North side historic building now a pile of rubble (Pittsburgh: house, neighborhood)

[PreservationPioneer]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...5.26,,0,-11.71

Sad that another historic building on the north side is gone.

[Hopes]

I understand your wanting to preserve history, but I'm not sure what you see in that particular building.

[WILWRadio]

Hopes. I agree. I took a look at the photo and I don't see anything there that could be considered architecturally stunning or even unique. It does not seem to offer anything of historical significance unless some historical event took place in its past.

[BMSF]

I can't agree more. But to coward to be the first to say so. I think it's an eye sore and would be best to level.

[Hopes]

The old arc house down the block at the corner has nice architecture. Maybe that's the one alleghenyangel was trying to show us on googlemaps.

[PreservationPioneer]

You have to look at the upper part of the building to see what makes it unique. Check out the windows on the top floor, how they are less tall than the 2nd floor windows. That's a very 19th century architectural style. These kinds of buildings are being demolished all over the place in Pittsburgh, but it's a style unique to Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philly.. You wouldn't find a building like that in Cleveland. It also could be very old, 1850-60s possibly, which on its own would make it significant. Oh well, it's gone.

[Pitt Chick]

Sorry... but as much as I like architecture and history, I see no reason why that particular building should be preserved.

[raubre]

What is so special about that building?

[BrianTH]

While not exactly a stunning building, that certainly does look like quite an old building, and I could see it being a solid part of a historic block if that had been the direction that part of the North Side had taken.

[Hopes]

You have a good point, Brian. It would have made sense to salvage an entire block, not one lone building left standing. While I can't remember what the rest of the area looked like prior to the highway going through, I can remember that specific block from the early 70s. My mother used to take me antique shopping on that block, closer towards Chestnut Street, when I was in grade school. Most of the buildings looked like the remaining buildings near Chestnut---tall and narrow. There might not be a lot of those buildings in the country, but there's certainly an abundance of them in Pittsburgh!

It's such a shame that the highway development divided North Side and separated it from the river and downtown. There's such an expansive area of concrete there now. And the development of the Stadiums and the North Shore only contributed further from separating the neighborhood from downtown.

The vast concrete parking lots are a sad waste of space! The Carnegie Science Center just sits off by itself in the concrete. Nothing ties everything together for an enjoyable day out. It all screams, "You must have a car to visit the science center. It's not part of the city. It's not part of a neighborhood. It's just part of a parking lot next to a Stadium." At least Baltimore had the sense to build a park around it's science center. It's science center is tied in with the waterfront and the city streets. It's a lovely placed to spend the day in Baltimore.