Support Historic Designation for Albright

UPDATE (2/4/2016): On Wednesday, February 3, 2016 the City of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission voted to move the historic nomination forward. There will be a public hearing for the historic designation at the next Historic Review Commission Meeting on Wednesday, March 2, 2016.

Post-Gazette article on the HRC’s decision at the February meeting: “Preservation fight begins for Albright United Methodist Church in Bloomfield”

You can support Albright for historic designation…

Attend the Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 and voicing your support for historic designation. RSVP & share the Facebook event for the hearing.
Send the Historic Review Commission a letter of support (sample letters and detail are below).
Sign the petition & share with your friends! http://bit.ly/AlbrightPetition.
Tweet your support – use the #SaveAlbright and please cc @BillPeduto & @DebGrossPGH.

On Wednesday, February 3, 2016 the City of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission will review the historic nomination of the Albright United Methodist Church building which is located at 486 S. Graham Street (the corner of Centre Ave & S. Graham).

Here are the ways that you can show your support for the historic designation, the most important way to show your support is to attend the HRC meeting on Wednesday, February 3. If you are not available please follow the instructions below to send a letter of support and sign our petition.

1. Attend the Historic Review Commission Meeting

There will be time for the public to voice their support of the historic designation. If you are able to attend the HRC meeting, it would be helpful to have as many people as possible speak in favor of the historic designation. If you are planning to attend, please RSVP on Facebook or email friends@albrightpgh.com.

Date: The Historic Review Commission will be held on Wed, February 3, 2016. The meeting agenda is available online here.
Location: 200 Ross Street, 1st floor hearing room. (Enter the building, and the hearing room is located to the right).
Time: The meeting starts at 12:30pm, Albright’s nomination is later on the agenda, and will likely not start until after 1:45pm.

2. Send a Letter to the Historic Review Commission Supporting Historic Designation

Please take a moment to send a letter to the Historic Review Commission expressing your support of historic designation for Albright.

Letters should be addressed to:

Ernie Hogan, Acting Chair, City of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission

Send your email to:

City of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission via Sarah Quinn sarah.quinn@pittsburghpa.gov

Please CC:

Mayor Bill Peduto bill.peduto@pittsburghpa.gov
Councilwoman Deb Gross deborah.gross@pittsburghpa.gov
Friends of Albright friends@AlbrightPGH.com

Sample Letter:

To: Ernie Hogan, Acting Chair, City of Pittsburgh Historic Review Commission

Dear Mr. Hogan,

I support the historic designation of the Albright United Methodist Church building located at 486 S Graham St, Pittsburgh, PA 15232.

[Optional: add your own comments about why historic designation is important]

Sincerely,

Your Name

3. Sign the Petition

Add your name to the petition supporting Historic Designation for the Albright Church building –> http://bit.ly/AlbrightPetition

Sun 1/31 – FREE Lecture on the History of Albright

Justin Greenawalt from East Liberty Valley Historical Society will give a lecture on the history of the Albright United Methodist Church Building on Sunday, January 31, 2016 at the East End Cooperative Ministries Community House.

Please use Entrance A on Station Street.

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If you are a Facebook user, please RSVP on Facebook here.

Then: Christopher Zug’s House, Now: Giant Eagle Market District

Thanks to the East Liberty Valley Historical Society, we are learning lots more about the history of some of Albright’s neighbors.

Here is a post from the East Liberty Valley Historical Society on Christopher Zug, whose property is now the site of the Giant Eagle Market District.
Go to the article now.

[If you are interested in learning more about history of East Liberty and surrounding neighborhoods, be sure to like the East Liberty Valley Historical Society Facebook page.

Pittsburgh means Steel. Or at least it used to. But when we think of our City’s peerless industrial past, rarely do we realize just how many iron and steel producers there were. Sure, we’ve heard of Andrew Carnegie, but have you ever heard of James Hemphill? What about Wallace Rowe? Maybe Christopher Zug? All were iron producers. All were East Enders.

