A Rowhouse in Lawrenceville

Lawrenceville is one of Pittsburgh’s most interesting neighborhoods. In its long history—it was the birthplace of Stephen Foster—it has never really decayed, but it has seldom been a really fashionable neighborhood. The result is a collection of houses going back to the Federalist style, many of them in good condition, and relatively few bulldozed for new developments. Now, at last, the neighborhood is becoming fashionable, but among artists who cherish the history and architecture of the place.

This house probably dates to the 1880s, but the basic shape of Lawrenceville rowhouses has remained the same for most of the neighborhood’s history. The green trim and dark red paint were the typical look of a Pittsburgh house for many decades; by contrast, the identical house to the left has been restored and pseudo-Victorianized.

A Bank in Lawrenceville

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If you worship Mammon, here is your temple. This classical gem of a bank, built in 1903, refuses to allow its small size to curtail its Renaissance luxury.

Romanesque in Lawrenceville

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The fame of Richardson’s courthouse made “Richardsonian Romanesque” a favorite style in Pittsburgh for decades. Here a small industrial building in Lawrenceville shows that a little tasteful Romanesque detail is never out of place.

Allegheny Arsenal

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The Allegheny Arsenal, next to 40th Street in Lawrenceville, is most famous for blowing up during the Civil War, killing a large number of women and children who worked there. In those days, it was considered wise and prudent to employ young children in the manufacture of dangerous explosives. In our more enlightened time, we are careful to employ only well-trained adults in our munitions works, so that our bombs will kill only the children we aim them at.

The Arsenal, or what’s left of it, is also notable for being the last remaining work of Benjamin Henry Latrobe in Pittsburgh. Latrobe is more famous as the architect of the United States Capitol in Washington.

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Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.