Chatham University

&

Woodland Road

A guide to one of Pittsburgh’s

most historic neighborhoods

July 2009

Index

A History of Chatham University ........................................................ 3-5

Academic Buildings ............................................................................ 6-7

Administrative Facilities ......................................................................... 8

Residence Halls ....................................................................................... 9

Eden Hall Farm Campus ....................................................................... 10

Mellon Board Room .............................................................................. 11

Chatham Eastside .................................................................................. 12

Rachel Carson, Class of 1929 ................................................................ 13

Howe-Childs Gate House ................................................................ 14-15

Tiffany Alumnae Memorial Window ..................................................... 16

Chatham University Arboretum ...................................................... 17-20

Campus Wireless Network .................................................................... 21

Woodland Road ..................................................................................... 22

Significant Woodland Road Homes ....................................................... 23

Woodland Road Map ............................................................................. 24

What’s Within Walking Distance of Chatham University? .................... 25

Chatham University

Founded in 1869, Chatham University is a coed university with a women’s college as its historic heart. Chat-

ham University provides students with a solid education built upon strong academics, public leadership and

global understanding. Chatham’s 39-acre arboretum campus is located on historic Woodland Road in Pitts-

burgh’s Shadyside neighborhood. Students may easily access Pittsburgh’s dynamic career, cultural, and enter-

tainment opportunities and share in the educational and social offerings of the other nine area colleges and uni-

versities.

The University houses three distinctive Colleges: Chatham College for Women includes academic and co-

curricular programs for undergraduate women and embodies the traditions and rituals of one of the nation’s

oldest residential colleges for women. The College for Graduate Studies offers women and men both masters

and doctoral programs. Programs within the College for Graduate Studies include concentrations in art and

architecture, business, counseling psychology, health sciences and nursing, teaching, and writing. The College

for Continuing and Professional Studies provides online and hybrid undergraduate and graduate degree pro-

grams for women and men, certificate programs, and community programming.

History of the University

Chatham University was chartered on December 11, 1869 as Pennsylvania Female College. Chatham was

founded to provide women with an education comparable to that which men could receive at the time at

―colleges of the first class.‖ The Reverend William Trimble Beatty, pastor of Shadyside Presbyterian Church,

led a group of like-minded Pittsburghers in making the dream of solid academic training for women a reality.

The founders were somewhat ahead of their time: 1869 was the year that the National Association of Women’s

Suffrage was established and the year John Stuart Mill published The Subjection of Women. Pennsylvania Fe-

male College occupied the largest private residence in Allegheny County, the George Berry mansion atop Fifth

Avenue in Shadyside. Fifteen faculty and just more than 100 students occupied the 11-acre campus.

Chatham was one of the earliest liberal arts colleges for women es-

tablished originally as a college rather than as a seminary. It is one

of four eastern colleges founded for women that still limit the grant-

ing of baccalaureate degrees to women. In 1890 the name was

changed to Pennsylvania College for Women (PCW) and in 1955 to

Chatham College in honor of William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham and

Pittsburgh’s namesake. Ultimately in 2007 the institution was rec-

ognized as Chatham University by the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-

vania.

Throughout its history, Chatham has been a pioneer in curricular

progress, adapting its educational programs to meet society’s

changing needs while maintaining intellectual integrity. The first

curriculum required all students to be proficient in Latin, French, or

German; higher mathematics; history; English; natural sciences;

systematic Bible history; and Anglo-Saxon. In succeeding years, the

College added electives ranging from modern literature to family

living, and reduced the number of required courses.

Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the progressive social

service certification program - which uniquely blended classroom teaching with service work in the commu-

nity - was developed. This program was the pioneer for Chatham’s service-learning initiatives of today and

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham

highlighted the understanding and need for continued social service work among students and alumnae for

decades to come. Pennsylvania College for Women also had an active social life with rich and varied perform-

ances by student groups and a May Day festival that drew crowds in the thousands to campus. In the 1920s,

new curricular requirements emerged in English composition, science, and contemporary history. These and

other changes subsequently led to Chatham’s recognition as a Class A College by the Middle States Commis-

sion in Higher Education and the American Association of University Women.

By the 1940s, the faculty had reorganized the curriculum into lower and upper divisions with the lower divi-

sion focusing on the major fields of interest. Post-World War II revisions developed a required basic curricu-

lum that included courses in the arts, modern society, natural sciences, speech, and philosophy. During this

period Chatham joined the ranks of only a handful of colleges across the country in its awarding of Bachelor of

Science degrees.

In the 1970s, Chatham again adapted its curriculum to reflect new career needs for women, adding major pro-

grams in areas such as communication, administration, and management. The Gateway program for women

over the age of 23 seeking a baccalaureate degree was one of the first such programs in the country designed to

address the needs of the adult woman student.

On May 1, 2008—one year after having been granted University status by the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-

vania—Chatham received a gift unequaled in its history: the Eden Hall Farm Campus from Eden Hall Founda-

tion. Originally a farm and retreat for the working women of Pittsburgh, Eden Hall Farm will be an academic

eco-campus accessible to Chatham students and also a community resource for the residents of Pittsburgh’s

North Hills. The nearly 400-acre campus will be a living laboratory for environmental programs, both under-

graduate and graduate and will support a variety of educational, environmental, women’s leadership and com-

munity programs. Chatham’s vision for Eden Hall Farm Campus is to make it the most unique learning and

living environment on any university campus.

Chatham Today

The Chatham University experience is dedicated to enabling its graduates to make an impact on the world

around them. A social consciousness, an awareness and understanding of the environment, an interest in public

service, a strong grounding in the sciences and liberal arts, and the ability to communicate effectively are char-

acteristics that today’s Chatham women share with 1929 alumna Rachel Carson.

The undergraduate and graduate student body of almost 2,100 represents twenty-eight states and eighteen other

countries. Members of minority groups and international students compose 20 percent of the undergraduate

student body. Resident and commuting students participate actively in the numerous professional, academic,

social, and special-interest organizations at the University.

Chatham’s outstanding liberal arts base, combined with the capstone experience of the ―senior tutorial‖ – an

original research project guided one-on-one by a Chatham professor – provides an excellent bridge to graduate

and professional schools. The University offers especially strong preparation for law school, medical school,

and science-based graduate programs as well as the University’s own graduate degree programs. Agreements

with other institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University offer students opportunities to obtain both a liberal

arts and engineering degree as well as masters degrees after only one additional year of study. Chatham stu-

dents also may elect to earn teacher certification – for early childhood, elementary, secondary, or environ-

mental education – while they complete an undergraduate degree.

