November 11, 2014
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Originally scheduled for Jan. 2014, but had to cancel
Speaker: MELANIE LINN GUTOWSKI\, Writer, Researcher, Historian
Melanie Linn Gutowski is a writer, researcher and historian originally from Stanton Heights. Her history writing has appeared in Pittsburgh Quarterly magazine and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, among other local and national publications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history of art and architecture from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s in Professional Writing from Chatham University. Melanie currently works as a docent at Clayton, the Henry Clay Frick estate in Point Breeze.
from Arcadia Publishing — book by Melanie Gutowski
In the 19th century, the positioning of Pittsburgh as a major manufacturing center and the subsequent rise of the areas steel industry created a wave of prosperity that prompted the beneficiaries of that wealth to construct extravagant residences. Wealthy enclaves sprang up in the citys East End, across the river in neighboring Allegheny City, and into the countryside. Pittsburgh’s Mansions explores the stately homes of the areas prominent residents from the 1830s through the 1920s. Businessmen such as H.J. Heinz, Henry Clay Frick, and members of the Mellon family commissioned elaborate homes from the preeminent architects of their day. Firms such as Alden & Harlow, Janssen & Abbott, and Rutan & Russell left their marks on the city’s landscape, often contributing iconic public buildings as well as expansive private homes. Though many of the residences have since been lost, Pittsburgh’s Mansions offers a look back at the peak of the citys prominence.
Also, see post-gazette article August 24, 2013 “Pittsburgh’s Mansion details grand homes of the past and present”
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