The Lost Buildings of Pittsburgh (York: fit in, hotel, houses)

[PreservationPioneer]

Hope you enjoy. This is my tribute to the lost (demolished) historic buildings of Pittsburgh.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVAoNF8x-kI


To see my photo tours of Pittsburgh, visit: http://historicpittsburgh.blogspot.com

[Ben Around]

Nice job! I love looking at these old buildings. What a loss.

Your phototour reminds me of a link posted a couple months ago on the Minneapolis/St Paul forum. Like Pgh, Mpls also did lots of "slum clearance" in the 1950s/60s, demolishing entire neighborhoods. The film this link leads to shows mostly decrepit buildings, unlike the classic beauties yours shows.

Minnesota Video Vault | Home

[pman]

all cities were demolishing themselves susidized by federal funds (title one) . sometimrs for highways, sometimes for garagrs, sometimes for public housing, etc. it was a time when planners and the feds were basically out to wipe out urban living. some are more sad than others. the old post office for a garage?

[BrianTH]

They didn't value the buildings, which to them were just old and ugly and not yet historic, and they were also convinced that cities needed to become a combination of highrises and autocentric-infrastructure in order to survive. That is how you get to absurdities like tearing down what we now would recognized as significant and irreplacable historic buildings for things like parking garages.

[pman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

They didn't value the buildings, which to them were just old and ugly and not yet historic, and they were also convinced that cities needed to become a combination of highrises and autocentric-infrastructure in order to survive. That is how you get to absurdities like tearing down what we now would recognized as significant and irreplacable historic buildings for things like parking garages.

many of these projects were unpopular at the time which was how the preservationent movement came abouy. certain plannets beleived they were doing the right thing but most importantly, they had federal.money to play sim city with real life buildings. federal policy from the new deal on was essentially antiurban from red lining to the idea the economu could be propped up by forcefully remaking the way americans lived. certainly by the sixties it was clear the policies were failures but it still took a long time to stop. jane jacobs rip

[BrianTH]

The feds undoubtedly played a role, but it was also certain local elites--particularly within the interconnected business and political communities--that pushed this vision in cities like Pittsburgh. I agree other locals--including some elites as well--were often opposed.

It should also be noted a lot of this was flat out racist and xenophobic. For example, some of the relevant housing developments in cities like New York were originally white-only--somewhat ironic, given that cheaper versions of those ideas would later be used for low-income urban housing projects. Generally, some elites openly promoted these master-planned city visions as a clean WASP-friendly alternative to chaotic old cities full of dirty foreigners and minorities.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

The feds undoubtedly played a role, but it was also certain local elites--particularly within the interconnected business and political communities--that pushed this vision in cities like Pittsburgh. I agree other locals--including some elites as well--were often opposed.

It should also be noted a lot of this was flat out racist and xenophobic. For example, some of the relevant housing developments in cities like New York were originally white-only--somewhat ironic, given that cheaper versions of those ideas would later be used for low-income urban housing projects. Generally, some elites openly promoted these master-planned city visions as a clean WASP-friendly alternative to chaotic old cities full of dirty foreigners and minorities.

I agree. It was definitely "government" who orchestrated this at the federal level, but it was business interests (developers, road builders, investors) who ran the show at the local level. Many of the former "slums" are now freeways, parking lots and vast, unpopulated wastelands of incredibly ugly architecture that is underutilized from an economic point of view. Meanwhile, the slum simply shifted to other neighborhoods that had been viable, blue collar, forcing those who lived there out to the burbs, creating new slums.

[Chriscross309]

That was depressing!

I love some of the newer buildings in the Pittsburgh Area, but if they had to tear those beautiful ones down, then it wasn't worth it!!!!!!!

[andyt4579]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

They didn't value the buildings, which to them were just old and ugly and not yet historic, and they were also convinced that cities needed to become a combination of highrises and autocentric-infrastructure in order to survive. That is how you get to absurdities like tearing down what we now would recognized as significant and irreplacable historic buildings for things like parking garages.

Maybe one day we'll revere parking garages.

Some of these losses were architectural tragedies, but sometimes I think you do need progress and turnover. The Exposition buildings still up were empty (aside from being used as the auto pound) and weren't situated on an ideal spot next to the river. I'll take the park area over that. Mellon Square, for what its worth, seems like a better incarnation now than what it would've been if it hadn't changed (we have enough empty storefronts along Forbes as is). The Wabash terminal, though probably even more gorgeous on the inside than the outside, was still a train terminal that was, in general, out of use (though it'd be nice to have that as the Gateway Center T terminal...you listening Port Authority? build a mini revival version of that).

Having said that, surely all of us will think of a swear word anytime we walk by Saks Fifth Avenue from now on.

And even though it isn't in downtown...seriously, the Syria Mosque in '91? Why?

[PreservationPioneer]

Some of the buildings I didn't fit into my video include the Jenkins Arcade, the Colonial Annex Hotel, and of course the Syria Mosque.

But there's really no way to do justice to the countless street-level historic buildings that have been lost, especially in terms of downtown's once-prominent residential buildings (small row-houses).