Students develop their personal, professional, and leadership skills to the fullest potential through internships,

study abroad, service-learning, leadership training opportunities, and personal development seminars. Most

students complete at least two internships or career-related experiences in their fields. Recent examples include

internships with Mellon Financial Corporation, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Historical Center of

Western Pennsylvania, WPGH-Fox 53, Allegheny County Children, Youth and Family Services, and Inter-

scope Technologies. Chatham Abroad, a multi-week travel experience with classmates and faculty, has taken

students to the Galápagos Islands, Belize, Morocco, Egypt, Italy, Spain, France, Ireland, England, Russia, Nor-

way, Iceland, Greece, and Haiti. In 2000, Chatham’s Study Abroad Program was ranked fourth in the nation

by U.S. News and World Report.

At Chatham College for Women, each student can personalize her curriculum by choosing from more than 30

majors in the sciences, social services, humanities, fine and performing arts, pre-professional programs, and

interdisciplinary areas such as environmental studies and global policy studies. Students also may create

interdisciplinary or double-major programs. Through the Five-Year Masters Program, students may earn a

bachelor’s and a master’s degree in as few as five years.

The College for Graduate Studies offers coeducational graduate programs in accounting, biology, business ad-

ministration, counseling psychology, creative writing, film and digital technology, interior architecture, land-

scape architecture, landscape studies, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant stud-

ies, and teaching.

The College for Continuing and Professional Studies offers RN-to-BSN and Doctor of Nursing Practice de-

grees online, as well as graduate degrees in education, the health sciences, and professional writing.

Following fifteen years of growth in enrollment, endowment, academic and co-curricular programs, and physi-

cal plant, Dr. Barazzone and the Board of Trustees successfully petitioned the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

for university status. The institution was officially recognized as Chatham University in April 2007. The new

identity caps a decade of growth in enrollment, programs and infrastructure that has transformed the Pittsburgh

institution. Chatham offered undergraduate degrees to women only until 1994, when it offered its first graduate

program for women and men. Chatham now offers 23 masters level programs and four doctoral level pro-

grams, all applied degrees, for women and men. Of Chatham’s 1,400 degree-seeking students, more than 800

are graduate students.

Chatham University prepares its students for a lifetime of personal and professional achievements – unprece-

dented opportunities, challenges, and leadership roles that Chatham’s founders only could have imagined in

1869. Chatham proudly continues to build its history and tradition of excellence in women’s education and

meeting society’s changing needs.

Academic Buildings

The Art and Design Center (2004) is the University’s former Gymnasium (1952). De-

signed by Ingham & Boyd in the Collegiate Georgian style, the building fronts the Athletic

Field and Lodge. The adaptive reuse of the building was successfully accomplished by the

Pittsburgh firm of Rothschild Doyno Architects. The main entry houses offices for arts and

design division faculty as well as Chatham’s slide archives. The sculpture and ceramics stu-

dios, including a kiln room, now occupy the building’s former dance studio. The main gym-

nasium floor – which still features the basketball court lines – houses studios for painting,

printmaking, interior architecture, and landscape architecture, as well as a computer lab, and

is flooded with natural light from the original pane windows. A steel and glass bridge over-

looking the studios provides student exhibition space and connects two classrooms and a kitchenette.

The Arthur E. Braun Hall of Administration (1953) was named in honor of Arthur E.

Braun, a member and chair of the Board of Trustees for fifty years. Designed by Ingham &

Boyd in the Collegiate Georgian style, it is part of three conjoined buildings commonly re-

ferred to as ―Braun-Falk-Coolidge‖ and which completed the academic quadrangle first en-

visioned by Mellon & Smith in their 1929 campus plan. Braun Hall contains the Student

Services Center, the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship, the Pennsylvania Center for

Women, Politics, and Public Policy, the Pittsburgh Teachers Institute, and faculty offices

and classrooms. The Media Center includes two regular and one graphic arts darkrooms,

slide editing room, video editing room, and writing laboratory.

The Athletic and Fitness Center (2004) is an advanced four-level athletic facility designed

by the St. Louis, Missouri firm of Hastings + Chivetta. On the lower level is an eight-lane

competition swimming pool, whirlpool/sauna/steam room, squash courts, and rock-climbing

wall. The athletic training room contains a hydrotherapy room and complete line of rehabili-

tation equipment. The second level has a smart classroom with an adjoining human perform-

ance laboratory. The fitness and cardiovascular rooms contain treadmills, elliptical ma-

chines, bikes, free weights, and circuit strength machines. The dance and aerobics studio is a

multi-function space that houses Pilates, martial arts, aerobic classes, and dance courses. On

the third level, the gymnasium seats 600 spectators. Finally, the fourth level offers a three-

lane walking track and smoothie bar where students may purchase healthy snacks and beverages. Comfortable seating is

conveniently located throughout the center for students to relax with friends, watch television, or use a personal laptop to

wirelessly connect to the Internet. The Athletic and Fitness Center also serves as the congregation space for large campus

events and traditions, such as Commencement.

Campbell Memorial Chapel (1949) was designed by Ingham & Boyd in the Collegiate Georgian

style. The landscape focal point for the 1947-53 campus complex, the formal courtyard in front fea-

tures a stone retaining wall and balustrade which overlook the grass slope leading to Woodland Road.

The Chapel was refurbished and rededicated in 1984 to the memory of Mary Campbell Eckhardt,

Class of 1943, and her father, Robert Davis Campbell, former member of the Board of Trustees. The

large auditorium seats 600 and contains a completely rebuilt four-keyboard Moller organ, considered

to be one of the finest such instruments in the country. On the ground floor of the chapel are class-

rooms and graduate health science instructional laboratories.

Cora Helen Coolidge Hall of Humanities (1953), adjacent to Falk Hall, was named in

memory of Cora Helen Coolidge, dean of education and professor of English from 1906 to

1917 and president from 1922 to 1933. The building contains the Rachel Carson Institute,

classrooms, psychology research facilities, a psychology suite and labs, faculty offices, and

the Margaret H. Sanger Lecture Hall, a 100-seat multimedia classroom.

Dilworth Hall (1959) was built as a residence hall and named in honor of Joseph Dilworth, a

founder of and financial advisor to Chatham. Designed by Curry & Martin in the Georgian Re-

vival style, Dilworth Hall today houses offices and classrooms for the health science programs

including occupational therapy, nursing, physician assistant studies, and physical therapy.

Laura Falk Hall of Social Studies (1953) adjoins Braun and Coolidge halls and was named in

memory of Laura Falk, Pittsburgh benefactor and humanitarian. It contains the copy center, fac-

ulty lounge, student lounge, classrooms, and faculty offices.

James Laughlin Music Hall (1931) was named in memory of the first president of the Board of

Trustees and one of the University’s founders. Designed by Mellon & Smith in the Collegiate

Georgian style and completed in only eight months, Laughlin originally served as the Library.

Laughlin Music Hall now houses the Welker Room, Founders’ Room, music faculty offices, and

the College for Continuing and Professional Studies. The brass chandeliers in the Welker Room

were replicated based on a photograph from a 1950s-era Pittsburgh Press feature, while the

Founders’ Room houses two doors from Berry Hall, the University’s first building, which was

demolished in 1952.

