Why is infill so much more historic on the North Side? (Pittsburgh: 2015, houses)

[eschaton]

I had some spare time around lunch, so I rode my bike around the North Side after catching a bite at El Burro. Attached is a picture of a house. This house is not a rehab of a historic house. The house is in fact a new construction house built in the last year. It's clear when you go up to it and see the foundation is made out of concrete block, or notice it does not in fact have any chimneys. But from the street, it matches the local vernacular perfectly. It has has zero setback from the street. It has no front-loading garage, but a detached garage in the alley. It has windows and doors which correctly align with each other, and match the surrounding houses. It looks like it belongs on the street.

This is just one of many, many examples. The vast majority of new construction houses in the lower North Side at least try to look influenced by historic vernaculars, even if they don't actually try to ape historic styles completely. This has always struck me, because this kind of house is totally absent from the South Side and Lawrenceville. All infill new construction there is various strains of contemporary, from nice to nauseating.

I know some will site the historic district status of portions of the North Side, but this cannot be the cause. First, this house (and many others) are not in a historic district. Secondly, historic districts in Pittsburgh only ensure that existing houses cannot be 'remuddled" - they do nothing to require new infill be built in a historic style.

Anyway, obviously there are different strokes for different folks here. I'm not going to claim that the historic styling is objectively better, even though I subjectively think it is. But why can you really only find it in Pittsburgh north of the Allegheny?

[RogersParkTransplant]

Before we discuss architecture, I would like to take a moment to once more express my deep and abiding LOVE of El Burro. Hope you had a good lunch.

[bradjl2009]

Is that house in the Mexican War Streets area? If so, don't homes built or renovated in that area have to ascribe to appear like the other homes in the neighborhood since it's a historic district?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Is that house in the Mexican War Streets area? If so, don't homes built or renovated in that area have to ascribe to appear like the other homes in the neighborhood since it's a historic district?

1. The house is in West Deutschtown.

2. No, as I said, Pittsburgh's historic districts do not require new construction to "look historic."

[UKyank]

I could be wrong; but I believe there are local review boards for allegheny west & the Mexican war street areas with pretty stringent guidelines you have to go through on top of the normal channels for contractors there

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by UKyank

I could be wrong; but I believe there are local review boards for allegheny west & the Mexican war street areas with pretty stringent guidelines you have to go through on top of the normal channels for contractors there

I think you're right, but there are some rather cute contemporary homes in both neighborhoods, so that's not the whole story. I was just walking in Deutschtown and noting how the new construction along Suismon between Middle and East Streets (very close to 279) also does a good job of blending with the neighborhood, despite being almost entirely built in 2015-16.

Honestly I think the answer is that the North side is lucky to have some developers who are catering to the people who really like the historic look of the area. This is the closest Pittsburgh can get to something like Georgetown in DC, and the historic homes sell very quickly here, so the developers have realized that the old style is pretty hot on the market. What I don't know, and don't really understand, is why the same thing didn't happen in Lawrenceville, as eschaton is pointing out. It's a very good question, especially since it's some of the same developers (like October), if I am not mistaken.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by UKyank

I could be wrong; but I believe there are local review boards for allegheny west & the Mexican war street areas with pretty stringent guidelines you have to go through on top of the normal channels for contractors there

You can check the agenda presentations of the Historic Review Commission here. They never deal with new structures inside of their districts.

There are some vague "consideration of neighborhood context" guidelines which Pittsburgh offers for new construction within historic districts. They are not binding however - only typical zoning regulations apply. And in this particular case, the building is not even within a city-designated historic district.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by eschaton

You can check the agenda presentations of the Historic Review Commission here. They never deal with new structures inside of their districts.

There are some vague "consideration of neighborhood context" guidelines which Pittsburgh offers for new construction within historic districts. They are not binding however - only typical zoning regulations apply. And in this particular case, the building is not even within a city-designated historic district.

I didn't mean the city's Historic Review Commission, rather local boards just for that specific area

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by UKyank

I didn't mean the city's Historic Review Commission, rather local boards just for that specific area

Hrrm. You mean unofficial groups who, if you get approval from, grease the wheels for the zoning variances needed?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by RogersParkTransplant

Before we discuss architecture, I would like to take a moment to once more express my deep and abiding LOVE of El Burro. Hope you had a good lunch.

I like El Burro a lot. But every time I go there, I sort of regret I didn't pick something with a little less grease.