University Club (University of Pittsburgh)
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The University Club is an eight-story building of the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
designed by
Henry Hornbostel Henry Hornbostel (August 15, 1867 – December 13, 1961) was an American architect and educator. Hornbostel designed more than 225 buildings, bridges, and monuments in the United States. Twenty-two of his designs are listed on the National Regis ...
and completed in 1923 that is a
contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
to the
Schenley Farms Historic District The Schenley Farms Historic District, also referred to as the Schenley Farms–Oakland Civic District, is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places that is located in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ...
on the school's campus in
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, ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It serves as a faculty club with publicly accessible dining, banquet, and conference facilities, while the upper four floors serve as housing for the families of out-of-town hospital patients.


History

The building was originally home to the "University Club," a private social club established in 1890. Initially located in
downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River whose ...
, the club was chartered to bring together college graduates who enjoyed literature, art, and other culture. It later moved to
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
to be closer to the city's college campuses, settling into the 1923 classical-style limestone building designed by architect Henry Hornbostel. An addition to the building was constructed in 1963. After the club ceased operations in November 2004, the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
purchased the building for $3.1 million in 2005 for use as a faculty club, conference center, and banquet and event facility.


Renovation

Following acquisition of the University Club, the University of Pittsburgh conducted a $20.2 million renovation designed by Landmark Design Associates with Massaro Corporation serving as the general contractor. The renovation converted the University Club for use as a faculty club, banquet and conference facility, and for housing for families of hospital patients. The building features a grand lobby with a curved staircase, a ballroom with a 600-pound crystal chandelier, high ceilings, a library room, and windows with sweeping views of the university campus. The renovation plans called for the grand lobby to remain, but renovations were to be conducted in the lounge area on the first floor. Floors 1-4 were to become a faculty club, fitness center, conference and banquet facility, kitchen facility, coffee shop, and of offices. The upper floors, five through eight, have 48 guest rooms that are rented to Family House, which helps families of hospital patients with housing. Renovation was completed and the club reopened on April 1, 2009. Members-only faculty and staff club facilities include the College Lounge for bar and casual food and the University Club's library and reading room, which are located on the first floor, as well as the Fraternity Grill for higher-end dining, located on the second floor. A professionally managed fitness center is located in the basement of the building and has separate areas for aerobics, strength and exercise equipment. Publicly accessible facilities include a first-floor Brioche Dorée French Café, banquet facilities on the second floor suited for wedding receptions and other large gatherings, second- and third-floor small and large meeting or break-out rooms available to the university and outside communities, and a restored roof terrace that will host special events. In addition, space was renovated to accommodate the Office of Research, previously located in
Thackeray Hall Thackeray Hall is an academic building of the University of Pittsburgh and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms Historic district (United States), National Historic Districtat 139 University Place on the campus of the University of Pittsbu ...
, as well as flexible conference facilities to accommodate up to 300 people. The building will serve within the university's educational mission with the presence of Family House, which will provide learning and outreach opportunities for students and faculty in Pitt's Schools of
Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
,
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, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and
Social Work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
. Graduate students in health and physical activity will also be among the health coaches working in the fitness center.


Family House

Family House was first conceived in 1980 by the Women's Auxiliary of the
American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...
and the University Health Center of Pittsburgh (today known as the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a $23billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and do ...
). Following its opening in 1983, it has provided a special "home away from home" for more than 100,000 patients and families who must travel to Pittsburgh for treatment of serious or life-threatening illnesses. The $4.5 million renovation of the upper four floors of the University Club for the Family House began in January 2008 and was designed by Designstream Architectural Studio, while Massaro Corporation acted as construction manager on the project. Ribbon cutting was held in late April, 2009 and guests began to be accommodated in mid-May. This is Family House's fourth location and added 48 rooms that will accommodate 4,600 guests annually.


Art

More than three dozen works of art are displayed throughout the building. Appraised at approximately $40,000, the collection includes oils, watercolors, acrylics, tapestries, etchings, prints, and photography. Approximately half the art, including tapestries and prints on canvas, was purchased by the university for specific locations in the building during the renovation. Other works are on loan from the University Art Gallery, or had once been hung in a previous, now defunct, faculty club called the Pitt Club, in the
Gardner Steel Conference Center Gardner Steel Conference Center (GSCC) is an academic building of the University of Pittsburgh and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District and a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark. An ...
. Ranging from mid-19th-century pieces to newly commissioned works, several of the artworks depict local scenes, including the ''Edgar Thomson Works'' by Ron Donoughe, hanging outside the library, ''Monongahela Incline'' by Tom Ruddy, hanging in the lower lobby, ''Early Morning Bear Run'' by Wang Yubao, in a vestibule near the Thackeray Street entrance, and in the club's main vestibule, a pair of Louis Orr etchings of the
Cathedral of Learning The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Standing at , the 42-story Late Gothic Revival Cath ...
and
Heinz Chapel Heinz Memorial Chapel is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms National Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Uni ...
, as well as a depiction of the early 20th-century "Acropolis" plan for the campus designed by
Henry Hornbostel Henry Hornbostel (August 15, 1867 – December 13, 1961) was an American architect and educator. Hornbostel designed more than 225 buildings, bridges, and monuments in the United States. Twenty-two of his designs are listed on the National Regis ...
. The most visible piece is an acrylic painting of the University Club itself that hangs behind the reception desk; it is by
Bedford, Pennsylvania Bedford is a borough and spa town in and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,861 at the 2020 census. His ...
artist Kevin Kutz, whose ''Cumberland Arches'' also hangs in the second floor ballroom. An untitled
Virgil Cantini Virgil David Cantini (February 28, 1919 – May 2, 2009) was an American enamelist, sculptor and educator. He was well known for innovation with enamel and steel and received both local and national recognition for his work, including honorary ...
sculpture is in a third-floor lounge. Among the new works purchased for the club are reproductions of several plates from
John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...
’s ''
The Birds of America ''The Birds of America'' is a book by naturalist and painter John James Audubon, containing illustrations of a wide variety of birds of the United States. It was first published as a series in sections between 1827 and 1838, in Edinburgh and ...
''.


References

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External links


University Club and Conference Center webpageUniversity Club on Pitt's virtual Campus TourFamily House website
{{Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh buildings Faculty clubs Henry Hornbostel buildings Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania 1923 establishments in Pennsylvania Clubhouses in Pittsburgh