Jennie King Mellon Library (1973) was named in memory of Mrs. Richard B. Mellon, class of

1887. Designed by Johnstone, McMillan & Associates with landscape design by Shurcliff &

Merrill (note the outdoor amphitheater adjacent to the theater), the Library contains more than

87,962 volumes, and 700 subscriptions to online and print periodicals. Housed within the Library

are the University’s Information Technology department and main computing facility. Fully

renovated in 2001, the Library includes multimedia computer classrooms. The Edward Dan-

forth Eddy Theatre (1974), adjacent to the Jennie King Mellon Library, is named in honor of

the College’s president from 1960 to 1977. The 285-seat, tiered auditorium has a large prosce-

nium stage and full audio-visual equipment.

The Science Complex is comprised of the Louise C. Buhl Hall of Science (1929) and the Sci-

ence Laboratory Building (2000). Buhl Hall was erected in honor of Mrs. Henry Buhl Jr., who

with her husband promoted higher education programs for women. Designed by Mellon & Smith

in the Collegiate Georgian style, Buhl hall was the first of the ―Old Quad‖ buildings and once

housed the campus bells. The building was renovated and expanded to include the Science Com-

plex as part of the Keep The Vision Splendid Campaign. It contains joint faculty/student research

laboratories; an Ecology/Botany Lab adjoining a greenhouse; computer suites and laboratories;

and modern instruments such as NMR, FTIR, AA, and UV-visible and fluorescence spectropho-

tometers, GC, HPLC, and video demonstration systems. The laboratory building contains the

Kresge Atrium; organic chemistry labs; biology labs; Beckwith Lecture Hall; and a shared instrument laboratory. The Kresge Atrium

houses the restored 1889 Tiffany Alumnae Memorial Window, funded through the generosity of Marion Swannie Rand ’45, and pre-

serves the rear façade of Buhl Hall.

Administrative Facilities

Beatty House (1896, 1904, restored and rehabilitated 1998), originally known as ―Sunset Hill,‖

was built by Mary Childs and William Holdship Rea, a longtime trustee. The architectural style

is a significant example of Colonial Revival and shingle-style domestic architecture, and is simi-

lar to the popular shingled bungalows designed by H.H. Richardson. The 1904 additions were

designed by Alden & Harlow. Beatty House was acquired by Chatham in 1948 and remodeled as

a residence hall. In 1998, Beatty House, also known as Alumni House, was renovated again and

is now the home of the Office of Institutional Advancement (Alumni Affairs, University Com-

munications and Development).

Berry Hall (1895, restored 2000) was purchased by the University in 1962 and named in honor

of George A. Berry, a member of the first Board of Trustees. An example of the Federal-style

revival architecture seen in New England, Berry Hall serves as the home of the Office of Admis-

sions.

Gregg House (1906), located at 121 Woodland Road, has been the residence of Chatham presi-

dents since 1945 when it was given to the University by John R. Gregg’s descendants. The

house was designed in the Federal Revival style by Thomas Hannah and was first occupied by

President Paul Anderson and his family.

Lindsay House (1910) was built as a home for Chatham’s seventh president, Henry Drennan

Lindsay and his family. The structure was designed by Thomas Hannah in the Arts & Crafts and

Tudor styles. The home of Chatham presidents through 1945, Lindsay House is now home to the

Division of Writing, Literary, and Cultural Studies for both the undergraduate and graduate pro-

grams.

Andrew W. Mellon Hall (1902) was designed by MacClure & Spahr in the Tudor Revival style

and originally built by George M. Laughlin. The home was purchased by Andrew W. Mellon,

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, in 1917. Mellon expanded the home and also engaged the Olm-

sted Brothers to landscape the grounds. Donated to Chatham in 1941 by Andrew’s son Paul, it

now houses the President’s Office, Academic Affairs, Offices of the Deans of Chatham College

for Women and the College for Graduate Studies, and the Office of Finance and Administration.

First-floor living areas are used for social events and meetings; administrative offices are located

on the first, second, and third floors. The basement includes the broadcast studio and meeting

space. The Paul R. Anderson Dining Hall (1972), an addition to Mellon Hall, is named for the

former College President (1945-1960) and was designed by Johnston, McMillan & Associates.

Mellon Carriage House, part of the original Andrew W. Mellon estate, is designed in the Tudor

Revival style and once served as stables, garage, and servants’ quarters. It now houses a 24/7

student lounge, the Offices of Student Affairs and Student Activities, the post office, the Chat-

ham bookstore, and Chatham Student Government.

Mary Acheson Spencer House (1949) was built by the University and designed by Ingham &

Boyd in the simplified Colonial Revival style and is stylistically related to their nationally-

significant Chatham Village of 1931. Named to honor the 1883 Chatham alumna who was a

member of the Board of Trustees for 50 years, Spencer House was originally the Dean’s House

and now is home to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs .

Residence Halls

Fickes House (1927) is a Tudor Revival designed by MacClure & Spahr and was once owned by

aluminum pioneer Edward Stanton Fickes. The house was donated to Chatham in 1943 and util-

ized as a residence hall. In 1946 Ingham and Boyd enlarged the home with a three-story structure

that joined the original home and carriage house. Significant features include carved bargeboards

on raking eaves, ornate first floor spaces and a grand staircase. Fickes houses just over 100 resi-

dents and includes a computer laboratory, living room, television room, study area, sun porch,

patio, recreation area, and laundry facilities.

Marjory Rea Laughlin House (1912) was built by George M. Laughlin Jr. and is a significant

example of Tudor Revival designed by Philadelphia architect Edgar V. Seeler. Given to Chatham

in 1967, Laughlin houses just over 30 students and is distinguished by its unconventional first

floor layout with side entrance, large entrance hall, and grand staircase. The student rooms up-

stairs progress in a maze-like fashion, and the home is appointed with leaded glass and wooden

paneling throughout. Laughlin House includes a computer laboratory, living room, television

room, study area, patio, kitchen, and laundry facilities.

Julia and James Rea House (1912) was built by James C. and Julia Dodge Rea and donated to

Chatham in the late 1960s. Designed by MacClure & Spahr with rich wooden paneling and many

fireplaces, the 23-room brick home is modeled on a large English country house and is signifi-

cant as an example of Tudor design. Rea House accommodates 28 students and includes a com-

puter laboratory, living room, dining room, television room, solarium, patio, kitchen, and laundry

facilities.

Woodland Hall (1909), the largest residence hall on campus, was designed by Longfellow,

Alden & Harlow incorporating both Arts & Crafts and Tudor styles, and was the University’s

first freestanding campus building and dedicated residence hall. In 1930 a south wing was added

and in 1952 a further addition created a U-shaped building that houses 116 students. Woodland

includes a computer laboratory, living room, television room, study rooms, and laundry facilities.

It also houses Student Health Services, Counseling Services, Physician Assistant Studies class-

rooms, a coffee shop, and the Chatham University Art Gallery.

Eden Hall Farm Campus

Originally a farm and retreat for the working women of Pittsburgh, Eden Hall Farm was the vision of Sebastian Mueller (1860-1938)

who immigrated to Pittsburgh from his native Germany in 1884 to work for his cousin Henry J. Heinz in his fledgling food process-

ing operation. Mr. Mueller spent more than five decades working for what was then called ―The House of Heinz.‖ He headed the

company’s manufacturing operations, served on its board of directors and ran the organization during Mr. Heinz’ absence.

Sebastian Mueller won the respect and gratitude of not only the company’s founder but also its legion of working women. Mr. Muel-

ler was generous in providing Heinz’ female employees with medical care and financial assistance – long before the existence of

corporate health care plans or government programs. His estate – Eden Hall Farm – became the retreat for generations of Pitts-

burgh’s working women and served as a memorial to the Mueller’s two daughters, EIsa and Alma, both of whom died in childhood.

Having no heirs, Mr. Mueller willed his entire estate, including Eden Hall Farm, to serve as a vacation and respite destination for the

working and retired women of the H.J. Heinz Company, as well as for the working women of western Pennsylvania.

Chatham University received the 388-acre Eden Hall Farm in Richland Township, Pennsylvania from Eden Hall Foundation on May

1, 2008. The gift established the largest university campus in Allegheny County and will enable Chatham to expand its academic and

environmental programs for the University’s nearly 2,100 students and for the North Hills community at large. Eden Hall Farm Cam-

pus will be an academic eco-campus and a living laboratory for environmental programs, both undergraduate and graduate. Chat-

ham’s vision for Eden Hall Farm Campus is to make it the most unique learning and living environment on any university campus.

Clockwise from top: The iconic

Eden Hall Farm barn and gate-

keeper’s house; the Mueller

House; and the Frank Lloyd

Wright-inspired Lodge. Photos by

Duane Rieder.

The Mellon Board Room

Upon purchasing the former George Laughlin House in 1917, Andrew W. Mellon performed significant renovations to the house, including the

installation of a bowling alley and indoor swimming pool featuring a vaulted Guastavino ceiling. Guastavino’s remarkable tile system was popular

because they enabled structures to span great distances without the weight of wood or iron. The relatively thin tiles (the Mellon Board Room tiles

are approximately ¾‖ thick) were also fireproof and easy to transport. The structure

of the pool and bowling alley were inserted inside the existing walls of the terrace,

creating what is believed to be one of the earliest indoor residential pools in the

United States, and possibly the first west of the Allegheny Mountains.

After Mellon Hall was given to Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham

University) in 1941 by Andrew’s son Paul, the house was used first as a residence

hall and later as the main administration building. The bowling alley was converted

into the Broadcast Studio in 2003, and the pool continued to be utilized by students

until the opening of the Athletic and Fitness Center in 2004. The pool itself was

drained since years of humidity were having a deleterious effect on Mellon Hall’s

exquisite woodwork. Since access to the new Broadcast Studio and pool area were

limited to a winding tunnel with several sets of steps that descend from the house’s

lower level, and a steep set of steps from the lower-level terrace to the pool, an

adaptive use of the old pool would solve accessibility issues while creating a multi-

functional and column-free space.

In 2006 the University engaged Rothschild Doyno Architects to develop an adaptive reuse plan for the former pool and terrace. The project would

renovate the pool into a multi-purpose meeting room while preserving the historic Guastavino tiles. Another requirement was to create a handi-

capped-accessible entrance to serve both the Mellon Board Room and Broadcast Studio. This accessible entrance required significant reconfigura-

tion of the landscape in order to meet the requirements for accessible paths while maintaining several legacy trees planted by the Mellons as part of

their landscape plan, originally laid out by the renowned landscape architects, the Olmsted Brothers.

Dedicated on October 18, 2007 the Mellon Board Room and Terrace add a stunningly modern, yet classical motif to the 110-year-old Mellon Hall.

The sandstone terrace balustrade and other upper terrace materials which deteriorated over time were replaced with replicated balusters and finish-

ings in a sturdier limestone. The new entablature surrounding the terrace is carved with Chatham University’s historic names and their founding

dates – Pennsylvania Female College (1869); Pennsylvania College for Women (1890); Chatham College (1955) and Chatham University (2007).

One of the two staircases that led from the terrace to Mellon Pond was converted into a sloped landscape planter and a new handicapped-accessible

path now connects the building to adjacent campus paths. Trees significant to the Chatham Arboretum were protected throughout the project, and

the landscape is now further enhanced with the historic trees framing the new limestone-arched main entrance. The redesigned landscape opens

new vistas to the rear of Mellon Hall and new perspectives for some of the Chatham Arboretum’s most significant trees, including a Japanese

Laceleaf Maple near the main entrance.

The new lower patio wraps the building, providing outdoor spaces to compliment

the adapted facility. The lowering of this surrounding land also provided two sides

of the former pool space to receive much needed natural light. The existing sand-

stone foundation at the lower terrace walls was exposed, bush hammered and

pointed, utilizing existing stone as well as stone recovered during the demolition

and excavation process. Three original arched windows on the north façade were

covered with mechanical equipment, but a study of historic photographs revealed

their existence. The new design adapts those openings for new windows and doors

to allow direct access to the north terrace which overlooks the pond. The doors

and windows were designed and hand-crafted by Tadao Arimoto of Arimoto De-

sign and Woodworking, Inc., from FSC

(Forest Stewardship Council)-certified

mahogany, ensuring that the mahogany

was sustainably harvested for use.

Inside, the Guastavino ceiling and walls

were re-grouted, replacing the old grout

which had turned nearly black from years of industrial pollution that permeated many Pittsburgh homes.

Some tiles were replaced, while all were cleaned to reveal Guastavino’s architectural success in striking

detail. New lighting was installed to both illuminate the interior and accentuate the vaulted ceiling. Carpet-

ing and fabric-covered acoustic wall panels were designed to moderate the sound – often difficult to control

in similar vaulted rooms – and also to bring greater warmth to the large hall. New HVAC, sound and light-

ing systems were installed to make the new Mellon Board Room a flexible space, while the old pool itself

still exists – covered, not filled in – under the main floor and serves as the mechanical room.

The Mellon Board Room and Terrace provide new gathering spaces for the University community but most

importantly preserve a significant part of Pittsburgh’s and Chatham University’s shared histories.

Mellon Board Room Patio (Photo: Robert J. Cooley)

Mellon Board Room (Photo: Robert J. Cooley)

Tile and light detail (Photo: Adam

J. Zacherl)

Chatham Eastside

Because of rapid growth in several of the University’s graduate programs, Chatham University

in September 2008 acquired 6585 Penn Avenue, a large office building at the corner of Penn

Avenue and Washington Blvd. in Pittsburgh’s fast-growing East End . The 250,000 square foot

building, named Chatham Eastside and less than a mile from the University’s historic Wood-

land Road location, satisfies several programming space needs and provides the University

with enhanced space flexibility and capacity. The University’s Interior Architecture, Land-

scape Architecture, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant Studies

degree programs moved into more than 50,000 square feet in summer 2009, and the University

plans to apply for LEED Silver status for the construction project.

