June 13, 2008
'Preservation' is My Middle Name
First things first. I was quoted last night in a Daily News editorial about WEDO (810). It's the second time I've been mentioned in the News in a week.
Both times, they used my middle initial, "P," which I've never used in my entire life.
I don't really mind, but I'm not sure why they're using it.
Personally, I've always thought it's a little silly to use your middle initial unless there's a chance you're going to be confused with someone else ("Joe L. Brown" vs. "Joe E. Brown").
And in case you're wondering, the "P" stands for "Pennypacker."
. . .
Someone emailed me privately to ask if the Penn-McKee Hotel and the Eagles lodge are as bad as city officials say they are.
"Towns
love to knock down such places," he said. "I just stayed at a hotel
on the square of Abbottstown, out past Gettysburg --- another town with a pretty small potential market, but they've fixed it up beautifully.
"'Boutique hotel' seems an apt description --- about 10 rooms, all the old wood and fixtures restored, but in a modern way that my family would love it, i.e. it doesn't feel 'old.'
"A little restaurant downstairs plus a bar and nice porch make it an amazing place. I'm sure during the restoration people said, 'it's crumbling plus who would want to stay in this town?' but I'm glad they hung in there --- it takes vision."
Well, yeah, it does, and vision's been in admittedly short supply in the Mon Valley for a long time.
But a couple of issues spring to mind.
. . .
First, the Eagles is pretty far gone. I'm no engineer, and I don't play one on TV, but when the roof of a old building begins falling in, and the walls begin visibly shifting, it's not long before it's going to collapse.
And that's where the Eagles stands right now ... and I use "stands" in the loosest possible sense.
Could the Eagles be saved? In the sense that you can "save" anything by throwing enough money at the problem, yes.
However, because of the way buildings like the Eagles were constructed, you would essentially have to dismantle the building, erect a steel frame inside, and rebuild the exterior walls.
I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that project would probably cost $2 million, and you'd essentially no longer have a historic structure. It would just resemble the old building on the outside.
And what would you do with it then?
I don't want to discourage anyone from investing that kind of money in a labor of love, but it would be hard to justify on a strictly cost-benefit basis.
. . .
That brings us to the Penn-McKee. As Jim Armstrong points out, the building is steel-frame construction with concrete floors. I've seen the construction photos; the exterior brick walls don't provide structural support.
Given the amount of water and insect damage the building likely has after more than 20 years of being vacant, you'd have to gut it. But it's imminently usable, for now.
Oh, and don't worry about the "historic value." The Penn-McKee was never an elegant hotel; it was the Motel 6 of the 1920s. After the Sheraton Motor Inn opened on Lysle Boulevard, it turned into a flophouse.
The Penn-McKee is in a highly-visible location, one block from the marina and the Palisades, with an adjacent parking lot, and a city-owned lot across the street.
When the Great Allegheny Trail is completed through Downtown, it will pass almost under the hotel's windows.
Maybe I'm wrong, but in my opinion, the failure to redevelop the hotel after all of these years suggests a lack of will rather than a lack of opportunity.
. . .
One serious problem is that McKeesport doesn't have any organized historical preservation group:
McKeesport doesn't have any rich families nearby, and it's too far from Pittsburgh, so if we're going to do anything, we're on our own.
At one point, a group calling itself the "Historical Society of McKeesport" was trying to save some houses on Shaw Avenue's "Millionaire's Row," but I don't know whatever became of them.
I keep hearing from residents of McKeesport and the surrounding boroughs, "isn't it a shame" that buildings like the Penn-McKee and the Eagles are decaying.
Well, if you want to save them, you'd better take matters into your own hands. McKeesporters have always been self-reliant. Let's not sit around waiting for someone else to rescue us.
And if you want to start a preservation group, I'm happy to spread the word here.
Or my name isn't Jason
Pewterschmidt Togyer.
. . .
Two New Blogs: I recently discovered two new news blogs of local interest:
- Steel Valley Matters is sponsored by the Steel Valley Enterprise Zone, Steel Valley Chamber of Commerce and Homestead Borough.
- SA Weekly is operated by students from South Allegheny High School
Stop by and tell 'em Jason
Pangborn Togyer sent you.
