Often Forgotten But Usually Fascinating: The Tales Behind Pittsburgh's Most 'Storied' Old Buildings

By Kiley Koscinski,

Megan Harris

Published October 18, 2018 at 10:34 AM EDT

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Rioters in 1877 burned down Union Station and all the trains behind it, as depicted in a postcard from the era.

Courtesy of Mark Houser

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Rioters in 1877 burned down Union Station and all the trains behind it, as depicted in a postcard from the era.

Courtesy of Mark Houser

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At 210 feet tall, the Machesney Building at 221 Fourth Avenue downtown features 19 stories and cast iron window bays between Corinthian columns. It was built in 1906 by Caroline Machesney, who commissioned the building on Pittsburgh's "Wall Street."

Courtesy of Mark Houser

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Courtesy of Mark Houser

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The Keenan Building stands 18 stories and 239 feet high at 643 Liberty Avenue. Its dome was formerly sheathed in gold-colored tiles and was originally topped in 1907 with a large globe and eagle.

Courtesy of Mark Houser

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The Keenan Building stands 18 stories and 239 feet high at 643 Liberty Avenue. Its dome was formerly sheathed in gold-colored tiles and was originally topped in 1907 with a large globe and eagle.

Courtesy of Mark Houser

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Architect Frederick Osterling sculpted a brick and terracotta stripes on granite across the Arrott Building at 401 Wood Street. The 18-story, 256-foot-tall skyscraper was built in 1902.

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Architect Frederick Osterling sculpted a brick and terracotta stripes on granite across the Arrott Building at 401 Wood Street. The 18-story, 256-foot-tall skyscraper was built in 1902.

Pittsburgh’s Gilded Age skyscrapers often pale in height and granduer to their modern-day cousins, but the tycoons behind them do not.

Mark Houser is a columnist and historian who frequently appears in Pittsburgh Magazine.

Historian and columnist Mark Houser digs into the stories of these century-old wonders and the characters who built them for his monthly Pittsburgh Magazine series “MultiStories.” Houser shares a few of his favorites ahead of a free Pittsburgh History & Landmarks event in Wilkinsburg at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Explore more in his recent TEDx Talk debunking a common myth in Pittsburgh’s bridge lore or bring him along through a free audio walking tour Downtown.

Later in the program, 90.5 WESA's Bill O'Driscoll talks to journalist Brittany Hailer about her debut memoir. The new work confronts her upbringing as the child of two addicts, as well as her own sexual traumas as an adult.

And in part two of WESA's new Dividing Lines education series, reporter Margaret J. Krauss explores how discriminatory housing practices of the past exacerbated segregation, and are still affecting Pittsburgh Public students today.

The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in weekdays at 9 a.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators join veteran journalist Kevin Gavin, taking an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here.