Expansion to Chatham Eastside will allows the University to accommodate enrollment growth,

which has quadrupled since 1994, while helping to preserve the beauty and special qualities of

the Woodland Road campus that have captivated generations of students and community mem-

bers alike.

Top: Chatham Eastside. Bottom: Physical Therapy students in the new lab space.

Rachel Louise Carson ’29 (1907-1964)

Rachel Carson’s fascination with the natural world began on her family’s farm in Springdale,

Pennsylvania, not far from Pittsburgh. As a young girl, she dreamed of being a writer. At Chatham Uni-

versity (at that time known as Pennsylvania College for Women) she was introduced to biology by Pro-

fessor Mary Scott Skinker. ―I have always wanted to write,‖ she said at the time, ―and biology has given

me something to write about. I will try to make animals in the woods or waters, where they live, as alive

to others as they are to me.‖ She changed her major from English to biology and graduated in 1929

magna cum laude.

Rachel Carson later received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University, and worked as a marine

biologist in the Fish and Wildlife Service and turned her attention to writing. In three books, Under the

Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us, and Edge of the Sea, Rachel established herself as one of America’s great

poets of the natural world. She brought to life the beauty and mystery of the sea and its creatures to mil-

lions of readers. Her eloquent and poetic style of scientific writing made her one of the great champions

of the living world.

The Sea Around Us topped the best seller list for 86 weeks and made Rachel world-famous. She received the Gold Medal of the New York Zoologi-

cal Society, the John Burroughs Medal, the Gold Medal of the Geographical Society of Philadelphia and the National Book Award.

She is best remembered for Silent Spring, published in 1962, which alerted the world to the dangers of pesticides and their damage to the environ-

ment. With the eloquence of a poet, the logic of a scientist, and the insight of a naturalist, Rachel described how the new pesticides were ravaging

the biological systems they were sprayed upon, and created vibrant images of living systems in order to do so. During her lifetime, she had to

weather a storm of controversy and abuse as a result of Silent Spring. She stayed her course and testified before the Senate about the need to elimi-

nate the unsafe use of pesticides. Silent Spring, which could have been written as a book about death, was instead a more revealing book about life

than any before it.

Rachel Carson died at the age of 57 from breast cancer, just two years after the publication of Silent Spring. Although she did not live long enough

to witness the fruits of her effort, her work led to the establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the banning of DDT, and

the groundswell of public opinion that formed the modern environmental movement. In 1999, the Modern Library named Silent Spring the fifth

most important nonfiction book published in the 20th century.

Both during and after her lifetime, Rachel Carson received recognition for her work. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in

Seneca Falls, NY and was recognized by TIME magazine as one of The Century’s 100 Greatest Minds. In addition, the Pennsylvania State Legisla-

ture proclaimed May 27, 1999 as Rachel Carson Day in Pennsylvania.

By the 100th anniversary of her birth on May 27, 2007, her alma mater

championed several efforts to recognize Rachel Carson in Allegheny

County. Chatham and its president, Esther Barazzone, petitioned Alle-

gheny County Council and Allegheny Chief Executive Dan Onorato to

rename the Ninth Street Bridge in downtown Pittsburgh after Rachel Car-

son. The resolution passed unanimously in December 2005 and the

bridge—which crosses the Allegheny River downstream from Rachel

Carson’s childhood home in Springdale—was dedicated as the Rachel

Carson Bridge on April 23, 2006.

Chatham faculty and staff designed a special full-page op-ed tribute to

Rachel Carson in the May 27, 2007 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-

Gazette. Part of the tribute included the following by Rachel Carson’s

biographer, Linda Lear:

―Rachel Carson was an evolutionist who found no inconsistency in cele-

brating a divine design. She was a spiritualist who needed no theological

creed when there was the promise of immortality in the endless recycling

of all life in the sea. Ultimately her protest was against existential mean-

inglessness, against the culture of destruction and annihilation. Her best

writing, like her science, broadened the definitions of human responsibility and relationship and provided comfort and hope.‖ (From Love, Fear

and Witnessing by Linda Lear, author of Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature)

Rachel L. Carson, PCW Class of 1929

The Chatham University Howe-Childs Gate House

Constructed circa 1861, the Chatham University Howe-Childs Gate House is Pittsburgh’s oldest wood frame house and the oldest

existing house from Pittsburgh’s ―Millionaires Row.‖ Built by Thomas Marshall Howe, a prominent Pittsburgh industrialist, bank

president and former Congressman, the Gate House was the entry to Greystone, the family’s ―country‖ estate. Mary Howard Childs,

the General’s widowed daughter, and her three children were the first known occupants of the house, then known as Willow Cottage.

Former owners of the 2 1/2-story clapboard Gothic Revival house include members of the Howe and Childs families (1861-1947)

and Pittsburgh oil magnate Michael L. Benedum (1947-1959). In the 1950s the Benedum Foundation leased the house to Chatham

and in 1959 the foundation donated the house to the University for use as a residence hall and academic building. Chatham later sold

the house in 1985; one year later the City of Pittsburgh designated the Gate House a Pittsburgh Historic Landmark.

Chatham reacquired the house and grounds in 2000 and without delay began to ensure its survival after nearly 15 years of deteriora-

tion. The Board of Trustees and administration immediately invested $2.2 million into the exterior restoration, interior renovation

and renewal of the grounds. The University engaged Landmarks Design Associates and architect Ellis Schmidlapp to restore the

exterior and closely approximate its original appearance, from the A.J. Downing color palette to the faux slate roofing (actually recy-

cled rubber tire shingles). Toxic-free paints donated by PPG were used in the interior spaces. The beautifully restored exterior has

created a gracious entrance to the campus while the fully renovated interior includes a conference room and guest rooms for Univer-

sity visitors.

The project is supported by contributions from neighbors, friends, alumnae and other individuals interested in historic preservation

and Pittsburgh history, including the descendents of Thomas Marshall Howe. The house was a recipient of a Keystone Historic Pres-

ervation Grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and was designated an Official Project of Save America’s

Treasures 2000, a public-private partnership between the White House Millennium Council and National Trust for Historic Preserva-

tion.

c. 1861: Willow Cottage (Gate House) built at entry to

Greystone estate by General Thomas Marshall Howe.

c. 1866: Mary Howe Childs (eldest daughter of General

Thomas and Mary Ann Palmer Howe, and widow of Colonel

James H. Childs) with children Thomas Howe Childs, Mary

Robinson Childs and Jeanie Lowrie Childs are first residents

of the Gate House.

c. 1870s: Floor added between the first and second floors of

the house. Rear section of the Gate House added.

c. 1890: Jeanie Lowrie Childs marries Alexander Wurts and

live in Willow Cottage with their children, Laura Jay

Wurts and Thomas Howe Childs Wurts until around 1902.

