The Schenley Farms Historic District, also referred to as the Schenley Farms–Oakland Civic District, is a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...
listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
that is located in the
Oakland
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
section of
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, Pennsylvania, United States.
It comprises two separately designated City of Pittsburgh historic districts: the Oakland Civic Center Historic District
consisting of publicly and privately owned institutional buildings, and the adjacent Schenley Farms Historic District
consisting mainly of a planned residential development of the early 20th Century. The Schenley Farms Historic District is roughly bounded by
Forbes Avenue
Forbes Avenue is one of the longest streets in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It runs along an east–west route for a length of approximately .
History
According to historical writer and blogger Leon J. Pollom, the lowest section of ...
including the
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh is a nonprofit organization that operates four museums in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The organization is headquartered in the Carnegie Institute and Library complex in the Oakland neighborhood of Pitts ...
on the south; South Dithridge and North Bellefield on the east, extending to include
St. Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
and Rectory on
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...
and North Craig Street; Bigelow Boulevard, Andover Road, and Bryn Mawr Road on the northwest; and Thackeray Street through to Fifth Avenue on the southwest.
Noted for its late 19th And 20th Century Revivals architecture, it is home to a large portion of the campus of the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
. The district comprises 154 contributing buildings, 31 of which are cultural or institutional buildings and 123 of which are residences in the northwest portion of the district. The historic district is a noted example of community planning and development following the
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of th ...
that guided city planning and urban design in the United States from the mid-1890s through the first decade of the 20th century. The City Beautiful movement favored boulevards, parks, and formal civic buildings in the beaux-arts style.
In 1905,
Franklin Nicola put forth a development plan in the City Beautiful style for Oakland, which included civic, social, residential, and educational zones along Bigelow Boulevard which ran through the heart of the neighborhood. The proposal centered on a series of monumental buildings created in styles evoking ancient Greece and the Italian Renaissance. Although Nicola's plan was not fully implemented, including a never-constructed Oakland town hall, it produced such landmarks as the
Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, the Masonic Temple (now the University of Pittsburgh's
Alumni Hall), and the
Pittsburgh Athletic Association
The Pittsburgh Athletic Association at the University of Pittsburgh is a historic, Benno Janssen designed building located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened as the home of a gentlemen's club, private social and club (organization), athletic clu ...
.
Other major landmark buildings were added to the historic district after the pursuit of Nicola's designs had ended, including the landmark
Cathedral of Learning
The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Stan ...
and
Heinz Memorial Chapel
Heinz Memorial Chapel is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Un ...
of the University of Pittsburgh and
Mellon Institute. Contributing buildings in the historic district date from 1880 to 1979. A contributing building, the
University Place Office Building
University Place Office Building was a 6-story building constructed in 1924 and had been a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United ...
, was razed in 2011.
Historic district sites
Image:Cathedral from Upper.jpg, The Cathedral of Learning
The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Stan ...
, itself on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, is the main building of the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Image:HeinzChapelSouth.jpg, The University of Pittsburgh's Heinz Memorial Chapel
Heinz Memorial Chapel is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Un ...
Image:AlumniHallatPitt.jpg, The former Masonic Temple, now Pitt's Alumni Hall
Image:Schenley Fountain.JPG, Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain (''A Song to Nature'')
Image:Bellefield Hall Pitt.JPG, The former Y.M.H.A., is now Pitt's Bellefield Hall
Bellefield Hall is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and is a contributing property to the Schenley Farms Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh across Bellefield Avenue from Heinz Memorial ...
Image:StephenFosterMemorial.jpg, The Stephen Foster Memorial
The Stephen Collins Foster Memorial is a performing arts center and museum which houses the Stephen Foster Archives at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is dedicated to the life and works of American songwriter S ...
at the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Image:SchenleyQuad5th.jpg, The former Schenley Apartments, now Schenley Quadrangle residences at the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Image:WPUForbesAve.jpg, The former Schenley Hotel, now the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union
Image:Clapp Hall Edit.JPG, Clapp Hall
George Hubbard Clapp Hall is a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District[] on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The six-story Gothic ...
at the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Image:AllenHall.jpg, Former Mellon Institute building, now the University of Pittsburgh's Allen Hall
Image:ThawPitt.jpg, Thaw Hall
Thaw Hall is a historic academic building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh that is a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District and has been named a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic L ...
at the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Image:Gardner Steel.jpg, The former Central Turnverein, now the Gardner Steel Conference Center at the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Image:RuskinHallentrance.jpg, The former Ruskin Apartments, now the University of Pittsburgh's Ruskin Hall
Image:ThackerayHallPitt.jpg, The former National Union Fire Insurance Company building, now the University of Pittsburgh's Thackeray Hall
Image:FrickFineArts.jpg, The Frick Fine Arts Building
The Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Building is a landmark Renaissance villa and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms-Oakland Civic Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. ...
at the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Image:MusicbuildPitt.jpg, The former William Jacob Holland
Rev William Jacob Holland FRSE LLD (August 16, 1848 – December 13, 1932) was the eighth Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh (1891–1901) and Director of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. He was an accomplished lepidopterist, zoologist ...
residence, now the Music Building at the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
Image:UniversityClub.jpg, The University Club, now a building on Pitt's campus
Image:Carnegie Museum of Natural History 01.JPG, The Carnegie Institute
Image:CarnegieLibraryPittsburghFrontEntrance.jpg, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the public library system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its main branch is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and it has 19 branch locations throughout the city. Like hundreds of other Carne ...
, part of the Carnegie Institute complex
Image:Mellon Institute 01.JPG, Mellon Institute
Image:Pittsburgh Athletic Association.jpg, Pittsburgh Athletic Association
The Pittsburgh Athletic Association at the University of Pittsburgh is a historic, Benno Janssen designed building located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened as the home of a gentlemen's club, private social and club (organization), athletic clu ...
Image:PittsburghStPaul.jpg, St. Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...
Image:SchenleyHigh2007.jpg, The former Schenley High School
Schenley High School, located in the North Oakland neighborhood at the edge of the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a historic building opened in 1916 that was a part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The Schenley High School build ...
which closed in 2008.
Image:SoldiersMemorial Pittsburgh.jpg, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall
Image:Pittsburgh Board of Education.JPG, Pittsburgh Public School's Board of Education building
File:20th Century Club Pittsburgh.jpg, The Twentieth Century Club, now a building of the University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
File:Concordia Club Pittsburgh3.jpg, O'Hara Student Center
File:Bellefield Presbyterian Church Pittsburgh 2.JPG, Bellefield Presbyterian Church
File:FirstBaptistPittsburghOaklandPHLF.jpg, First Baptist Church
Book References
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References
{{Pittsburgh
City of Pittsburgh historic designations
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks
School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Historic districts in Pittsburgh
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh