Frick Building
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| Frick Building | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Template:Csv |
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| Construction started | 1901 |
| Completed | March 15, 1902 |
| Opening | March 15, 1902 |
| Cost | $2 million ($77.4 million today) |
| Height | |
| Roof | 330 ft (101 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 20 |
| Floor area | 357,474 ft2 (33,210 m2) |
| Lifts/elevators | 11 |
| Design and construction | |
| ArchitectTemplate:Pluralize from text | D. H. Burnham & Company |
| Developer | Henry Clay Frick |
| Main contractor | George A. Fuller Company |
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| Designated | 1974[1] |
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The Frick Building is one of the major distinctive and recognizable features of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The tower was built in 1902 by Henry Clay Frick, an industrialist coke producer who created a portfolio of commercial buildings in Pittsburgh. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]
Frick built the tower next to a building owned by his business partner-turned-rival Andrew Carnegie, on the site of Saint Peter Episcopal Church. Frick, who feuded with Carnegie after they split as business associates, had his tower designed to overshadow Carnegie's.[3]
At 330 feet (101 m), the Frick Building was the city's tallest when it opened on March 15, 1902.[4] It originally had 20 floors, but a leveling of the surrounding landscape caused the basement to become the entrance in 1912, so some sources credit the building with 21 stories. Its address is 437 Grant Street, and is also accessible from Forbes and Fifth Avenues.
The building's architect was Daniel H. Burnham of D.H. Burnham & Company, Chicago.[5] Of the eleven executed designs for Pittsburgh by D.H. Burnham & Company, the Frick Building is one of only seven survivors.[6]
The top floor, which was reserved for The Union Club of Pittsburgh,[7][8][9] includes a balcony around the perimeter of the building; a high, handcrafted ceiling; and heavy, elaborate brass door fixtures. Originally, Frick used it as his personal office and as a meeting place and social club for wealthy industrialists. On the 19th floor was Frick's personal shower. At the time, no other shower had been built that high above ground level, because water could not easily be pumped that high with the technology of the time. The shower still exists but does not work.
Fittingly for a building created for a man who vowed to be a millionaire by age thirty, the lobby features an elegant stained-glass window by John LaFarge, depicting "Fortune and Her Wheel" (1902).[10] The two bronze sentinel lions (1904) in the lobby were created by sculptor Alexander Proctor. A bust of Frick by sculptor Malvina Hoffman (1923) is displayed in the rear lobby, which extends from Forbes to Fifth Avenue.[5]
For a time, the building housed the headquarters of Old Overholt, Frick's family whiskey business, .[11] which had sales offices around the United States.[11]
References
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Susan M. Zacher (n.d.). National Register of Historic Places Registration: Pennsylvania SP Frick Building and Annex. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved December 7, 2025. (Template:NationalArchivesNote)
- ^ "The World's Work: A History of Our Time", Volume 14, by Walter Hines Page & Arthur Wilson Page, page 8856.
- ^ "The Spectator and the Topographical City", by Martin Aurand, page 38.
- ^ a b City of Pittsburgh website.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sturgess, ed. (2018). Exploring Pittsburgh: A Downtown Walking Tour. Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. p. 20.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Charter and By-Laws of the Union Club of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh: Union Club of Pittsburgh. 1904. p. 1.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Skrabec, Quentin R. (2010). Henry Clay Frick: The Life of the Perfect Capitalist. McFarland. p. 175. ISBN 978-0786443833.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Skrabec, Quentin R. (2010). The World's Richest Neighborhood: How Pittsburgh's East Enders Forged American Industry. Algora. p. 176. ISBN 978-0875867977.
- ^ Emporis Corporation description of the Frick Building.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wondrich, David (September 12, 2016). "How Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey Lost Its Way". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
Further reading
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Toker, Franklin (2007). Buildings of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh: Chicago: Society of Architectural Historians; Santa Fe: Center for American Places; Charlottesville: In association with the University of Virginia Press. ISBN 978-0-8139-2650-6.
- Glenn A. Walsh (2001) History of Industrialist, Art Patron, and Philanthropist Henry Clay Frick Retrieved 2005-09-20.
- Mellon Square Map Retrieved 2005-09-20.
- Chris Potter (March 24, 2005) On the Frick Building, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Grant Street is a sign stating "Street Grade Prior to 1912." What’s the significance of this? Pittsburgh City Paper, Retrieved September 20, 2005.
External links
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