Today, we’re going to look at Christopher Zug (1807-1902). Zug was born in 1807 in Carlisle, PA. His family had emigrated from Switzerland in 1725 and settled on land that was granted by the Penn Family. He arrived in Pittsburgh in 1835; traveling here on the Pennsylvania Main-Line Canal.

After an earlier stint in wholesale dry goods, Zug took a job in the iron mills, which at that time chiefly produced nails. Keep in mind, this is an era before steel. It was also before the Great Fire of 1845. Pittsburgh was a wooden city and it was growing exponentially. Nails were in high demand!

With a little hard work and perseverance, Zug eventually became co-owner in Graff, Lindsay, & Co., a mill situated at 13th Street and Etna Street in the Strip District. In 1856, the company reincorporated as Zug & Painter, and later, Zug & Co. The mill became known as the Sable Iron Works and was located under what is now the southern abutment of the Veterans Bridge/I-279.

In stark contrast to some of his contemporaries, Zug was hailed as a champion of workers’ rights. One of his many obituaries states, “Mr. Zug was regarded as a strong friend of union labor, and the signature of Zug & Co. was the first, or one of the first, to be attached to he Amalgamated Association wage scale. Such a thing as a serious dispute at the Zug mills was entirely unknown.”

In addition to being a renowned engineer, Zug was also a noted botanist.

In the late 1880s, when Zug was well into his 80s, he built a large home at the intersection of Centre and Roup (now S. Negley Avenue). To date, no photos of the home have been found. But historic maps tell us that it was symmetrical, built of brick, and, interestingly, faced away from Centre Avenue and toward the railroad. This was a time when much of the East End was still open land. Centre Avenue was hardly the major thoroughfare that it is today. The railroad was the primary means of accessing the East End from Downtown. Zug would have wanted his house to be prominently visible to everyone traveling into the city.

We can gather from the house’s plan, its date of construction, and from its neighbors that it was probably a very stately, center tower Second Empire house.

Today, Giant Eagle Market District sits on the site of the Christopher Zug house. The house was demolished c. 1930.

Christopher Zug died in 1902 at the age of 95.
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Friends of Albright 2015 Highlights

Thank you for all of your support in helping to make sure that Albright continues to be a bright spot in the community! Not only were we able to help the congregation of Albright United Methodist Church continue their weekly Sunday services (a huge thank you to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary for helping to coordinate a weekly preacher), 2015 was filled with opportunities to engage the community in the future of Albright. Here are a few of the highlights!

July 26, 2015 – Albright Community Block Party

We hosted our first annual community block party with music, food trucks and over 150 friends and neighbors who stopped by to share ideas on how the space can better serve the community. Thank you to Pgh Taco Truck and Caustelot Creamery for bringing the food truck. And to Sister Friend, Thrival, Preservation Pittsburgh, East Liberty Valley Historic Society, Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse and Pittsburgh City Council woman Deb Gross for helping us to make this a successful event! Click here to see more photos from the event.

August 20, 2015 – Tribune Review: Pittsburgh Zoning Board considers church demolition in Shadyside

September 1, 2015 – The Bulletin: Community organizes to save local church from demolition

Albright-2015-bulletin

September 26, 2015 – Tribune Review: Old churches historically, socially important to communities

October 27 2015 – Albright Named to the YPA’s 2015 Top 10 Preservation Opportunities List

Albright is #4 on the annual list compiled by the Pittsburgh Young Preservationists of buildings to preserve. The Top 10 event was held at the Union Project in Highland Park and was a great way to celebrate Albright and to see how one church has been transformed into a vibrant community space. You can see more photos from the YPA Top Ten event here.

October 30, 2015 – Post-Gazette: Congregation fights to save old Albright church in Bloomfield from demolition

November 2015 – Friends of Albright accepted as a project of New Sun Rising

Friends of Albright was accepted as a project of New Sun Rising, a n organization that exists to support and catalize project that create social impact. You can make a tax deductible contribution to Friends of Albright through New Sun Rising here.

November 26, 2015 – 41st Annual Albright Community Thanksgiving Dinner

150 Volunteers from all over the city of Pittsburgh and Western PA came together to cook a homemade Thanksgiving Dinner.
Prepared 500 meals that were served to the community and delivered to seniors in Wilkinsburg
Watch a timelapse video of the Albright Thanksgiving dinner here.
SAVE THE DATE! The 42 Annual Albright Thanksgiving-Eve Dinner will be held on Wednesday, November 23, 2016.

