National Register of Historic Places

Highland Building

Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Listed
September 5, 1991
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
91001123

About this property

The Highland Building is a thirteen-story building which is located in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Construction on the building was completed in 1909, with Daniel Burnham being the principal designer. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. Henry Clay Frick originally commissioned the building. Following the Chicago school of architecture style, the building features a granite base and terracotta exterior. Beginning sometime around the 1960s, the building gradually fell into disrepair coinciding with the decline of East Liberty. A classical ornament on the roof was replaced with substandard material, allowing water to enter the basement. Over time, the interior was essentially destroyed. The Highland Building subsequently experienced twenty years of complete dormancy during the latter part of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century. With assistance from the state of Pennsylvania and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, a new renovation effort was launched in 2012 to restore the exterior and reconstruct the interior of the Highland Building, attach it to the adjacent three-story Wallace Building and convert the entire complex into one hundred and twenty-seven apartments. The project, now completed, is described as, "Walnut on Highland" and is mostly leased. Recently, the last of the retail space in the Wallace Building was filled by a Mexican Restaurant.

Location

121 S. Highland Mall
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
40.46008, -79.92461

Categories

COMMERCEARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

East Liberty Market
Industrial
0.1 mi
Hunt Armory
Industrial
0.3 mi
Highland Towers Apartments
Industrial
0.3 mi
Calvary Episcopal Church
Early Republic
0.3 mi
East Liberty Commercial Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi

Nearby Battles

Braddock's Defeat — Battle of Monongahela
1755Colonial
3.2 mi
Braddock's Defeat (Battle of Monongahela) 1755
1755Colonial
3.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Highland Building listed on the National Register?

Highland Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 5, 1991.

What type of historic resource is Highland Building?

Highland Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Highland Building?

The period of significance for Highland Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Highland Building?

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