. . .
And Finally: From the National Politics Desk, an
absolutely devastating takedown of Michelle Malkin and Fox News by John Scalzi. It's very partisan, but very funny.
Posted at 07:38 am by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Mon Valley Miscellany, Rants a.k.a. Commentary | five comments | Link To This Entry
June 12, 2008
Penn-McKee, Eagles Lodge Face Demolition
Two historic buildings Downtown have an imminent date with the wrecking ball.
And although one of them has a potential savior, the other one is probably too far gone.
The Penn-McKee Hotel on Fifth Avenue at Strawberry Alley and the former Eagles lodge at Market and Seventh streets are on a list of condemned buildings slated for demolition by the city.
A hearing on all the buildings has been set for 10 a.m. June 24 in city council chambers at the old municipal building, 201 Lysle Blvd.
. . .
City Building Inspector Chris House says that the collapse of two buildings Downtown in the past month --- one on
Sixth Avenue, the other on
Walnut Street --- offers proof that officials can't wait forever for property owners to rehabilitate dangerous structures.
"It's just a matter of luck that someone hasn't been killed," House says. "Unfortunately, the City of McKeesport is the one who's going to have to take responsibility for someone else's property in order to maintain public welfare."
House says the old Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 285 is in danger of collapse.
"There's not a structural engineer in the world who would say that building is now salvageable," he says.
A few years ago, House says, the roof on a concrete-block addition at the back of the lodge fell down, but the original structure remained intact.
. . .
That original part of the lodge is a stone mansion that was built in the 1880s as the home of a prominent city doctor, and it was
listed two years ago as one of the state's "Top 10 Opportunities" by a historic preservation group.
Since then, parts of the mansion's roof have caved in, and portions of the exterior walls have collapsed.
The driveway of the neighboring building has been closed to traffic for safety reasons.
"It was possible that it could have been salvaged, but the owner didn't maintain it," House says.
. . .
County records list a non-profit group called the Museum Hair Institute as
the legal owner of the Eagles lodge, and indicate that the
property taxes have not been paid in several years.
Published reports in 2005 said that MHI was going to create a museum of barbering and hairstyling in the lodge. The museum never materialized.
According to the state Corporation Bureau, the
principal officer of MHI is Henry Russell Jr. of Shaw Avenue in the city. Russell's phone number is unlisted and he could not be reached for comment.
. . .
The Penn-McKee Hotel has a more confusing provenance. County deed records indicate that
tax bills are being sent to the offices of Edward L. Kemp Co. on West Fifth Avenue.
But the building is in the name of a corporation called
See Bee Inc., and Jim Armstrong of White Oak says the corporation was donated to him several years ago.
Armstrong, a graphic designer and commercial artist who also heads a Christian music ministry called
Voice of the Bride, wants to turn the hotel into a small-business incubator and a center for the performing arts.
The hotel, built in the 1920s, was the site of the
first debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. Both men were freshmen congressmen when they traveled to the city in 1947 to discuss the Taft-Hartley Act.
Used as a residential hotel for low-income and transient residents in its final years, the upper floors closed in 1985. Several offices and stores on the first floor remained open for a few more years.
. . .
Armstrong says the Penn-McKee is generally sound. "The building is concrete and steel," he says. "A number of years ago, some bricks fell off in the alley. There was kind of a speakeasy thing built on the roof, and it finally fell down. The rest of the building is completely solid."
House disagrees. He notes that damage caused by an arsonist several years ago is still evident on the outside of the building, and that windows are broken and missing on the upper floors.
"I think it's a foregone conclusion that this thing is going to have to be demolished," House says. "The longer you let it sit and don't maintain it, the worse it's going to get."
Armstrong says his efforts to repair and reopen the Penn-McKee were stymied after he lost his job. Two potential investors also backed out.
He estimates it would cost "a couple of hundred thousand dollars" to start renovating the building, and $1.5 million to restore the entire structure for occupancy.
. . .
The hotel is in a highly visible location, one block from the McKees Point Marina and the Palisades Ballroom, and visible from Lysle Boulevard and the Jerome Avenue Bridge.
