Ugly houses (Washington, Canonsburg, Waynesburg: living, prices, thrift stores)

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Citypoot

To take away some of the "ugly" archetecture in Pittsburgh though would be to create the bland homogenaeity found in many new cities where every block you drive down looks give or take like the last block you drove down.

In Pittsburgh you've got those tacky 1940 tall narrow houses with the horrendous faux-brick asphault siding, or bricks that are of colors almost designed to depress and scream "we're poor and mean!", yes yes, very true.

But it also has some of the most stately victorians you'll find anywhere in the U.S. in places like Squirrell Hill and Point Breeze, or just mindblowing mansions in Fox Chapel and Sewickley Heights, or mansions of yesteryear in Castle Shannon, or really mod-quarky archetecture in a suburb like Bradfordwoods, or McMansion subdivisions in Wexford and Murrysville and Moon Township. Or almost adorably working class neighborhoods in Morningside, or chic urban vistas on Mt.Washington, or yuppie exclusivity on Washington's Landing, or straight-up ghetto hellscapes of Rankin and Hazelwood, etc etc.

In a nutshell, you could get in a car at Point State Park, you could tell me what type of archetecture and what type of roughness or fanciness you seek, and within 15 minutes no matter what you say, I could provide you the world you sought.

Not many cities in America have SO much archetectural diversity in such a confined area. Part of that is the puke-tastic ugliness of working class 1940's home...but always remember, all that is, is one chapter in a continuing story of 21st, 20th, 19th, and even 18th century archetecture that makes Pittsburgh and its surrounding area a goldmine for archetectural aficianados.

Not to nit pick, but Squirrel Hill has few, if any Victorians. It was developed after the Victorian Era. Lot's of Neo Classical, and Colonial Revival homes though, and as was pointed out, those tall narrow frame homes date from the 1880's and 1890's, not 1940. Frame construction pretty much came to an end in Pittsburgh after 1910. There are relatively few houses from around 1940 in Pittsburgh, or anywhere else in America for that matter, as the depression, and then WWII, caused a monstrous decline in home building.

[PreservationPioneer]

Exactly. Thank you, Herodotus. The tall narrow homes were generally built late 19th century. The fake brick siding and aluminum awnings were probably added in the 1950s and 60s when these homes were renovated, so that's why they may look like they were built then. But they actually date from the 1800s or turn of the century. The typical 1940s era house looks like what you find in Stanton Heights. Blocky brick dwellings with minimal ornamentation.

I know that a lot of people are confused when they look up their Victorian on the Allegheny County assessment site and find the year for their house listed as 1920. That's because that year refers to the last time a construction permit was filed, not the build date of the house.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by Herodotus

Not to nit pick, but Squirrel Hill has few, if any Victorians. It was developed after the Victorian Era. Lot's of Neo Classical, and Colonial Revival homes though, and as was pointed out, those tall narrow frame homes date from the 1880's and 1890's, not 1940. Frame construction pretty much came to an end in Pittsburgh after 1910. There are relatively few houses from around 1940 in Pittsburgh, or anywhere else in America for that matter, as the depression, and then WWII, caused a monstrous decline in home building.

Not to nit pick, (really ) but in some cities in the U.S. there was a huge burst of building in 1940, 1941, and 1942. In San Diego, war industries supplying the pre-war build up of the US military and Great Britain caused a construction boom starting in 1940 that continued into 1942 before war shortages shut off the building spigot.

I so need to visit Pittsburgh someday to look at all this beautiful architecture.

[BrianTH]

So the good news is that if we take more of those late-Victorian "ugly houses" and convert them from a mid-20th Century redo to a more historically-respectful contemporary redo, we'll just be adding further to the architectural diversity in the area.

[Tallysmom]

In all honesty, every era has its day, and when nearing it's doneness is declared ugly. The Victorian was declared ugly and replaced by the Craftsman style which was declared ugly and replaced by the ranch house, which was the last ugly and replaced by McMansions which are now ugly....

If you like it, you like it. I like the modern ranch house (as opposed to a colonial ranch house)... but that's me. My friend has a Victorian with a real butler's pantry, and I can't believe the waste of space that thing is... but that's me. There are tons of people that would love a butlers pantry -- I just don't get it.

As pretty as I think a Victorian is -- and I do think they are nice to look at -- for us, it's not a liveable space. And I think it's horrid to do what is commonly done here -- spend a million on a Victorian, redo the outside to "Sweet Painted Lady" perfection, and then gut the inside to remodel it into a modern industrial style loft home.

But since a ton of these are done like that and most sell for a profit, even now -- it's what people want. And who am I to say they're wrong.

But they are.

[PreservationPioneer]

Personally, I love Victorian interiors and I think those who gut them (unless there are no original details) are ruining the integrity of the house.

[kettlepot]

To gut the original interior, doesn't just ruin the integrity of the house... well, yes that is all you can probably state as a reasonable fact.

But IMHO, it's an absolute crime. In San Diego it devalues your property probably by $50k to $100k; it doesn't enhance it.

Tallysmom, keep saying it. They ARE wrong!!!

[PreservationPioneer]

I will say that the majority of Victorian interiors were lost through awful remodels decades ago, so when people renovate them today the only choice may be to gut and start over. But when people remove original woodwork, stained glass, built-ins, mantels, etc., I take issue.

[AZgarden]

I have never been to Pittsburgh, but now I wanna go ! I want to see all these old houses. I would Love to go thru the historical districts, read about what went on there in the past and imagine the way it was then. Aren't these old homes protected by some kind of historical preservation society or something? If not, they should be.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

Aren't these old homes protected by some kind of historical preservation society or something? If not, they should be.

Homes in city-recognized Historic Districts are protected (somewhat) by the Historical Review Commission. City Historic Districts include Manchester, Mexican War Streets, Allegheny West, Penn-Liberty (downtown), (West) Deutschtown, South Side Flats, and some neighborhoods in the East End.

Historic Review Commission