Success Stories - Fifth and Forbes Project

The following information is from Pittsburgh History & Landmark's Fifth & Forbes Walking Tour brochure and describes the history and significant architecture that comprise this unique area of our downtown. PHLF gives tours throughout the city and they provide an excellent opportunity for a more in-depth experience of Pittsburgh historic places. More information is available at: http://phlf.org/events/index.html

"In 1999, the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation successfully rallied local and national support to defeat the City's plan for Fifth and Forbes. The plan called for the demolition of 64 buildings and the removal of 125 merchants for the construction of a new megaplex cinema and retail mall, financed in part through large public subsidies.

Landmarks continues to work with local merchants, preservationists, downtown organization, and concerned citizens to advance a revitalization plan for Fifth and Forbes that call for saving and restoring the historic buildings, creating loft housing, supporting local businesses, and including new construction when appropriate.

The heart of the Fifth-Forbes area was designated by the City of Pittsburgh in 1972 as its first historic district. Fifth-Forbes is an area of exceptional integrity, filled with two-and three-story retail structures, largely constructed between the late 1880s and the 1930s when the area was a bustling marketplace.

The architecture include examples of the High Victorian, Edwardian Baroque, Classical and Art Deco. Store after store is faced with cream and white terra cotta, giving the district its distinctive image, while a colossal order of Corinthian columns stretches almost an entire block

The area also accommodates the odd gesture, the quaint idiosyncrasy, the individual merchant, a resident plying their wares in the busy district. The one-of-a-kind, humanly scaled business and retail district is full of architectural character. This distinctive character can be the basis for its renewal.

MARKET SQUARE

Market Square, or the "Diamond," was laid out in 1784. Originally this central square was the site of market stalls and the first Allegheny County Courthouse; later a market house and City Hall occupied the square; and finally came the Diamond Market, occupying all four squares and bridging Market Street. Since 1961, Market Square has remained open, a place for concerts, rallies, and relaxation.

One wing of PPG Place actually fronts on Market Square. The black and silver of the uniform upright elements looks like a Prussian regiment formed up to impress the peasants.

Primanti Brothers anchors a handsome block of vernacular buildings constructed soon after Pittsburgh's Great Fire of 1845. Also notice the Lubin & Smalley building of 1905, with the elegant double windows recessed within an arcade across the top floor, the ornamental birds on either side of the center, top-floor window, and the slender columns that look a bit like palm trees. The wave-like design above the ground floor is called a Vitruvian scroll.

The Original Oyster House anchors the northeast corner of Market Square. Constructed in 1870, the building is one of more than 400 in Allegheny County to be distinguished by a Historic Landmark plaque from the PELF. When the Oyster House first opened, oyster sold for a penny and beer was 10 cents a glass!