Abandoned building on Mt. Washington (Pittsburgh, Fox Chapel: real estate, opthamologist, chapel)

[dannythekid]

Has anyone been up to Mt. Washington and noticed the old abandoned building near the Mon Incline? I noticed it first when I was coming up the incline and the first thing I noticed was the architecture, which is kinda contemporary, and pretty cool. I thought it was someone's old house because it was covered by trees. I never noticed how big it was until they cleared the trees all out.

Does anyone have any history on this place, when it was closed up, and maybe why? It's slowly starting to fall apart, but it's fascinating to see such a large piece of real estate being neglected in a nice area like that.

If you don't know what I am talking about maybe I can go take some pics when I'm up there again

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by dannythekid

Has anyone been up to Mt. Washington and noticed the old abandoned building near the Mon Incline? I noticed it first when I was coming up the incline and the first thing I noticed was the architecture, which is kinda contemporary, and pretty cool. I thought it was someone's old house because it was covered by trees. I never noticed how big it was until they cleared the trees all out.

Does anyone have any history on this place, when it was closed up, and maybe why? It's slowly starting to fall apart, but it's fascinating to see such a large piece of real estate being neglected in a nice area like that.

If you don't know what I am talking about maybe I can go take some pics when I'm up there again

Is this a red and yellow modern looking building?

[fleetiebelle]

Mt. Washington residents are tired of living near the Edge - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Some Mt. Washington residents are upset with a vacant, graffiti-covered building hulking over the cliff near the Monongahela Incline.
Site of the former Edge restaurant, the structure is a homeless haven, a graffiti painter's canvas and a developer's dead end, said members of a group who want it torn down.

[dannythekid]

Originally Posted by subdivisions

Is this a red and yellow modern looking building?

No, but I know what house you are talking about. That is located on Cola St. A Brain Surgeon lives there I believe. My dad's lawyer buddy lives in the house behind him.

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Mt. Washington residents are tired of living near the Edge - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Yep, that's it. Wow, I didn't realize it's been closed since 1979. I really like the style of it, I wonder when it was built. It's still in pretty good shape for 29 years with no maintenance really.

[Geeo]

I remember when it was The Edge restaurant. I believe it was really chic for its time. I don't know what happened, but the place closed and I think the owner of the property had some problems and it became an eyesore. About ten years ago, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel chain wanted to tear it down and build a hotel over the cliff and down the mountainside. I think it would have been 4 - 6 stories on Mt. Washington and 8 or 10 stories going down the cliff. They published architectural drawings in the paper. However, the people that live behind the site protested that it woud hulk over their street and houses, cause traffic jams, and managed to block the development. So there sits The Edge. I think that any developer would have problems building there because the neighbors will fight just about anything proposed for that site unless it was single family houses.

[ExPit]

Originally Posted by dannythekid

Has anyone been up to Mt. Washington and noticed the old abandoned building near the Mon Incline? I noticed it first when I was coming up the incline and the first thing I noticed was the architecture, which is kinda contemporary, and pretty cool. I thought it was someone's old house because it was covered by trees. I never noticed how big it was until they cleared the trees all out.

Does anyone have any history on this place, when it was closed up, and maybe why? It's slowly starting to fall apart, but it's fascinating to see such a large piece of real estate being neglected in a nice area like that.

If you don't know what I am talking about maybe I can go take some pics when I'm up there again

Wow, is that still there? I lived in that yellow high-rise right across the street from the Mon Incline, and if you're talking about the building just over the edge of the hill from Grandview this is for Ripley's. Is it a large, if I recall gray building that's kind of built into the terrain?That was a swanky restaurant back in the day; I'm trying to think of the name...The Edge comes to mind, but that may be another restaurant up there. But the building I'm thinking of had been vacant for some time then when somebody told me it was stuck in litigation. It's hard to believe that it still is, that it has been vacant all of these years. I'd really like to know if anybody has any information on this; I always thought it would be ideal for something. Maybe it has been deemed structurally unsafe and the city is afraid to tell the people of the South Side that it is gradually sliding down the side of Mt. Washington and will eventually land on their heads.

Yeah, I posted before I read the article. Incredible that that's still there. There is either a good reason, like there is something seriously wrong with the structure or the Fox Chapel opthamologist's price is way out of line, or, and this is what alot of posters have been saying on this forum...Pittsburgh really is in alot of trouble.

[fleetiebelle]

I think that any developer would have problems building there because the neighbors will fight just about anything proposed for that site unless it was single family houses.

I used to live on Grandview, and the traffic issue would really be a problem for a big development like a Ritz Carlton or similar. Lots of narrow bricked streets with nowhere to expand.

[Humanoid]

There are buildings like this in every Pittsburgh neighborhood, its part of what gives Pittsburgh its...err...charm.

[pghcleak]

A Ritz on Mt. Washington would have been awesome. The traffic might have been a little bit heavier but who wouldn't want to stay in a fancy hotel that overlooks one of the best views of a city in America? I'm sad that it didn't happen.

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by Humanoid

There are buildings like this in every Pittsburgh neighborhood, its part of what gives Pittsburgh its...err...charm.

Very tactful.

(and I sincerely mean that...)

This is one of the things that I wish Pittsburgh was better about. Old buildings would be much more charming if they were fixed up instead of left to rot and fall down the hillside. It's sad that there are so many examples of unique architecture still left in ruins in this city.