I drive by this structure most days, the corner of Stanton and Negley. It was in bad repair for a long time. Then it started to be cared for and fixed up. Attended some poetry readings here a couple of years ago. The accumulation of soot speaks of another time in Pittsburgh’s history, when the mills ran around the clock,spewing “carbon, sulfur dioxides and gypsum” (residue listed when they cleaned the Cathedral of Learning) . The buildings with the evidence of another time are dwindling. Tomorrow I will get the name of the company who is doing the cleaning and add it to this post.
The Union Project homepage states “Union Project’s purpose is to create connections and opportunities for learning through the arts and through community-based programming intended to serve the needs of the surrounding neighborhoods.” (click here for entire mission statement and more info on space rental and programs, stained glass classes and ceramics)
The right side is already cleaned, and the tower is being worked on now. I was at a red light and got the one man cleaning the tower but turned the corner and pulled over and rolled down the window to catch the other two workers and the contrast of the clean and the remaining visibile sign of the mills.
Diana Nelson Jones wrote an article 12/11/10 in the Post-Gazette about the restoration of all the stained glass windows.