December 17, 2015 – Friends of Albright receives Mary J. Paradise Award from Preservation Pittsburgh

We are honored to have our efforts to preserve and reuse the Albright Church building recognized by Preservation Pittsburgh. We are delighted that so many members of the community have come together to ensure that Albright remains a bright spot in the Bloomfield neighborhood.

Friends of Albright to Receive the Mary J. Paradise Community Preservation Award

FOA-award

preservation-pittsburgh-award Friends of Albright is honored to learn that we have been selected to receive the Mary J. Paradise Community Preservation Award from Preservation Pittsburgh. The award will be presented on Thursday, December 16, 2015 at the Preservation Pittsburgh Holiday Party.

From the Preservation Pittsburgh board:

It is my pleasure to notify you that Preservation Pittsburgh‘s Board has selected you to receive this year’s Mary J. Paradise Community Preservation Award. This award recognizes a community group who worked to further historic preservation as a public good within the City of Pittsburgh.

Specifically, that Board wishes to acknowledge the significant contributions surrounding the once and future Albright United Methodist Church. We also would like to recognize your community advocacy in educating the public about the building’s history and the role it plays as an aesthetically integral part of Bloomfield.

Please celebrate with us and support long odds Preservation Pittsburgh at their annual holiday party.

Preservation Pittsburgh Holiday Party
Thursday, December 17, 2015
6-9pm
Arnold’s Tea, 502 E Ohio St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
More information about the event is available here.

About Mary J. Paradise

Mary J. Paradise founded Preservation Pittsburgh in 1999. Her records from the organization are available in the archives at the University of Pittsburgh.

Third Sunday in Advent at Albright. Thanks to the Rev. April Roebuck for preaching this morning. #albrightpgh #pittsburgh #advent

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1NXFdCE

Fri 12/4 Lecture About Buildings That Have Been Demolished in the East End

albright-ELVH-Dec-lecture This Friday, December 4, 2015, the East Liberty Valley Historical Society is holding a lecture titled “In Plain Sight: Fragments of a Vanished East End” which will look at some of the buildings that have been demolished in the East End including Col. James M. Guffey Houses, the Croghan-Schenley Estate, the Buick Motor Car Company, the Thomas Atterbury House, and others.

The Croghan-Schneley Estate (Stanton Heights)

This was located in Stanton Heights. You can read more about the golf course that was located here from this 2009 Post-Gazette article. The blog Old Pittsburgh Maps has an extensive post on this property here which includes some of the blue prints of the house here.

You can view many more photos from this building via the Library of Congress here.

Lecture: In Plain Sight: Fragments of a Vanished East End
Friday, December 4, 2015
7:30pm
East Liberty Presbyterian Church
Hosted by East Liberty Valley Historical Society
Free, you can RSVP on the Historic Preservation MeetUp page here.

Follow the East Liberty Valley Historical Society on Facebook here. The East Liberty Valley Historical Society featured Albright in their September newsletter here.

In Loving Memory: Charlie Klemz

Albright-screengrab-trib — Photo of Charlie Klemz, Tribune Review, 2012

It is with great sadness that we share the news that a long time member of the congregation of Albright United Methodist Church, Charlie Klemz, passed away on Thanksgiving. Charlie was the leader of the Boy Scout troop that started the annual Albright Thanksgiving Eve dinner and he was the driving force that kept the free dinner going for many years. Charlie was unable to make it over to First Church on Wednesday but he called several times and spoke with other members of the congregation on Thursday morning. He was delighted to hear that so many people participated in this years Thanksgiving Eve dinner.

You can read more about Charlie and the Albright Thanksgiving Eve dinner in this 2012 Tribune Review article.

Visitation and Memorial Service for Charlie Klemz:

Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Visitation 2-4 & 6-8 p.m.
Services Tuesday eve 8 p.m
Brady Memorial Home, 1151 Southside Ave., Spring Hill/City View.

