WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: PITTSBURGH WALKING TOUR

At about 2pm Wednesday a few hardy souls met at the NBS table to muster for my homegrown downtown Pittsburgh walking tour. Garrett Ziss, Kellen Hoard, Jeff Dickerson and I headed out on a sunny afternoon. This was an informal event, not advertised on the convention schedule. I'd led a similar tour back in 2004 and was curious to retrace my steps and revisit local landmarks.

This was not a purely numismatic tour - it was mostly interesting sites with a smattering of numismatic connections. Many thanks for Garrett Ziss for the photos.

Penn Station
AMTRAK trains still roll to Pittsburgh's old Pennsylvania Station, although the landmark building has long been converted to other uses. Designed and built circa 1898–1904, The building and its massive terra cotta rotunda has been called "one of the great pieces of Beaux-Arts architecture in America."

 

 

For more information, see:
Union Station (Pittsburgh) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Pittsburgh))

Courthouse and Jail
The Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail was designed Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and built between 1884-1888. The jail was closed in 1995 and converted to new uses. I took a guided tour of the jail between its closing and renovation.

 
Courtyard

 

 

 
Murals

 

 
The "Bridge of Sighs" modeled after a bridge in Venice, Italy

When the courthouse and Frick Building across the way were built, Grant Street was 15 feet higher than it is today. Horses had a hard time getting up that hill. In 1913, the street was lowered and what had once been the basements of the buildings were now at street level, explaining the oddly high placement of various architectural features.

For more information, see:
COURTHOUSE AND OLD JAIL (https://www.alleghenycounty.us/About/History/Courthouse-and-Jail.aspx)

Frick Building
Built by and named for industrialist Henry Clay Frick, the Frick Building opened in 1902 with 20 floors, the tallest building in the city at that time. When the street was lowered in 1913 it gained a 21st floor.

 

 

 

 
Wikipedia photo

The lobby features a stained-glass window by John LaFarge, depicting "Fortune and Her Wheel".

For more information, see:
Frick Building (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frick_Building)
This is John La Farge's 1902 "Fortune on Her Wheel" opalescent-glass window design in the lobby of the Frick Building (https://www.loc.gov/item/2019691065/)
History of the Frick Building (https://www.pittsburghbeautiful.com/2017/10/24/history-frick-building/)

Union Trust Building
Walk all the way in to the lobby of the Union Trust Building (built 1915-17) and look up the atrium.

 

I'm having a hard time finding references online, but I remember an old Christmas fundraising tradition where officeworkers would drop coins from the upper floors onto a net in the lobby.

For more information, see:
THE UNION TRUST BUILDING (https://www.uniontrustbuilding.com/)
GALLERY (https://www.uniontrustbuilding.com/gallery.php)

Old Union National Bank
The former Union National Bank Building has been converted to condos with some first floor retail businesses. I used to have a safe deposit box there when it was still a bank. Walk into the men's clothing store on the corner and look up to see 1906 Morgan dollar reliefs.

 

 

For more information, see:
The Carlyle (https://www.gopittsburghhomes.com/condo/the-carlyle-pittsburgh)

Dollar Bank
My personal favorite is the 1870 Dollar Bank building. Today it is the oldest surviving bank structure on Fourth Avenue and has been continuously owned and operated by Dollar Bank since its inception. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The interior is little changed since the main section and its additions were built, with all the original teller cages and offices.

 

For more information, see:
Fourth Avenue Building and Lions (https://dollar.bank/about/our-history/fourth-avenue-building-and-lions)

The Original Oyster House
A few blocks away is another institition in continuous operation since 1870 - the Original Oyster House is Pittsburgh's oldest bar and restaurant. We purchased a couple soft drinks to go for our walk back to the convention center.

I would be sore later in the day, but the stroll was well worth it.

For more information, see:
The Original Oyster House (http://www.originaloysterhousepittsburgh.com/)
A Pittsburgh Tradition Since 1870 (http://www.originaloysterhousepittsburgh.com/our-story)

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