The Youghiogheny River
hiking-biking trail, which is
about to be completed through the city's Downtown, will pass almost underneath the hotel's windows.
Yet Armstrong says he doesn't know if anyone would want to buy the Penn-McKee if he tried to sell it.
"I don't know what kind of a market there is for that," he says, adding that in his opinion, city officials discourage people from investing Downtown: "Part of it is you get taxed to death when they're not doing a whole lot for you but hassling you."
. . .
House says the city isn't "hassling" Armstrong or other property owners, but does want them to take responsibility.
"We're not even sure who the (legal) owner is right now," he says. "There's been a lot of skirting the issue by previous owners. We're having trouble finding any records of sales. And there's been no maintenance or initiative to repair the building."
Any demolition charges will be assessed against the legal owners of the buildings, House says, and the city will use all legal means necessary to recover its costs.
As for the suggestion that selling the Penn-McKee is impossible, he says "there's always a solution" that doesn't involve letting a building rot until it falls down.
"It's really a sad situation that someone would let it deteriorate," House says.
. . .
Armstrong says that anyone interested in investing in the Penn-McKee Hotel's restoration can contact him at (412) 726-8210 or jim@theupcompany.com.
June 11, 2008
On the Lighter Side
Gee, things have been so serious around here lately, it seems like it's time to lighten things up with a little humor.
But instead, I'll pass along some content from my lousy radio show.
Incidentally, I unearthed the ad at right (from 1972) while getting ready to do the story a few days ago about the motorcycle blessing at St. Stephen's Church. Don't try looking for the Harley dealership; it's long gone.
I don't remember it at all, and my best guesstimate is that the dealership was located at the city side of the old 15th Avenue Bridge. I seem to recall a used car dealership there in the 1980s.
I also don't think this dealer was related to Heritage Harley-Davidson, which was on Lysle Boulevard (in the former Leonatti Bros. Honda dealership) before moving up to West Mifflin. Your clarifications are much appreciated.
And now, without further adieu:
June 10, 2008
Ministry's Store Sparks Council Questions
If you've been Downtown on Walnut Street, you've probably noticed Voice of Vision Outreach Ministries' used furniture store in the building that previously housed Progressive Music Co. (and many years before that, Baehr Brothers Studebaker).
It's a bargain-hunter's paradise inside, with two floors of antique and not-so-antique furniture, including dressers, dining-room sets, coffee and end tables, chairs, sofas and beds.
Business is good enough that the Voice of Vision store is about to begin warehousing some of its overstock in a building near UPMC McKeesport hospital.
That sparked a debate at city council last week over whether the ministry, which is a registered tax-deductible charity, is abusing its status at the expense of for-profit businesses.
"There's no way they conform with zoning regulations," Councilman Darryl Segina alleged, asking whether the store's presence Downtown hurt R & J Furniture, which closed its store at Sixth and Market streets a few years ago.
"We should know if this business is registered in the city, we should know if their taxes are being paid," Segina said. "These are legitimate questions that should be answered."
. . .
At issue was Voice of Vision's request for a zoning variance to use a vacant two-story building at 1502 Lysle Blvd. to store excess furniture.
State and county records indicate that the building is owned by the same Elizabeth Township family that also owns the building where Barrier Protection Services and Cornerstone Day Care are located --- the former Schulhof Tire store at Lysle and Locust.
Council approved the variance by a 5-1 vote (with Segina dissenting and Councilwoman Loretta Diggs absent due to illness), but only after Council President Regis McLaughlin directed Solicitor Jason Elash to find out if Voice of Vision was complying with city fire codes and tax ordinances.
Sheryl Cross, an administrative assistant to Voice of Vision founder the Rev. Dr. Calvin Green, said after the meeting that she's been working with the ministry for about six months to straighten out bookkeeping problems and make sure the organization is complying with local, state and federal regulations.
"Rev. Green was reluctant to turn over some of the information at times," Cross said.
But she added that the pastor is not trying to evade any laws or hurt any for-profit businesses.
Cross said Green has been hurt in the past by volunteers who offered to "help" at the store, only to "help" themselves to money or merchandise. "He wants to be 'submissive to authority,'" she said, in line with Jesus' admonition that his followers "render unto Caesar" taxes and follow the law.
