Michael Rojkind at Carnegie February 24, 2013

NEWS

October 13, 2012

Vintage buildings get new life

Vintage buildings get new life

By John Conti
TribLIVE
Published: Saturday, October 13, 2012

Restore, don’t “modernize!”

That’s a simple enough injunction, but one that is only recently becoming current in development circles.

Too often in the past, attractive, old commercial buildings have been subjected to “modernizations” that fundamentally destroyed their good looks and left neighborhoods looking decayed as the modernizations themselves aged.

So, it’s gratifying to see that trend reversed these days in some notable places.

One place right now is on Baum Boulevard where two historically important, prominently situated and architecturally fine buildings are undergoing restoration and “re-purposing” — giving new uses to old buildings.

Both buildings are remnants of what used to be Pittsburgh’s first “Automobile Row” — once a mile-and-a-quarter string of car dealerships, repair shops and even the world’s first drive-in gas station, all built in the early years of the 20th century.

Read more: http://triblive.com/aande/architecture/2747862-74/building-baum-built-upmc-ford-model-assembly-boulevard-huge-1915#ixzz29ExjQ8Ql