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| Mark Houser Leading One of Hi Skyscraper Tours Credit all: Bill Rockwell |
If you think you know
your way around Pittsburgh, I recently discovered a novel approach to the city that
will greatly change your familiarity with the Downtown core. It’s a singular
tour that gives tour takers a bird’s-eye-view of the city and clue them in on interesting
information about the city’s history and architecture.
Tantalizingly titled the “Antique
Skyscrapers Rooftop Views Tour,” these two-hour long explorations take up
to 30 people on an up-close look at Pittsburgh from multi-story vantage points
of four of the city’s loftiest buildings.
The informed tours are led by author, professional speaker,
and award-winning journalist, Mark Houser.
Packed with information, Houser’s tours include
inspirational anecdotes about the men like Andrew Mellon, Andrew Carnegie and
Henry Clay Frick responsible for the construction of some of Pittsburgh’s most significant
buildings.
The
tours meet in the ornate, Art Deco, marble-floored lobby of the 1929 Koppers
Building which soars upward 34 stories to a height of 475 feet.
Commissioned
by Andrew Mellon and named for Heinrich Koppers, a German chemist who learned
how to make creosote from the gas discharge of coke ovens. Mellon eventually had
a controlling interest in the company, and his skyscraper was the
tallest until the adjacent Gulf Tower, another Mellon building, opened in 1932.
Looking Down on the Union Trust Building Credit all Photos to Bill Rockwell
From
the outdoor balcony on the 29th floor of the Koppers Building, the
view of Pittsburgh is stunning. The vista includes Pittsburgh’s Strip District,
sweeps across the Allegheny to the North Side and the ballparks, east towards
the Cathedral of Learning and a vertiginous look at the lofty and former U.S.
Steel Building, the 8th tallest in the world when it opened in 1971
The
tour traverses about one mile of walking during which time Houser likes to fill
the hike with informational tidbits. Several times on the tour, he mentioned
the difference between buildings with load bearing walls like the string of low-lying
buildings along the top end of Liberty Avenue, and the steel framed buildings
which enabled skyscrapers to climb higher and higher.
Note:
In Pittsburgh, the first steel frame building was the now gone 13-story
Carnegie Building.
Our
second stop, the 23-story Clark building, was built in 1927 for movie theater
mogul, James Clark, who built the nearby Stanley Theater, now called the
Benedum Center. From the outdoor viewing area, one of the most eye-catching
buildings is the Thomas Keenan Building with its striking red domed top.
The Thomas Keenan Building
Keenan
was owner of the now defunct Pittsburgh Press and Houser included an
apocryphal story about his journalistic crusade against corruption and vice.
Because
Keenan often stepped on the toes of local officials and their cohorts, disaffected
individuals started a scurrilous rumor campaign about him that accused him of operating
a den of iniquity or love nest in the top floor penthouse of his high rise, currently
named Midtown Towers.
Skyscraper
three on the tour, the Oliver Building, was built by prominent architect,
Daniel Burnham (1846-1912), a proponent of the Beaux Arts School and director
of works for the 1892–93 World's Columbian Exposition. in Chicago. According to Houser, Burnham built more
skyscrapers in Pittsburgh than anywhere else but Chicago.
Oliver
is said to have once met Burnham on a train while touring in Egypt. Back home.
the architect was interested in building for Oliver a skyscraper with a terra
cotta façade over a steel frame. Oliver was resistant to the idea so Burnham
built him a smaller building to show how a larger one would look. The result
was so satisfying that Oliver allowed Burnham to proceed on the taller 25-story
terra cotta version that now bears his name.
As
a building material, terra cotta proved resistant to the smoke and grime that
filled the air in Pittsburgh during its industrial heyday. Stone and brick were
susceptible to coloration and staining due to their porous nature. Terra cotta,
on the other hand, proved much more resilient, grit resistant and easier to
clean.
The
building was constructed in 1910 in less than a year. Interestingly, steel for
the skyscraper was delivered to the site by horse and wagon. Today, it houses
the 228-room Embassy Suites Hotel. The top floor vantage point includes up
close looks at the building’s elaborate, terra cotta decorative artwork along
the roof line.
Decorative Terra CottaDesigns along the Rooftop
The
tour ends at the Frick Building, built after a heated episode in which Carnegie
wanted to remove Frick from his company. As payback for the maneuver, Frick
deliberately build his 20-story building so that it cast a sunless shadow over
the adjacent and much smaller Carnegie Building.
Because
the street on the side of the building had later been lowered, the building now
stands at 21 stories tall. In the lobby, Houser pointed out “Goddess of Fortue,”
a gorgeous and large stained-glass window designed by John La Farge.
The Bell Tower of Allegheny County Courthouse and Beyond
From
our vantage point atop the building, we could see just across the street eye-ball
to eye-ball at the H.H. Richardson-designed Allegheny County Courthouse,
considered the architect’s masterpiece. The courthouse’s tall and slender bell tower can
be seen directly across the street giving tour takers a unique horizontal view
in lieu of the street level, vertical view.
To
the right of our vantage point, the 40-story, Art Deco Grant Building, built in
1929, came into view with its famous rooftop beacon that spells out
P-I-T-T-S-B-U-R-G-H in Morse code. A spotlight at the top of the building once pointed
in the direction of the West Mifflin Airport.
To
date, Houser has taken more than 2,000 people on his skyscraper tours, which characteristically
include four buildings. He also offers a free-of-charge, online audio tour
titled “Pittsburgh’s Wall Street.”
To
access the audio tour as well as a written narrative with photos of Pittsburgh’s
Fourth Avenue buildings, go to PittsburghWallstreet.com.
Houser
has also authored two books. “Multi Stories: 55 Antique Skyscrapers & the
Business Tycoons Who Built Them” which includes a look at buildings from 36
cities illustrated with vintage souvenir postcards.
“Highrises
Art Deco: 100 Spectacular Skyscrapers from the Roaring ‘20s to the Great
Depression” is an oversize coffee table book featuring dazzling
drone shots that zoom in on details that can’t be seen from street level and
compares famous towers in New York and Chicago with unheralded beauties from 47
other cities.
“Every
skyscraper is a personal statement of ambition in a legacy of steel and stone,”
Houser said.
Additional
tours this year are scheduled for July 18 and 19 and October 3 and 4. To
reserve a tour or for more information, go to website skyscraperstories.com.
Entrance to Vallozzi's Pittsburgh
For
Place to Dine to further enhance your experience, Vallozzi’s, 220 Fifth Avenue
in Downtown Pittsburgh serves “inspired Italian cuisine.” Vallozzi's started
over 50 years ago when Helen Vallozzi sold homemade pastas out of her home. A
few years later, she opened a take-out restaurant in Latrobe, where her
popularity exploded.
A Vallozzi Dining Room
In
1977, Ernie Vallozzi moved his mother’s location to Greensburg, where it is
still open and operating today. In 2012 Ernie's son, Julian, expanded the
tradition into downtown Pittsburgh.
Lobster Risotto with Shrimp and Sea Scallops
Valozzi’s
still serves dishes made with Helen’s original recipes such as her meat balls,
gnocchi and marinara. Specials are offered daily, and the menu changes
seasonally. The wine list is extensive and one of 19 in Pennsylvania to receive
the Wine Spectator's Best of Award of Excellence.
Beef Osso Buco Napolitaine style,
creamy polenta, salsa verde
Vallozzi’s
220 Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh, Phone 412-394-3400 or vallozzis.com.
The Rustic Decor of Vallozzi's Pittsburgh
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