184 38th Street, also known as McBride Log House, was a historic

log house A log house, or log building, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milled. The term " log cabin" generally refers to a sm ...

in the Lawrenceville

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Before its demolition, it was thought to be the oldest log house in any major American city to be used as a residence. Dating to the 1820s, it was one of the original buildings in Lawrenceville. Several attempts were made by historical groups to restore the building, but such efforts were cost prohibitive. The building continued to be used as a residence until the early 21st century, when it was purchased by a real estate developer. In 2011, the building was demolished.

Building history

The building was constructed in the 1820s by Henry McBride, who purchased the property directly from Lawrenceville founder William Foster for $250 in 1822. At that time, Lawrenceville consisted of little more than several buildings centered around the

Allegheny Arsenal The Allegheny Arsenal, established in 1814, was an important supply and manufacturing center for the Union Army during the American Civil War, and the site of the single largest civilian disaster during the war. It was located in the community of ...

. On September 17, 1862, Catherine Burkhart, a 15-year-old girl who lived in the home with her mother, was killed in an explosion at the Allegheny Arsenal, where she worked assembling munitions for the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. In May 2007, the building was cited for rotting window frames, deteriorating exterior walls, and crumbling wood under the roof; by December 2007, the building had passed inspection. It was boarded up in 2008 to prevent vandalism and

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

. In April 2011, a real estate agent from the North Hills of Pittsburgh purchased the building for $43,000.

Specifications

The two story, two family building contained 12 rooms and roughly of space. Parcel ID: 0049-J-00075-0000-00 It was constructed using a framing technique. The logs were squared-off, rather than the stereotypical Lincoln Logs-style. A fire in 2004 exposed the original logs; the extent of the historical significance of the building was not widely known until then. The asphalt siding was then removed from the outside of the building. As of 2011, the

clapboards Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

were peeling and showing the original logs underneath.

Preservation efforts

After the 2004 fire, the Lawrenceville Historical Society began trying to find a way to preserve the building, but the society was unable to raise the necessary funds to purchase the building outright. In late 2006, the Lawrenceville Historical Society commissioned a study that estimated that the cost to restore the house as a history museum would cost $250,000. Other studies have estimated the cost of restoration at greater than $200,000, not including the purchase price. The building was placed on the market in November 2008 with an asking price of $79,900. At the time, the property owners, investors in a

limited partnership A limited partnership (LP) is a form of partnership similar to a general partnership except that while a general partnership must have at least two general partners (GPs), a limited partnership must have at least one GP and at least one limited ...

, hoped to find "the right buyer who will treat it with the respect it deserves." In 2008, Lawrenceville United executive director Tony Ceoffe described the dilapidated structure as a "terrible eyesore" and went on to say that neighbors were claiming it attracted vagrants and drug users. The Log House Committee of the Lawrenceville Stakeholders, led by a local architect, made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase and restore the property. In 2011, Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr., noted

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

ist and president of

Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation The Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 to support the preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. In 1966, PHLF established the Revolving Fund for ...

, expressed hope that the house could be restored, but expressed doubts about the feasibility, due to the cost. Following the purchase of the building in 2011, the Lawrenceville Stakeholders expressed fear that the new owner would demolish the building. When contacted by a reporter from the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'', the owner indicated that there were no immediate plans for the property. Cochran expressed hope that the new owner would recognize the historic potential of the home and believed that a restored home of this age could be a "gold mine" as a single family residence in Lawrenceville, which was developing into a significant social center of

. Modifications made to the house since its construction, including 1830s cuts through the original logs to create windows, would have complicated any efforts to fully restore the building. Observers, including Carol Peterson, Pittsburgh's pre-eminent house historian, believed that the modifications had their own historical significance and should have been preserved in any restoration effort. In July, the owner demolished the structure, while attempting to preserve the logs, in case the building could be re-assembled elsewhere.

Gallery

File:184 38th Street Pittsburgh2.jpg, The front of 184 38th Street on May 21, 2011. File:184 38th Street Pittsburgh4.jpg, A side view of 184 38th Street. File:184 38th Street Pittsburgh5.jpg, A back view of the building.

Notes

References

{{reflist Log buildings and structures in Pennsylvania 1820s architecture in the United States Houses in Pittsburgh History of Pittsburgh Buildings and structures demolished in 2011 Demolished buildings and structures in Pittsburgh 2011 disestablishments in Pennsylvania 1820s establishments in Pennsylvania Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh)