Pittsburgh’s Feuding Architectural Landscape. And a Bell Tower.

“Yes, you can tell Carnegie I’ll meet him,” Henry Clay Frick responded to a man, James Bridge, a friend of Andrew Carnegie who, in the spring of 1919, delivered a letter to Frick on Carnegie’s behalf. Carnegie, who was approaching death, penned a letter to Frick in an attempt to reconcile a long-time feud. “Tell him I’ll see him in Hell, where we both are going.”

Carnegie Building (opened 1895, architects Longfellow, Alden & Harlow) in 1905, by photographer John C. Bragdon (Public Domain) NOTE: The Carnegie Building was demolished in 1952 for an expansion in the Kauffman’s building.

That quote is according to author Les Standiford in his book “Meet You in Hell” which dives into the two’s complicated relationship. Nearly a century later, that bitter feud had a profound and lasting impact on a simple workday of mine, and it was beautiful.

For nearly three years I enjoyed a job where I got paid to walk through some of the coolest buildings in Pittsburgh. Jealous? I thought so. I worked for a company based out of the Strip District called Plantscape. In this job, I went into offices to install planters and gardens. One day I found myself in a conference room in the Frick Building on Grant Street. I was on my knees in front of a plant placing decorative moss at its base when beautiful music rang in my ears. It sounded like the bells of a church. I looked up from the plant and through the massive window of the conference room to be confronted by the bell tower of H. H. Richardson’s masterpiece, the Allegheny County Courthouse.

Every day at noon the bells in the courthouse ring. I’ve spent a lot of time downtown for work, or just because I enjoy being downtown. Any Pittsburgher knows, our lunchtime downtown traffic is like a third rush hour. In that chaos, the courthouse’s music is hard to pick up. I certainly hadn’t notice before. In the quiet conference room, however, it was crystal clear. This experience is SO PITTSBURGH. Most cities have an iconic historic building or two, but in an age of tear it down and rebuild, most cities aren’t blessed with the plethora of gilded age architectural gems we so often underappreciate.

This story doesn’t start with me though, it starts with the feud between two very power, wealthy, and ethically questionable men which spilled over onto the forementioned Pittsburgh architectural landscape. As stated above, Carnegie and Frick did not have the best of relationships and Frick was out to make a statement. In 1901 ground broke along Grant Street to begin the construction of the Frick Building, the tallest building in Pittsburgh at its completion in 1902. Allegedly a 20-story building, the creation of D. H. Burnham and Company towered over and eternally shadowed another building called, the Carnegie Building which, when it was completed in 1895, previously held that tallest building title. I say allegedly because it can be argued that the building is actually 21 floors. The building “gained” a floor during a surface leveling which moved the buildings entrance to the the basement. This would explain why the stunning John LaFarge “Fortune and Her Wheel” stained glass window towers above you, not front of you, upon entering building. Next time you enter, you’ll now feel a sense of discomfort knowing you’re creeping in through the basement. You’re welcome.

Allegheny County Courthouse

Frick Building and Allegheny County Courthouse

Richardson’s courthouse, across the street, also once claimed the tallest building title. Completed in 1888, it’s considered one of his greatest works of art. You don’t have to go far from Pittsburgh to see its likeness; it’s inspired buildings across the continent as close as Toronto and as far as Minneapolis. The courthouse outranks every courthouse in the nation on the American Institute of Architects’ Americans’ Favorite Architecture Survey outside of the U.S. Supreme Court building. Our courthouse landed the rank of 35 in the survey right after the National Gallery of Art’s West Building in Washington DC, commissioned and funded by Pittsburgh’s own Andrew Mellon. Southwestern PA also claims the 29th spot with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water.

Fortune and Her Wheel in the Frick Building

Standing for more than a century, the Frick Building has inspired and awed its many visitors. Whether you’re creeping through the basement gawking at the “Fortune and Her Wheel” and admiring the craftsmanship of sculptor Malvina Hoffman’s bust of Frick, both in the lobby, or high up in a conference room, enchanted by music from a bell tower across the street, I guess the lesson of this story is that sometimes spite can be beautiful? I don’t know, I’ve got nothing. Just go stand by the courthouse and try to listen to the bells.

LINKS:

AIS Americans’ Favorite Architecture Survey WSJ article with results: https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-poparch07-sort2.html

Les Standiford’s Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America: https://www.amazon.com/Meet-You-Hell-Carnegie-Partnership/dp/1400047684 Source for Frick’s intention to overshadow the Carnegie building and introductory excerpt.