Allegheny County Courthouse to Be the Focus of Symposium at Pitt

PITTSBURGH-Architectural historians from the United States and Canada will convene at the University of Pittsburgh from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 18 to discuss the history and significance of the Allegheny County Courthouse-120 years after its official dedication.

The symposium, sponsored by Pitt's Architectural Studies Program in the School of Arts and Sciences' Department of the History of Art and Architecture, will take place in the auditorium of the Frick Fine Arts Building, 320 Schenley Dr., Oakland. It is free and open to the public. For more information, call 412-648-2400.

The stately Romanesque-style courthouse at 436 Grant St. is a National Historic Landmark and widely regarded as a major example of late 19th-century architecture. Architect Henry Hobson Richardson called it his finest work. He designed the building around an interior courtyard, allowing natural light and fresh air to reach the rooms. A five-story tower rises above one side of the building, and a "Bridge of Sighs" connects the back of the courthouse to the former Allegheny County Jail. The building's design influenced architects across North America.

The symposium schedule follows.

9 a.m.

Welcome

Drew Armstrong, symposium chair and Pitt professor of architectural studies.

9:10-10:40 a.m.

The Allegheny County Courthouse

Arthur Ziegler Jr., president, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation;

Frank Toker, Pitt professor of art and architecture; and

Martin Aurand, senior architecture librarian archivist, Carnegie Mellon University.

11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Models and Competitors

Tim Kelly, chair and assistant professor of history, St. Vincent College;

Michael Cary, professor of political science and history, St. Vincent College;

Mary Alice Molloy, author and architecture historian, Chicago; and

Jeffrey Cohen, senior lecturer in growth and structure of cities, Bryn Mawr College.

1:40-3:40 p.m.

H. H. Richardson, Architect

Hope Mayo, Philip Hofer Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts, Houghton Library, Harvard University;

Kate Holliday, assistant professor of architecture, University of Texas at Arlington; and

Maureen Meister, professor of art history, Art Institute of Boston.

4-6 p.m.

Richardsonian Romanesque in North America

Jeffrey Ochsner, professor of architecture, University of Washington;

Douglas Richardson, professor emeritus of fine arts, University of Toronto; and

Kenneth Breisch, professor of history and theory, Southern California Institute of Architecture.

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