Segina was quick to add that "there is no question" about Green's character, and that his concerns only involved the store, which is operated under a separate corporate charter from the neighboring Voice of Vision Outreach church.
. . .
Besides direct sales to the public, Cross said the store donates used furniture or sells it at below-market rates to low-income families or people recovering from floods and fires.
Proceeds from the store support Voice of Vision Outreach and are used to fund programs administered by other community organizations and overseen by the state Department of Public Welfare, Allegheny County and other agencies, Cross said.
The store currently has two paid employees, and she said they are paying wage taxes, though according to city officials it is exempt from mercantile tax.
Mayor Jim Brewster defended Green. "He's a good man, and I think in the past some of the dotting of the 'I's' and crossing of the 'T's' hasn't happened," he said.
June 09, 2008
Correction, Not Perfection
On June 4, the Almanac noted --- as police and the media were reporting --- that a city man had been accused and charged in connection with a shooting at Nigro's Restaurant in North Versailles Township.
As an Almanac reader has correctly pointed out, four of the five victims of that shooting testified at a preliminary hearing that the man charged, Tyrone Watson, did not shoot them.
"One hundred percent -- Mr. Watson is not the person who shot me," former Steelers defensive back Russell Stuvaints testified, according to the Tribune-Review. "I feel bad he was framed."
"Why would someone who was shot come in and say (Watson) didn't do it?" Stuvaints asked, according to WPXI-TV.
As of the last published reports, the county had not dropped the charges, but in light of the testimony of the four victims, the Almanac sincerely apologizes for repeating any incorrect information. My intention was to talk about gun violence, not to spread rumors.
My policy is to correct any errors as soon as I'm told about them. The June 4 entry at the Almanac has been updated with the new information.
In the meantime, something is seriously wrong with that case. Justice needs to be done for both the people who were shot --- and the man who was accused.
June 09, 2008
Sweet Sainted Mother of Henry Ford
Well, I figured that four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline was going to hit the Mon-Yough area sooner or later. (I paid $3.999 in Whitaker on Saturday. G'wan, guess which gas station. You have your choice of
one.)
Yet this was still provided a nasty little surprise when I was driving home from work Sunday night. I grabbed my chest, Fred Sanford-style, and said, "This is the big one, 'Lisbeth! I'm comin'!"
Right about now, I'm wondering if Ford has made any progress on that hybrid version of the Grand Marquis. Probably not.
Actually, the car I'm kind of coveting is the five-speed stickshift
Mercury Milan. The car seems to get
good reviews for performance and quality, and I like the looks, too. (I'd like a two-door version --- a la the
Toyota Solara and
Honda Accord --- even better. Please, Ford?)
Of course, I've never actually owned a new car, and since I'm still a
writer, the chances of me being able to afford a new one are somewhere between slim and none.
I was waiting for Ed McMahon to finally deliver my check from that publishers' sweepstakes dealie, but it turns out that Ed
has troubles of his own, so now I've got to wait until they're five years old and hitting the used car lots.
By then, unfortunately, gasoline might be six dollars a gallon and the Turnpike Commission will still be "10 years away" from completing the
Mo-Fo Excessway.
I wonder if I should get to work on the
Fred Flintstone version of my present car. A couple more Pennsylvania winters ought to take care of the floor quite nicely. Yabba-dabba-doo!
. . .
S.S. McKeesport: Yes, that was me in your Sunday
Post-Gazette, writing about the
S.S. McKeesport.
My story was just a sidebar to a
larger story about the
USS Pittsburgh written by Chris Briem, who's trying to rally support for
bringing a World War II-vintage LST to Pittsburgh. As he notes,
many warships were constructed around our rivers --- especially at Dravo Corp.'s shipyards on
Neville Island.
Although the Mon-Yough area was a hub for building riverboats, especially before World War II, I don't know that any U.S. Navy craft were ever built in McKeesport or Elizabeth during the 20th century.
If they were, it would have been at
Elizabeth Marine Ways, I suppose.
Published weekdays (usually), except holidays (and when we have something better to do) at McKeesport, Pa., by Tube City Online LLC, P.O. Box 94, McKeesport, Pa. 15134.