1904: Thomas Howe Childs and Augusta Knevals Childs

begin residence in the Gate House.

1947: Michael L. Benedum purchases the Gate House

from Augusta Knevals Childs.

1950: Michael L. Benedum leases the Gate House to the

Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University).

1959: The Benedum Foundation donates Benedum Hall and

the Gate House to Chatham. The Gate House becomes

a residence hall and academic building and is known at this time

as the Gateway House.

1985: Chatham sells the Gate House and Benedum Hall

to Greystone Associates.

1986: Pittsburgh City Council designates the Gate House as

a historic landmark.

2000: Chatham re-purchases the Gate House. Save

America’s Treasures designates the Howe

Childs Gate House as an official project. Chatham selects

Landmarks Design Associates as architect.

2003: Restoration and renovation complete.

Willow Cottage, c. 1860s

Howe-Childs Gate House, present

Chatham University Howe-Childs Gate House

Awards & Accolades

City of Pittsburgh Historic Landmark, 1986

Official Project, Save America’s Treasures, a public-private partnership between the White House

Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, 2000

Keystone Historic Preservation Grant, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2003

Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Award, Preservation Pennsylvania, 2004

Outstanding Preservation Project, Historic Review Commission of Pittsburgh, 2004

Gate House

images, before

Gate House

images, after

The Tiffany Alumnae Memorial Window

Created in 1889 by Louis Comfort Tiffany, America’s premier glass artist, the Tiffany Alumnae Memorial Window was a gift from

the Alumnae Association to honor the College’s first fifteen graduating classes from 1873 to 1888. A committee of alumnae solicited

donations and concepts, eventually selecting Tiffany’s design from among four artists for the grand sum of $650 (approximately

$13,300 in today’s money).

The Tiffany Alumnae Memorial Window is based upon the Erythraean sibyl from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, transformed into a

symbol of knowledgeable womanhood. She sits before a book inscribed with the College motto with a winged attendant lighting the

lamp of knowledge. Surrounding the tableau are the names of artists, writers and scientists significant to women’s education in

1889. Interestingly, no woman is listed among them, and Shakespeare is featured twice.

Measuring eight feet by ten feet, the window is one of Tiffany’s largest early commissions and is considered the earliest known Tif-

fany window in western Pennsylvania. Created during his most experimental period, the embroidery of the tablecloth includes some

of the earliest extant Favrile (from fabrile, Old English for ―handmade‖) glass, the multicolored opalescent glass that Tiffany pat-

ented in 1894.

The window originally was installed in the Old Dilworth Hall Chapel for 36 years. Eventually, the effects of Pittsburgh’s industrial

past take their toll and the window, now covered in soot, was removed and disassembled ―to allow for more light and ventilation‖ to

enter the Chapel, according to the College alumnae magazine, the Alumnae Recorder. The window was packed away and almost

forgotten for the next 70 years.

When Chatham’s new President, Esther L. Barazzone, Ph.D., arrived on campus, archivist and Professor of English Emeritus John

Cummins, Ph.D. showed her this piece of Chatham’s history, stored in the Library basement. Upon its ―rediscovery,‖ Chatham hired

renowned Tiffany restorer Damien Peduto of Long Branch, New Jersey to begin the painstaking restoration. Believed to be one of

only 50 Tiffany windows remaining from that period, the restoration took approximately 400 hours. This was one of two restora-

tions, the first probably completed at Tiffany Studios in the early 1900s. The restoration was made possible through the generosity of

Marion Swannie Rand, Class of 1945. Now backlit so that it remains visible day and night, the Tiffany Alumnae Memorial Window

is on permanent display in the Kresge Atrium of the Science Complex.

Tiffany Alumnae Memorial Window, restored Old Dilworth Hall and Tiffany Window, c. 1890s

The Chatham University Arboretum

With elements designed for the original Andrew Mellon estate by the renowned Olmsted Brothers, the Chat-

ham University campus is one of the most idyllic locations in the City of Pittsburgh. Designated an arboretum

in 1998 by the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta (now known as the American Public

Garden Association), Chatham’s 35-acre campus features 115 different varieties of species, including Japanese

Flowering Crabapple, River Birch and Kentucky Coffee Tree. The Arboretum provides an outdoor classroom

for students in the College’s Landscape Architecture and Landscape Studies programs, as well as an inviting

place to stroll and to meditate.

The Chatham campus landscape is significant not only for its historical role in educating women, but also for

its design. This significance is visible today in the design of the Mellon Estate and the Old Quadrangle, both

attributed to the Olmsted Brothers, as well Rea House, which has an independently significant landscape de-

signed by Berthold Frosch. Woodland Road and the surviving open space known as Chapel Hill predated

Chatham University and both contribute significantly to the character of the landscape.

TREE ID BotanicalName Common Name Type

1 Cornus kousa (Buerger ex Miq.) Hance Kousa Dogwood Flowering Tree

2 Betula nigra L. River birch Shade Tree

3 Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. Canadian Hemlock Conifer Tree

4 Ilex opaca Ait. American Holly Broadleaf Evergreen

5 Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis (L.) Zab. Thornless Common Honey-locust Shade Tree

6 Crataegus ? Hawthorn Flowering Tree

7 Aesculus hippocastanum L. Common Horsechestnut Shade Tree

8 Tillia x europaea L. European Linden Shade Tree

9 Phellodendron amurense Rupr. Amur Corktree Shade Tree

10 Crataegus crusgalli var. inermis L. Thornless Cockspur Haw-thorn Flowering Tree

11 Prunus subhirtellla var pendula Maxim. Weeping Higan Cherry Flowering Tree

12 Acer nigrum Michx.f. Black Maple Shade Tree

13 Quercus palustris Muenchh. Pin Oak Shade Tree

14 Quercus velutina Lam. Black Oak Shade Tree

15 Gymnocladus dioicus (L.) K. Koch Kentucky Coffeetree Shade Tree

16 Pinus strobus L. Eastern White Pine Conifer Tree

17 Amelanchier arborea (Michx.f.) Fern Downy Serviceberry Flowering Tree

18 Magnolia acuminata L. Cucumbertree Magnolia Shade Tree

19 Quercus rubra L. Red Oak Shade Tree

20 Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill Common Apple or Euro-pean Crabapple Flowering Tree

21 Pinus mugo Turra. Mugo Pine Conifer Tree

22 Magnolia stellata Maxim. Star Magnolia Flowering Tree

23 Magnolia x soulangiana Soul.-Bod. Saucer Magnolia Flowering Tree

24 Magnolia virginiana L. Sweetbay Magnolia Flowering Tree

25 Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess' L. Flowering Dogwood Flowering Tree

26 Amelanchier sp. ? Serviceberry Flowering Tree

27 Larix decidua Mill. European Larch Conifer Tree

28 Acer palmatum var. atropurpureum Thunb. Japanese Maple Shade Tree

29 Acer palmatum var. dissectum Maxim.

Dissectum Japanese Maple (also Cutleaf or Laceleaf Japanese Maple) Shade Tree

30 Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Maxim. Amur Honeysuckle Deciduous Shrub

