Of all the neighborhoods where restoration mania has hit, Allegheny West
is the most thoroughly restored, and perhaps the most deserving of restoration.
At the turn of the 20th century it had more millionaires per acre than
any other place on the planet. The gorgeous late-Victorian houses they
left have survived the years well, and most of them have fallen into the
hands of dedicated monomaniacs who live to restore. Beech Avenue is now
the most beautiful residential street in Pittsburgh, and one of the most
beautiful in North America.
Some of the brick and stone houses of Beech Avenue might seem a bit staid
if they didn't make up for it by the exuberance of their porches. Allegheny
West residents seem to be always comparing porches and trying to outdo
their neighbors--but usually without straying too far outside the bounds
of good taste.
Allegheny West also has quite a concentration of literary history. In this
house, Mary Roberts Rinehart wrote The Circular Staircase, which
more than any other book made her the queen of the detective novel.
Gertrude Stein always remained firmly born in this house on Beech Avenue,
just a block and a half from the Rinehart house.
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, by H. H. Richardson,
is a strikingly unusual design that intrigues students of architectural
history. Do we dare call Richardson the first "modern" architect?
The more traditional Calvary Methodist Church is flamboyantly Gothic. It's
famous for its stained glass, some of Louis Comfort Tiffany's best work.
