Historic Buildings

Downtown

• Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail Complex

  Stunningly beautiful. Singularly graceful. A symphony of arches. Considered by many to be the leading architect of the 19th century, Henry Hobson Richardson's 19th century neo-medieval design combines stunning brickwork and crisp granite detail. An outdoor fountain in the courtyard park highlights the magnificent riverfront structure, while the Bridge of Sighs (mirroring the Venice original)—at one time used to transport prisoners—connects the Courthouse to the jail. What Richardson considered his best work remains among elite architectural company in Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle.

• Fort Pitt Blockhouse

  The Block House is the oldest structure in the City of Pittsburgh and the last vestige of the British Empire, being built here in 1764 by the English Army. Much of its original fabric is still intact and it is open and free to the public year-round as a historic landmark. The Block House is the focal point in Point State Park where the three rivers of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny, the Ohio and the Monogahela meet.

• Frick Building

  The Frick Building (1901-02), the first of industrialist Henry Clay Frick's architectural ventures on Grant Street, Downtown. In 1903, Leslie's Weekly judged it "the finest office building in the world," and no wonder: Daniel Burnham gave the coke and steel king a vertical version of the White City, a neo-classical tower with a dazzling white, T-shaped marble lobby, clean and crisp as a new dollar bill; bronze lions flanking the entrance; and John La Farge's stained glass window, "Fortune and Her Wheel," above a marble bust of Frick installed after his death in 1919.

• Omni William Penn Hotel

  Built in 1916, this grand hotel boasts a history as one of the architectural centerpieces in downtown Pittsburgh. Unique features include the historic filigreed arches cradling the main lobby space, elegant lanterns that once again grace the sidewalk. Enlarged in 1929 by architect Benno Janssen and his partners, the hotel lobby has Old World elegance, with its potted palms, crystal chandeliers and classical music. The hotel's finest room, however, is on the 17th floor -- the Art Deco ballroom designed by New York architect Joseph Urban. The hotel is the last of four buildings in three adjacent blocks commissioned by industrialist Henry Clay Frick, who sometimes reserved the Presidential suite for his own use.

• Union Trust Building

  Formerly known as the Union Arcade (1915-1917). The architect of this Flemish Gothic fantasy was Pittsburgher Frederick J. Osterling, who had enlarged Frick's Point Breeze home two decades earlier. It is Frick's answer to the then-new Woolworth Building in New York City, the world's tallest. When it opened, it was Pittsburgh's most sumptuous shopping mall, although its four floors of shops have been reduced to one. Step inside, walk to the center and look up into the delicate lace of the stained glass dome.

South Side

• Chatham Village

  Built in the early 1930s Chatham Village is a model planned community with rowhouses, garden courts, greenbelt and recreation facilities opened through the Buhl Foundation to promote social reforms and housing improvements for middle-income families. This influenced the development of 20th century urban planning in the US.

Oakland

• Cathedral of Learning

  The Cathedral of Learning is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in Oakland. Standing at 535 feet, the 42-story Cathedral is the tallest educational building in the western hemisphere and the second tallest in the world. The Cathedral was commissioned in 1921 and finished in 1937, and has 2,529 windows.

• Nationality Rooms

  The first and third floors of the Cathedral of Learning are home to 26 'Nationality Rooms'. As gifts to the University of Pittsburgh from the city's ethnic communities, these 26 unique classrooms take you on a voyage of world cultures and global traditions. Witness designs that range from Byzantine and Classical to Renaissance and Romanesque. Step inside Beijing, Damascus, Athens and more to hear each room's unique story without having set foot outside Pittsburgh.

Western PA Region

• Old Economy Village

  1824. A devout commune has settled in the countryside town of Ambridge, just a short distance from Pittsburgh. A peaceful society of men and women, farmers and craftspeople, they begin to transform the landscape. Homes start to rise. A cabinet shop, blacksmith, print shop and tailor shop prosper. Gardens grow. And a feast hall becomes the centerpiece to enjoy the fruits of labor, celebrate life and affirm a peaceful existence. Learn about the Harmonists. Visit Old Economy Village, an early American community for the ages.