10/12/2026

Don't miss the last in our three-part lecture series that considered aspects of Pittsburgh’s historical built environment and what makes it distinctive.

This event will include a short reception to celebrate the end of the series and reflect. Join us!

Tuesday, October 27
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Carnegie Museum of Art Theater
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

(Parking: metered street parking is available and in the multi-level parking garage located directly behind the museum.)

For tickets: https://phlf.org/event/delirious-pittsburgh-on-the-blink/

10/05/2026

Our walking tour of the historic Allegheny West neighborhood on Saturday explored a neighborhood that was one of the city's most desirable places to live in its heyday.

In the 1890s, so many wealthy industrialists and merchants, built mansions in a section of what was then Allegheny City that one of the streets there was nicknamed Millionaire’s Row.

Men with the familiar last names of Jones, Laughlin, Phipps, and Kaufmann hired well-known architects to build their mansions and churches in this part of town.

Today, the architectural diversity of the neighborhood reflects a lot of the building styles and aesthetics of the opulence of that time-- from Colonial Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque, Italianate, Second Empire, and Greek Revival.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

10/02/2026

For more than six decades, long before historic preservation became widely embraced, Ziegler argued that old buildings were not obstacles to progress but anchors of memory, culture and civic life.

That understanding was shaped, in part, by the Cathedral of Learning itself. As a young student arriving in Oakland, Ziegler (A&S ’58, ’60G) encountered the soaring neo-Gothic tower not simply as a university building, but as a landmark.

Decades later, the Cathedral would become one of the defining preservation efforts of his career.

For alumnus and longtime Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation leader Arthur Ziegler, preservation is about people and culture, not just buildings.

09/24/2026

If you are age 70 ½ or older, you can make a gift directly from your IRA to Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). When you transfer funds directly from your IRA to PHLF, your gift goes to work immediately without increasing your taxable income.

A Qualified Charitable Distribution can:

-- Satisfy your required Minimum Distribution if you are age 73 or older;

-- Reduce your Taxable Income even if you don’t itemize;

--Help you Avoid Higher Tax Brackets associated with mandatory; withdrawals, and

-- Make an Immediate Impact on historic preservation work.

Your gift can make a difference today and help us advocate for and preserve the significant historic buildings that define our region for generations to come.

Contact your IRA administrator to request a Qualified Charitable Distribution transfer form today or contact our Director of Planned Giving, Susan Drapkin: [email protected] or 412-471-5808, ext. 536.

Note: Please inform us of your gift when you request the transfer because IRA administrators may not notify us of your designation. This will help us ensure that your gift is properly received and that your gift intentions are followed. We would also like the opportunity to thank you for your generosity.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

09/23/2026

“Landmarks Night at the Union Trust,” this evening, brought together friends from many different walks of life and included a reception, a tour of the historic building, and a moderated discussion about Pittsburgh featuring two longtime Pittsburgh authors and scholars.

We were delighted to see everyone that was able to join us tonight and we look forward to seeing more of you at our ongoing educational and advocacy programs.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride.

www.phlf.org

09/18/2026

Jamie Van Trump, who was a co-founder of our organization, and renown Pittsburgh architectural historian, who grew up and lived in Point Breeze, once famously described the city neighborhood as “Chateau Country.”

Perhaps one of the most distinctive aspects of the neighborhood’s history is the notable Pittsburghers that called it home. Some of Pittsburgh most consequential industrialists who generated great personal wealth and also helped build this city—Andrew Carnegie, H.J. Heinz, George Westinghouse, and Henry Clay Frick, all lived in Point Breeze at one time.

Of all their great houses, only Frick’s grand home, “Clayton,” survives, as part of The Frick Pittsburgh, but there is still much to see and explore in this large, residential city neighborhood.

That was the focus of our walking tour of the neighborhood on Thursday evening. We walked the neighborhood streets, toured the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (originally the home of Durbin Horne, son of Joseph Horne), Pittsburgh New Church, and the nearby main street shops, and Engine House No. 16, which now houses the offices of Fireman Creative.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org

09/17/2026

DELIRIOUS PITTSBURGH: On the blink!

Favorite Examples of Signs and Illumination on Pittsburgh Architecture

This is the last in a three-part lecture series that considered aspects of Pittsburgh’s historical built environment and what makes it distinctive. This event will include a short reception to celebrate the end of the series and reflect. Join us!

Tuesday, October 27
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Carnegie Museum of Art Theater
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

For tickets: https://phlf.org/event/delirious-pittsburgh-on-the-blink/

09/10/2026

Downtown Pittsburgh is like a smorgasbord of architecture, with a remarkable array of buildings and places old, new, restored, and re-imagined.

The great variety of styles, functions, and stories of these buildings are part of what makes Pittsburgh unique and allows us to understand the relationship between our history and our built environment.

In a vigorous tour of architectural landmarks, spectacular interiors, and significant urban spaces, our tour group, this morning, learned how Pittsburgh developed from a military outpost in the 18th century into the 21st-century city that has been lauded for its beauty, walkability, and livability.

A signature tour of our organization, “Downtown’s Best: Special Places and Spaces,” highlights how historic buildings have been preserved and maintained for contemporary uses, manifesting the resilience and ingenuity that have defined Pittsburgh since its beginning.

Renewing Communities; Building Pride

www.phlf.org