{"id":265,"date":"2014-09-12T02:00:54","date_gmt":"2014-09-12T02:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=265"},"modified":"2015-01-09T16:36:46","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T21:36:46","slug":"pittsburgh-north-sides-legendary-boggs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/09\/12\/pittsburgh-north-sides-legendary-boggs\/","title":{"rendered":"The North Side\u2019s legendary Boggs & Buhl"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Founded <\/a>
Founded in 1869, Boggs & Buhl department store marked its 84th anniversary of business in 1953. In the background is W.B. Dawson Co. Real Estate. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Boggs & Buhl department store in 1953. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In 50 years of employment at Boggs & Buhl department store, Jewel Creedon, 72, never missed a day of work due to illness. This photo, dated Feb. 13, 1958, appeared in The Pittsburgh Press. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Interior <\/a>
Interior of the store in 1953. (Photo credit unknown) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"This <\/a>
This image from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh shows horse-drawn delivery wagons waiting outside the store in 1900. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"This <\/a>
This June 1960 photo by PG photographer Morris Berman shows the destruction of the store. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In February 1958, people wait to enter Boggs & Buhl department store to shop at its closing sale on the North Side. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

For 89 years, Boggs & Buhl department store stood as a beacon of cozy commerce on the North Side.<\/p>\n

The founders, Russell H. Boggs and Henry Buhl Jr., left their home town of \u00a0Zelienople and, in 1869, opened a one-room store at 512 Federal Street.<\/p>\n

The partners prospered and later the store\u2019s address was 115, 117, 119 and 121 Federal Street. Boggs & Buhl boasted 89 departments and offered cloaks and suits, fancy goods and art, jewelry and novelties, muslin, underwear, corsets, dresses, hosiery, gloves, seal plush wraps, heavy curtains and draperies.<\/p>\n

The goods were first rate and so was the clientele. Customers included wealthy residents of Ridge Avenue with names such as Jones, Byers, Heinz, Arbuckle and Mesta. Nettie Gordon, a notorious North Side madam, outfitted her girls at the store and could always get credit.<\/p>\n

The store felt so much like home to customers and employees that when it celebrated its 55th birthday in 1924, famous people wrote congratulatory letters. Among the well-wishers were steelmaker Charles Schwab, food merchant Howard Heinz and composer Victor Herbert.<\/p>\n

Another big fan was best-selling mystery author Mary Roberts Rinehart, who grew up on the North Side and later led her three sons and a collie on visits to the store. She wrote an enthusiastic \u00a0letter recalling that her very own baby clothes, high school graduation outfit, furniture and housewares came from Boggs & Buhl.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Boggs & Buhl I saw my first book on display, bought there my very first magazine story in print,\u201d Mary Roberts Rinehart wrote in her letter.<\/p>\n

The store continued operating even after the death of its owners.<\/p>\n

In the 1940s and 1950s, some North Side residents moved to homes in Ross, Shaler, McCandless or Hampton and took their business to suburban shopping centers in those new communities.<\/p>\n

By 1955, the store struggled to retain business while the neighborhood around it deteriorated, becoming a place of dimly lit saloons, penny arcades and \u201cgirlie parlors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boggs & Buhl closed its doors in February 1958, a blow to its more than 400 employees, 15 percent of whom had worked there for more than 30 years. Among the store\u2019s alumni was Peggy Sebak, mother of Rick Sebak, who for years has been documenting Pittsburgh\u2019s in a series of films for WQED.<\/p>\n

In May 1960, the city\u2019s Urban Redevelopment Authority leveled the building and created a parking lot for 185 cars. Later, Allegheny Center, the city\u2019s $60 million answer to suburbia, rose on several parcels of land once occupied by Boggs & Buhl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For 89 years, Boggs & Buhl department store stood as a beacon of cozy commerce on the North Side.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesThe North Side\u2019s legendary Boggs & Buhl<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[945],"tags":[988],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/tumblr_nbr3gpN0m51rr5swxo5_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C811&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":938,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/02\/19\/pittsburghs-violent-demise\/","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":0},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s violent demise","date":"February 19, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"We discovered a folder labeled, \u201cWorld Ends.\u201d","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/tumblr_n11kewDy9c1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C502&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2606,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/23\/north-side-market\/","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":1},"title":"North Side market","date":"August 23, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Many Pittsburghers used to depend on the market for main income source.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/tumblr_m9283l8n0b1rr5swxo1_1280.png?fit=1200%2C975&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2603,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/08\/23\/the-original-pittsburgh-farmers-market\/","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":2},"title":"The original Pittsburgh Farmers Market","date":"August 23, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"This market on West Lacock Street on the city\u2019s North Side attracted more than 4,000 customers on an average night.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/tumblr_m929oz96bu1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C867&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":465,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/07\/14\/pittsburghs-pawn-shops\/","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":3},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s pawn shops","date":"July 14, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"During the first half of the 20th century, many Pittsburgh neighborhoods included this type of business.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/tumblr_n8kfnpbY191rr5swxo4_1280.jpg?fit=1045%2C936&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1942,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/03\/22\/the-tragic-case-of-pittsburghs-brain-burglar\/","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":4},"title":"The tragic case of Pittsburgh\u2019s \u2018Brain Burglar","date":"March 22, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The outlook for Millard Wright was grim in 1947.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/tumblr_mjvlgpQaFn1rr5swxo5_1280-e1418792562474.jpg?fit=1200%2C712&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2292,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/14\/gas-explosions-in-1927-on-pittsburghs-north-side\/","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":5},"title":"Gas explosions in 1927 on Pittsburgh’s North Side","date":"November 14, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The tanks were never rebuilt. 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