William Pitt Union
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| William Pitt Union | |
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| (U.S. Registered Historic District Contributing Property) |
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| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Area: | Schenley Farms Historic District |
| Built/Founded: | 1898 |
| Architect: | Rutan & Russell |
| Architectural style(s): | Beaux-Arts |
| Added to NRHP: | July 22, 1983[1] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 83002213 |
| Governing body: | University of Pittsburgh |
The William Pitt Union is the student union building of the University of Pittsburgh main campus and is a Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark.[1][2][3] Constructed in 1898 in the Beaux-Arts style, the former Schenley Hotel catered to local and visiting well-to-do, prior to its acquisition by the University of Pittsburgh in 1956.
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[edit] History
[edit] The Schenley
The building, originally known as the Schenley Hotel and designed by architects Rutan & Russell[4], opened in 1898, became the keystone of entrepreneur Franklin Nicola’s dream of Oakland as a center for culture, art and education. Nicola had been instrumental in the formation of the Bellefield Company with the help of Andrew W. Mellon, Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie, George Westinghouse and H.J. Heinz, who were among the first stockholders to share Nicola’s vision for Oakland. They erected the beaux-arts structure on land once owned by fellow stockholder Mary Croghan Schenley.[5] The Schenley Hotel was Pittsburgh's first large, steel-framed "skyscraper hotel" it was described as "Pittsburgh's class hotel of the early 20th centry".[6]
[edit] Famous guests
Full of marble, chandeliers and Louis XV architecture, the Schenley quickly became the Pittsburgh home to the great and the near-great.
Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the register at the Schenley.
Singer-actress Lillian Russell lived on the fourth floor and married Pittsburgh publisher Alexander Moore in the French Room.
Dramatic tenor Enrico Caruso and his entourage occupied seven suites during their stay. Sarah Bernhardt, Nelson Eddy, Jeannette MacDonald, Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, and Spencer Tracy stayed at the Schenley. Italian tragedian Eleanora Duse succumbed to pneumonia in Suite 524.[7]
The Schenley was not just the place to stay in Pittsburgh as the 20th century began: it was where the young ladies of society "came out," where couples married, and where one could dine on the "haute cuisine" of the day.
It was a place where Pittsburgh power brokers met - many of the discussions leading to the birth of the U.S. Steel Corporation were held at the Schenley. Its formation was celebrated at the "Meal of Millionaires" in 1901. Later in 1914, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) was organized at the Schenley Hotel.[8] Famous industrialists and businessman men, including Andrew Carnegie and Diamond Jim Brady, have eaten there.
1909 was a year that changed the Hotel Schenley forever. That summer, Forbes Field opened just down the street and the University of Pittsburgh moved from its Northside location to Oakland. From that time on, the "Waldorf of Pittsburgh" gradually became the home of the National League baseball players in town to play the Pittsburgh Pirates and student and faculty took their place among the Pittsburgh elite. Now added to the register were names such as Babe Ruth, Casey Stengel, Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby. The deals struck over dinner at the Schenley now included baseball trades.[9]
For the next 40-plus years the Schenley continued to operate albeit on a less grand scale. Pittsburgh's Renaissance I brought modern hotels to downtown Pittsburgh and, ironically, Frank Nicola’s dream of an Oakland civic center turned out to be a nightmare for the Schenley. The turn-of-the-century marvel had been built in rural Pittsburgh. The 1950s Schenley was surrounded by hospitals, educational facilities, concert halls and private clubs with no parking to serve the hotel’s mobile guests.
[edit] A part of Pitt
In 1956, the then Schenley Park Hotel was sold to the University of Pittsburgh to serve as a residence hall and, among other things, as its student union. While $1 million was spent to renovate the facility which was then called Schenley Hall.
Shortly after this, during the height of the cold war in September 1959, the Schenley Hall ballroom in the Union was the site of a luncheon for Nikita Khrushchev, chairman of the Soviet Union, and various Soviet and U.S. officials, including Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. that was hosted by the University of Pittsburgh and Pitt Chancellor Edward Litchfield. Pittsburgh and the University was the last stop in his eleven-day transcontinental tour prior to a three-day conference with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The New York Times proclaimed "Pittsburgh Stop Warmest of Tour".[10]
As the student population of the Pittsburgh campus blossomed to 30,000-plus and their activities diversified and grew, it became clear that the grand structure needed an overhaul.
In 1980, the University announced a $13.9 million renovation and restoration for the Union, made possible by bonds sold through the Allegheny County Higher Education Building Authority.
During the 18-month project, seven upper floors were gutted, making way for bright, modern offices for students and the student affairs administration. The turn-of-the-century character of the main floor has been retained through careful restoration, and the rarely used basement has become a functional lower level, thanks to the new Forbes Avenue Entrance.[11] The renovations were completed in 1983 and the building was renamed the William Pitt Union.[12]
[edit] Legend
A ghostly legend passed down among students begins with the story of a visit by the Russian National Ballet where it took up accommodations in the historic Schenley Hotel prior to opening its tour of the United States in Pittsburgh. The prima ballerina, tired from travel, decided to rest before the premiere performance, drifted off, and slept through her curtain call and the whole of the performance. The companies director, either so inscenced by her missing the premiere, or so impressed by the stage presence of her understudy, decided to replace the prima ballerina with the young upstart for the remainder of the tour. The ballerina was so distraught that she took her own life that night, ashamed and humiliated that she would be replaced by the young understudy. It is now said if you were to ever take a nap or fall asleep for whatever reason in the Tansky Family Lounge, also known as the Red Room, you will always wake up just in time for whatever exam, class, meeting, appointment , etc you may have missed. The Prima Ballernia haunts the room to make sure you never succumb to her same fate.[13]
[edit] Current Usage
The William Pitt Union is now the home to the International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame, C. M. Kimbo Art Gallery, a dance studio, meeting and conference rooms, university offices, a food court, and over 300 student organizations including The Pitt News student newspaper, yearbook, student radio station, and student government.[14]. In 2007, the recreation room on the ground floor of the union was renovated and by resolution of the Pitt Student Government Board in December 2007, was named "Nordy's Place" in honor of Chancellor Mark Nordenberg whom the board resolved was a student favorite and worthy of the honor.[15][16]
[edit] External links
- William Pitt Union home page
- International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame
- The Pitt News
- WPTS Radio
- Student Government Board
- Division of Student Affairs
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-09). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- Alberts, Robert C. (1987). Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787–1987. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
- William Pitt Union homepage
[edit] Gallery
 The Cathedral of Learning viewed from Forbes Ave side of the Union |
 The Cathedral from the 5th Ave portico of the Union |
 Union Lawn |
 Tansky Family Lounge |
 Lower atrium |
 Panther in the Tansky Lounge |
 Gene Kelly star near the Forbes Avenue entrance |
 State historical marker |
| Preceded by Music Building |
University of Pittsburgh Buildings William Pitt Union Constructed: 1898 |
Succeeded by Thaw Hall |