Albright Sunday Service 11/22 – Rev. April Roebuck

This is the last church service before our Thanksgiving Eve meal. We are not able to start using the kitchen at First United Methodist Church until 3pm, so there will be a few hour break between the end of church and when the cooking begins. Rev. April Roebuck will preach.

Albright Sunday Service – All are welcome to attend!
Sunday, November 22, 2015
11am
EECM Community House, please use the Station Street Entrance A.
Facebook Event: http://on.fb.me/1OYPrZK

Rev. April Roebuck Bio

Albright-April-Roebuck Reverend April Roebuck is an Associate Minister at the Mount Ararat Baptist Church, 271 Paulson Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, under the leadership of Senior Pastor the Rev. Dr. William H. Curtis.

Reverend April Roebuck holds an Associate Degree in Networking and Computer Management from ICM School of Business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with the knowledge on https://www.rfxcel.com/solutions/regulatory_compliance_software/, from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a Master of Divinity from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is currently a Doctor of Ministry student with an emphasis on Missional Leadership at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (2018). All while currently employed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as an Systems Analyst.

Reverend Roebuck has been exposed and introduced to the Baptist Church at an early age through her grandmother. It wasn’t until her mid 20’s that she accepted God’s call on her life. Hungry and thirsty for God’s word she became a part of the Mount Ararat Theological Academy to deepen and strengthen her biblical knowledge; soon after she enrolled in seminary studies (2009). On September 6, 2011 she gave her initial sermon and was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Rev. Dr. William H. Curtis. Since then she has been invited to preach at churches and organizations throughout the city of Pittsburgh and abroad inside and outside of the Baptist denomination. Through diligent study both ministerial and academically she was ordained on June 12, 2012 by the Rev. Dr. William H. Curtis.

Through her missional heart and passion to “Therefore, go make disciples of all nations baptizing in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19, she has traveled the world to share the love of Christ in places such as Africa, the Middle East, Brazil and Mexico. Everywhere she goes she leaves a lasting impression.

The woman of God is gifted and exudes the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Rev. Roebuck currently resides and ministers in Pittsburgh, PA where she is a native of.

2015 Thanksgiving Eve Dinner Volunteer Schedule

The 2015 Albright Community Thanksgiving Eve Dinner will be cooked and served at First United Methodist Church.

This is a FREE meal and all are welcome to attend.

41st Annual Albright Community Thanksgiving Eve Dinner
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Dinner Served: 5:30-8pm
Location: First United Methodist Church
Facebook Event: http://on.fb.me/1EbMN98

Location & Parking Information

First United Methodist Church located at 5401 Centre Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

The entrance to the Fellowship Dining hall is accessed via the Centre Ave parking lot (directly across from Panera Bread). Please enter up the stairs and through the courtyard into the Fellowship Dining Hall. (Left side of the Toy Lending Library). The Liberty Ave Entrance to the church WILL BE LOCKED, do not enter through main church doors. Look for Volunteer Signage around the property directing you to the Fellowship Dining Hall. When you arrive, look for Duane or Taafoi, and we will direct you where to sign in and give a brief orientation.

PARKING INFO: There is a parking lot here with signage shared with the Toy Lending Library. Street Parking is also be available if that lot is full. (Please do not park in the Wendy’s or Panera parking lot).

Albright-thanksgiving-map

Thanksgiving Week Volunteer Hours

Here are the days and hours we have access to the kitchen at First Church.

If you have already signed up to volunteer, you should have recieved an email with additional details about your shift.

If you have not signed up to help yet. You can sign up for a volunteer shift here, or you are welcome to stop by and we will put you to work.

Sunday, November 22: 3pm-8pm
Monday, November 23: 3pm-9pm
Tuesday, November 24: Noon-3pm, 5-7pm
Wednesday, November 25: 8am-9pm

Additional volunteer help is needed:

If you would like to help with either of these please email friends@AlbrightPGH.com with your availability.

Thursday, November 26: Provide a pie or dessert for EECM Thanksgiving. We can arrange to have desserts dropped off earlier in the week.
Friday, November 27: Prepare and serve lunch at EECM Community House