🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1995Aug15.133831.1979@sei.cmu.edu>,
Daniel Bidwa <dbidwa@sei.cmu.edu> wrote:
>
>I don't know what the SHUC's opinion on that building is/was, but I
>do know that it wasn't abandoned, as a friend tried to rent it for
>garage/storage space about three years ago. The landlord wanted some 
>ridiculous amount per month (in the $1K range, I think, although I
>don't remember for certain), and refused to do any cleanup or maintenance
>work on the site, so the plan fell through.

Abandoned probably wasn't the right word since the owner was the one 
trying to sell/and or lease the site for the years gone by.  It simply
had been out of use and fallen into a terrible state.  

>The garage is a very nice example of Art Deco design (architectural
>historians, please correct me on this if I'm wrong), though, a style
>that's becoming extremely rare in Pittsburgh as developers rip facades
>off old buildings in favor of cheaper, lower maintenance finishes. If
>the SHUC was opposing its demolition on these grounds, then more power
>to them.

I'm not well versed on such things, but I find it hard to believe this
whitewashed block building was an example of any particular design worth 
keeping around.  Even if it were it wouldn't matter.  During the years it
sat empty it basically disintegrated and was a complete mess.  Second, since
the building was privately owned whether the SHUC wanted to maintian it 
was absolutely meaningless, unless they were willing to purchase it themselves
and repair it.  Much as it probably pains the wanna be dictators of groups 
like the SHUC, they're not elected officials and their opinions aren't worth 
a warm pitcher of spit.   

>  I hope the new Jiffy Lube keeps the basic structure.

All hope is lost.  The old building was ripped down, probably due to the
terrible state it was in from all htose years of sitting idle, and a nice
shiny new cookie cutter building is going up - due largely to the efforts
of the SHUC, though I doubt that was their intent when they started.


Paul S. Galvanek