The house should absolutely be preserved and be placed on the historic register.
Not only does it have the prerequisites outlined in this article, but it is one of a small number of ground-breaking Modern architectural masterpieces on Woodland Rd., that together (including the Meier house), form a small enclave that should not be broken up.
It is also significant that three of the four (including the Abrams house) belong(ed) to the same family - the Alan I.W. Frank house designed by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius and his partner Marcel Breuer; and the Joan Frank and Jerome Apt house, by Pittsburgh architect A. James Speyer. Speyer was a disciple of one of the other greats of Modernism, Mies van der Rohe, whose influence shows clearly in the Apt home.
The Frank house was Gropius's first commission in the US, built by Alan and Joan's parents, Robert and Cecilia Frank. After her divorce from Robert Frank, Cecilia went on to marry Admiral Ben Morreell, the founder of the Navy Seebees. Joan founded the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Alan invented the first plastic top for coffee cups that was held open by a tab - a design that is commonplace today, but revolutionary in its time.
Betty Abrams was Joan and Alan's cousin by marriage. All of them have been major philanthropists in Pittsburgh.
Most of Woodland Rd. is home to a number of other architectural masterpieces, all older, among them the former homes of titans such as the Mellons, many of which now are part of Chatham University.
There are not a lot of homes in the Pittsburgh area designed by any of the greats of Modern/Modernist/Post-Modern architecture, though. To the best of my knowledge, there are only these four (although Speyer built at least a couple of others, which are scattered around).
As a result of all of this, it would be criminal to demolish the Abrams house - or to otherwise remove it from its site, because the site itself is such an important factor.
Because of all of these reasons, I urge readers to contact your City Council members to ask them to preserve the Abrams house - in situ.
I'm glad he finally did at least *something* to respond to the rightfully-enraged voters of this state, but 90 minutes' notice of an event is not enough.
Between the ADA and the FHA, the requisite laws are already in place for both housing and every type of business and government building. Every detail of accessibility for the built environment is covered in those two laws as *minimum* required standards. Some municipalities, such as San Francisco, have more stringent requirements, but that baseline already exists.
What is necessary is to have a building department that will actively *enforce* them.
ADA accessibility law is all about the built environment - which is what the building inspector should be dealing with, along with the rest of the building code.
Nothing that does not meet ADA accessibilty requirements building code should ever get a building permit to start with, and businesses (including multifamily housing) that are not in compliance must be cited, fined, and compelled to comply. It shouldn't take any new laws, just a directive to the building inspector.
ADA is part of the building code in every inch of this country. When there's a violation, or even just an unsafe condition of any sort, it''s the building department that should be responsible for investigating and dealing with it.
I can tell you from personal experience that they do not in this town, which is shocking and unconscionable.
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If not, it would be quite a leap to believe anything she said about that child’s experiences.
A termination bonus of a whopping $300? For which they will likely have to sign nondisclosure agreements and jump through other hoops? Whoop de do.
Not only does it have the prerequisites outlined in this article, but it is one of a small number of ground-breaking Modern architectural masterpieces on Woodland Rd., that together (including the Meier house), form a small enclave that should not be broken up.
It is also significant that three of the four (including the Abrams house) belong(ed) to the same family - the Alan I.W. Frank house designed by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius and his partner Marcel Breuer; and the Joan Frank and Jerome Apt house, by Pittsburgh architect A. James Speyer. Speyer was a disciple of one of the other greats of Modernism, Mies van der Rohe, whose influence shows clearly in the Apt home.
The Frank house was Gropius's first commission in the US, built by Alan and Joan's parents, Robert and Cecilia Frank. After her divorce from Robert Frank, Cecilia went on to marry Admiral Ben Morreell, the founder of the Navy Seebees. Joan founded the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Alan invented the first plastic top for coffee cups that was held open by a tab - a design that is commonplace today, but revolutionary in its time.
Betty Abrams was Joan and Alan's cousin by marriage. All of them have been major philanthropists in Pittsburgh.
Most of Woodland Rd. is home to a number of other architectural masterpieces, all older, among them the former homes of titans such as the Mellons, many of which now are part of Chatham University.
There are not a lot of homes in the Pittsburgh area designed by any of the greats of Modern/Modernist/Post-Modern architecture, though. To the best of my knowledge, there are only these four (although Speyer built at least a couple of others, which are scattered around).
As a result of all of this, it would be criminal to demolish the Abrams house - or to otherwise remove it from its site, because the site itself is such an important factor.
Because of all of these reasons, I urge readers to contact your City Council members to ask them to preserve the Abrams house - in situ.
What is necessary is to have a building department that will actively *enforce* them.
ADA accessibility law is all about the built environment - which is what the building inspector should be dealing with, along with the rest of the building code.
Nothing that does not meet ADA accessibilty requirements building code should ever get a building permit to start with, and businesses (including multifamily housing) that are not in compliance must be cited, fined, and compelled to comply. It shouldn't take any new laws, just a directive to the building inspector.
ADA is part of the building code in every inch of this country. When there's a violation, or even just an unsafe condition of any sort, it''s the building department that should be responsible for investigating and dealing with it.
I can tell you from personal experience that they do not in this town, which is shocking and unconscionable.
Wendy Hoechstetter, CAPS, Allied ASID
Shadyside