31 Viburnum sieboldii Miq. Siebold viburnum Deciduous Shrub

32 Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu. & Cheng. Dawn Redwood Conifer Tree

33 Chionanthus virginicus L. White Fringetree Flowering Tree

34 Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis Rosea' Miq. Higan Cherry Flowering Tree

35 Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess' L. Cherokee Princess Flower-ing Dogwood Flowering Tree

36 Aesculus hippocastanum 'Baumannii' L. Common Horse Chestnut Shade Tree

37 Malus spp. Mill. Flowering Crabapple Flowering Tree

38 Abies koreana Wils. Korean Fir Conifer Tree

39 Acer griseum (Franch.) Pax Paperbark Maple Shade Tree

40 Rhamnus ? ? Buckthorn 41 Acer saccharinum L. Silver Maple Shade Tree

42 Taxus cuspidata Sieb. & Zucc. Japanese Yew Conifer Tree

43 Carpinus caroliniana Walt. American Hornbeam Shade Tree

44 Cornus mas L. Corneliancherry Dogwood Flowering Tree

45 Picea glauca 'Conica' (Moench) Voss. Alberta Spruce Conifer Tree

46 Acer palmatum Thunb. Japanese Maple Shade Tree

47 Tsuga caroliniana Engelm. Carolina Hemlock Conifer Tree

48 Prunus subhirtella var. autumnalis Miq Higan Cherry Flowering Tree

49 Betula pendula Roth. European White Birch Shade Tree

50 Picea pungens Engelm. Colorado Spruce Conifer Tree

51 Celtics occidentals L. Common Hackberry

52 Vertex agnus-castus L. Chastetree Deciduous Shrub

53 Ulmus americana L. American Elm Shade Tree

54 Quercus alba L. White Oak Shade Tree

55 Hamamelis virginiana L. Common Witchhazel Deciduous Shrub

56 Betula lenta L. Black Birch Shade Tree

57

Cercidiphyllum japonicum ‘Pendula' sieb. & zucc Weeping Katsuratree Shade Tree

58 Chionanthus retusus Lindl. & Paxt. Chinese Fringetree Flowering Tree

59 Magnolia x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’ Kache Loebner Magnolia Flowering Tree

60 Prunus serrulata ‘Royal Burgundy’ lindl. Royal Burgunday Japanese Flowering Flowering Tree

61 Ulmus parvifolia ‘Allee’ jacq. Allee Chinese Elm Shade Tree

62 Picea omorika (Pančić) Purkyne. Serbian Spruce Conifer Tree

63 Abies concolor (Gordon & Glend.) Llindl. ex White (Concolor) Fir Conifer Tree

64 Pinus strobiformis Engelm. Southwest White Pine Conifer Tree

65 Acer truncatum ‘Warrenred’ Bunge Purpleblow Maple Shade Tree

66 Zelkova serrata ‘Green Vase’ (thunb.) mak. Japanese Zelkova Shade Tree

67 Styrax japonicus Sieb. & Zucc. Japanese Snowbell Flowering Tree

68 Cercis canadensis L. Eastern Redbud Flowering Tree

69 Stewartia pseudocamellia Maxim. Japanese Stewartia Flowering Tree

70 Robinia pseudoacacia L. Black Locust Shade Tree

71 Juglans nigra L. Black Walnut Shade Tree

72 Carya…………… TBD member of Hickory family Shade Tree

73 Cladrastis kentukea (Dum.-Cours.) Rudd American Yellowwood Shade Tree

74 Halesia carolina L. Carolina Silverbell Flowering Tree

75 Quercus palustris Muenchh. Pin Oak or Swamp Oak Shade Tree

76 Crataegus phaenopyrum (L.f.) Medik. Washington Hawthorn Flowering Tree

77 Quercus palustris Muenchh. Pin Oak or Swamp Oak Shade Tree

78 Acer platanoides l. Norway Maple Shade Tree

79 Ostrya virginiana (Mill.) K. Koch American Hophornbeam Shade Tree

80 Liriodendron tulipifera L. Tuliptree Shade Tree

81 Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich Common Baldcypress Conifer Tree

82 Prunus serotina Ehrh. Black Cherry Flowering Tree

83 Cercidiphyllum japonicum Sieb. & Zucc. Katsuratree Shade Tree

84 Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees Common Sassafras Shade Tree

85 Pinus nigra Arn. Austrian Pine Conifer Tree

86 Corylus colurna L. Turkish Filbert or Hazel TBD

87 Rhus typhina L. Staghorn Sumac Deciduous Shrub

88 Acer rubrum L. Red Maple Shade Tree

89 Betula platyphylla var. japonica Asian White Birch Shade Tree

90 Malus ‘Spring Snow’ Mill. Spring Snow Crabapple Flowering Tree

91 Ulmus x wilsoniana Prospector Elm Shade Tree

92 Fagus sylvatica L. European Beach Shade Tree

93

Malus transitoria 'Golden Rain-drops' (‘Schmidtcutleaf’) Mill. Golden Raindrops Crabapple Flowering Tree

94 Fraxinus americana L. White Ash Shade Tree

95 Ginkgo biloba L. Ginko Shade Tree

96 Thuja occidentalis L. Eastern Arborvitae or White Cedar Conifer Tree

97 Picea abies (L.) Karst. Norway Spruce Conifer Tree

98 Fraxinus pennsylvanica ‘Cimmaron®’ Marsh. Shade Tree

99 Cotinus coggygria Scop. Common Smoketree Flowering Tree

100 Morus alba L. White Mulberry Shade Tree

101 Magnolia macrophylla Michx. Bigleaf Magnolia Flowering Tree

102 Aralia spinosa L. Devil's Walkingstick Deciduous Shrub

103 Quercus bicolor Willd. Swamp White Oak Shade Tree

104 Platanus x acerifolia (ait.) Willd. London Planetree Shade Tree

105 Quercus robur L. English Oak Shade Tree

106 Liquidambar styraciflua L. American Sweetgum Shade Tree

107 Tilia……………….. TBD Linden TBD

108 Prunus avium L. Mazzard Cherry Flowering Tree

109 Acer saccharum Marshall Sugar Maple Shade Tree

110 Acer pseudoplatanus l. Planetree Maple Shade Tree

111 Corylus americana Marsh. American Filbert Deciduous Shrub

112 Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’ Decne. Bradford Pear Flowering Tree

113 Aesculus parviflora Walter. Bottlebrush Buckeye Deciduous Shrub

114 Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle Tree of Heaven Shade Tree

115 Catalpa speciosa (Warder ex Barney) Engelm. Northern Catalpa Shade Tree

Wireless

Network

Coverage

Woodland Road

Between Fifth Avenue and Wilkins Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighbor-

hood is Woodland Road, privately owned by residents and Chatham University in a

hilly, wooded area that has escaped intensive urban development. Mansions, near-

mansions and comfortable homes from the Eclectic Period (1880-1940), the time

of real wealth, appear almost casually along the winding roads, nestled with even a

few important post-modern houses. But the true glory of Woodland Road is its ver-

dant landscape which envelops and creates a setting for its architecture. Recogniz-

ing this, the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation designated Woodland

Road a historic district in 1982.

