Wesley W. Posvar Hall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wesley W. Posvar Hall (WWPH), formerly known as Forbes Quadrangle, is a landmark building on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. At 744,695 square feet (69,184.4 m²) it is the largest academic-use building on campus, providing administrative offices, classrooms, lecture halls, a food court, and computer labs.
The building sits beside Hillman Library on Schenley Plaza at the corner of Schenley Drive and Roberto Clemente Drive. Bouquet Street runs along its west side. Originally named Forbes Quadrangle, it was renamed on October 21, 1999 by the University's Board of Trustees in honor of Wesley W. Posvar (1925–2001), the 15th chancellor of the University.
Posvar Hall houses Pitt's School of Education, the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, the University Center for International Studies, and the Social Sciences Departments.
Completed in 1978 and designed in the Brutalist with a limestone exterior[1], its height was limited to five stories so it would not compete with The Carnegie Institute directly across Schenley Plaza. Construction costs exceeded $38 million. Its floor space slightly exceeds that of the Cathedral of Learning. It has 574 offices, 30 seminar rooms, 3 lecture halls, one mile of corridors, and nearly 500 parking spaces in its garage below the facility. Enclosed passageways connect it to David L. Lawrence Hall, the Law School, and the Litchfield Towers.
The building stands on the original site of Forbes Field, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team from 1909–1970 and, at various times, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Homestead Grays, and Pitt's own football team. The stadium was dismantled starting in July 1971, and construction on the new building started soon afterwards and continued until 1974. The building incorporates many reminders of the famous ballpark—the home plate of Forbes Field remains near its exact spot, protected under lucite glass. The outfield wall is outlined in the sidewalk by bricks, and the portion of the famously deep left-center field wall still stands across the street, marked "457 Feet". Classrooms were named and numbered to reflect the seating section of the old stadium where they were located. The system confused people, and was changed in 2004 to four-digit numbers.
One of two surviving Langley Aerodromes, Aerodrome No. 6 dating from 1896, is displayed there along with various artworks and sculptures. Virgil Cantini's porcelain enamel on steel mural Enlightenment and Joy (1977) is on display on the ground floor. Cantini's 1965 steel rod and multicolored glass sculpture "Skyscape" is also on display near room 1500.[1] Tony Smith's 1971 20-foot-tall painted steel sculpture Light Up!, commissioned by Westinghouse and originally displayed in downtown Pittsburgh [2], can be found outside Posvar Hall in Forbes Quad between it and Hillman Library. [3] Donated to and re-installed at Pitt in 1988, it was temporarily loaned to the Museum of Modern Art and displayed in front of the Seagram Building in New York City for a 1988 Tony Smith retrospective.[4]
[edit] References
- Alberts, Robert C. (1987). Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787–1987. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
[edit] External links
[edit] Gallery
 Posvar Hall |
 |
 Cantini's "Skyscape" |
 Langley Aerodrome No. 6 |
 Underneath Langley's Aerodrome No. 6 |
 Cantini's Enlightenment and Joy |
 Plaque in Posvar Hall commemorating Forbes Field and the 1960 World Series. The scene, autographed by Bill Mazeroski, shows Pitt students cheering on the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1960 World Series from a ledge of the Cathedral of Learning. |
| Preceded by Barco Law Building |
University of Pittsburgh Buildings Posvar Hall Constructed: 1978 |
Succeeded by Mervis Hall |
