The Vanishing Black Stones of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh used to be a city of massive black stone buildings. In a few years, perhaps, they will all have disappeared–not torn down, but cleaned of the soot deposits from decades of heavy industry. When the mills died and the cleanings began, it came as a surprise to many Pittsburghers that the uniquely Pittsburghish black stones they had known all their lives were, underneath it all, quite pale and ordinary-looking, almost like the stones in every other city. Experts say that the pollutants eat away at the stones, so I suppose the cleanings are necessary; but I miss those black stones. Albright Community United Methodist Church on Centre Avenue in Shadyside has not been cleaned yet; this is its tower, still gloriously black, though not as inky black as it was at the peak of the steel industry.

Richardsonian Romanesque

First United Methodist Church sits where Shadyside, East Liberty, Friendship, and Bloomfield all meet. It would be hard for a building to get much more Richardsonian without having been designed by Henry Hobson Richardson himself.

The Mellon Fire Escape

East Liberty Presbyterian Church dominates East Liberty from every angle. It was designed by the great Ralph Adams Cram, and, per square foot, it may be the most expensive church ever built in America. Because Mellon money built it, perhaps to atone for some of the sins inevitable on the road to becoming the richest family on earth, locals call it the Mellon Fire Escape.

Presbyterian Gothic

First Presbyterian Church sits on Sixth Avenue next to Trinity Cathedral (Episcopal) and just across the street from the Duquesne Club. These are the bastions of old money in Pittsburgh, and plenty of that money went into the elaborate Gothic ornamentation of the church building, not to mention its famous stained glass by Tiffany.

Sunset Over Polish Hill

The rooftops of Polish Hill silhouetted in the sunset. In the background, the domes of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

More Gothic Fantasy

There are three Ralph Adams Cram churches in Pittsburgh, but by far the most fantastical of the lot is Holy Rosary in Homewood.

Exuberantly Gothic

 

Calvary Methodist Church in Allegheny West is famous for its Tiffany windows, some of the greatest works of the Tiffany studios. Even if it didn’t have those windows, though, it might still be famous for this doorway.

Gothic Fantasy

 

The spire of Heinz Chapel on the University of Pittsburgh campus reaches toward heaven.