Early photographs of many of the houses show bleak and empty grounds, or some-

times infant hedges and whips of new trees. Slightly older properties, however,

give evidence of a serious concern for landscaping, an example that all Woodland

Road residents eventually followed. The variety of architectural styles and the rec-

ognition of the essential role of vegetation in providing a fully furnished air to the

community recall other choice residential enclaves in England (from as early as the

1820s) and in the United States (primarily the post-Civil War era). If one were to

suggest a close parallel, it might well be Brookline, Boston’s preeminent Late Vic-

torian suburb.

Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation

Woodland Road at

Fifth Avenue, c.1905

Significant Woodland Road Homes

5850 Fifth Avenue (c. 1910)

The monochrome contrast of very well-scaled rubble and flat lintels, belt courses, and jambstones is a source of pleasure in what

seems at first a tame piece of Tudor.

50 Woodland Road (c. 1930)

Janssen & Cocken, architects

The favorite architects for Pittsburgh-area clubhouses produced much of the area’s most mellow domestic architecture, with this ex-

ample in rubble and limestone.

96 East Woodland Road (1939-40)

Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, architects

Pittsburgh in 1939 was an architecturally conservative city, and this was probably the only work in the International style in or near

it. The house was designed for one of Pittsburgh’s oldest glass and steel manufacturing families. With four levels of living space, an

indoor swimming pool, and a rooftop dance floor, the Frank House was the largest residence designed by the Gropius and Breuer

partnership.

80 East Woodland Road (c. 1890s)

Longfellow, Alden & Harlow (?)

A 1904 map already shows this house, a wooden essay in the Colonial Revival style. A correct Georgian rendition is not the objec-

tive; gambrel roofs, windows, and an anachronistic porch happen as and where convenient, apart from the symmetrical front.

108 Woodland Road (c. 1890s)

A stone-and-shingle house that has the variety of form that Late Victorian houses affected, but a well-proportioned, well-integrated

composition all the same, not the throwing-together of elements so often to be encountered.

112 Woodland Road (c. 1910)

A stone porch offers the only ―architectural‖ touch to this house apart from the English cross-bond patterning of its brickwork. Its

windows are well-proportioned to the front wall, and promise light and spacious interiors.

116 Woodland Road (c. 1910)

This is one of the grander Woodland Road houses, with red brick, dwarf buttresses, imitation half-timbering, and vergeboards invok-

ing the Tudor period. The elegant parterre garden that lies between the house and the road is loosely based on northern Renaissance

prototypes. It is all that remains of a much more extensive landscaping that also climbed the slope to the right of the house in a se-

ries of naturalistic terraces planted in a lush wooded fashion. The property was created by a member of the Laughlin family, another

branch of which had a superb garden in the northern Renaissance style in Edgeworth, a wealthy community 13 miles down the Ohio

River from Pittsburgh. That garden was designed by Arthur W. Cowell, who might have been the creator of the parterre garden here.

118 Woodland Road (1983)

Richard Meier, architect

There is a recall of the International style in the pure rectangular geometry, white stucco and enameled sheet steel, and general open-

ness of this house.

118A Woodland Road (1979)

Robert Venturi, architect

Venturi, the early ideologue of Post-Modernism, created a very original design here. There is certainly nothing else like it on Wood-

land Road. It has been compared to a bridge, and its radial green and white striping suggests the paddle box of a sidewheel steamer.

5736 West Woodland Road (c. 1910)

The California-looking pergola in front contrasts a strong horizontal to the close-spaced verticals in the massing of the house itself.

Pergolas were in fashion at this time, allowing the rooms behind more light that did the obsolescent front porch.

Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation

Chatham University

Bloomfield—Shopping and dining area on Liberty

Avenue from S. Millvale Avenue to the Bloomfield

Bridge.

Carnegie Mellon University—A research university

of more than 10,000 students, recognized for its engi-neering and robotics programs.

Chatham Eastside—Part of the Shadyside Campus, Chatham Eastside will include classrooms for gradu-

ate programs in health sciences, nursing, interior

architecture and landscape architecture.

CVS Drug Store—Corner of Wilkins Avenue and

Wightman Street.

East Side—Includes Borders Books and Music, Wine

& Spirits, Starbucks, Trek Bicycles, Walgreens, and Whole Foods.

Martin Luther King Junior East Busway—Non-stop public transportation available from East Liberty and

S. Negley Avenue stations into downtown Pittsburgh.

Ellsworth Avenue—An eclectic Shadyside shopping

area between Summerlea and College, it includes

clothing stores, restaurants, and several galleries.

Frick Park—The largest of the city's four parks, cov-

ering 600 acres. Extensive trails throughout the park's

steep valleys and wooded slopes. Adjacent to the Park

along Beechwood Boulevard is Regent Square, an-other popular shopping and dining district.

Giant Eagle and Giant Eagle Market District—Two large supermarkets. Market District includes organic,

vegetarian, and vegan items.

Homewood Cemetery—One of the City’s largest

cemeteries, Homewood considers itself ―more than a final resting place‖ and a quiet refuge for joggers,

lunchtime patrons, and those looking for meditative

space.

Mellon Park—The former Richard B. Mellon Estate

(Andrew Mellon’s brother) is adjacent to the Phipps Garden Center and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

Rite Aid—Corner of Forbes and Murray avenues.

Schenley Park—In Oakland, Schenley is a major destination for university students and businesspeople

alike and features a pool, ice skating rink, and hiking

trails.

Squirrel Hill Shopping District—Located along

Murray and Forbes avenues, this area includes an array of restaurants, shops, boutiques and two movie

theaters- Squirrel Hill Theater on Forward Avenue

and the smaller Manor Theater on Murray Avenue.

Trader Joe’s—A popular grocery store located on Penn Avenue in East Liberty.

Walnut Street—The heart of the Shadyside Shopping District, Walnut Street has something for everyone,

from couture to the Gap and from local coffee roast-

ers to street vendors. Expect the sidewalks to be filled with pedestrians on sunny weekends.

Walnut

Street

Ellsworth

Avenue

East Side

Mellon

Park

Schenley

Park

Homewood

Cemetery

Squirrel Hill

Shopping

District

Frick

Park

Bloomfield

Carnegie

Mellon

University

Trader

Joe’s

Giant

Eagle

Giant Eagle

Market

District

CVS

Rite Aid

Woodland

Road at Fifth

Avenue

What’s Within Walking Distance of Chatham University?

East

Busway

University of Pittsburgh

Chatham

Eastside