{"id":72,"date":"2014-11-14T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-14T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=72"},"modified":"2015-04-30T17:42:42","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T21:42:42","slug":"the-construction-of-chatham-center-the-city-within-a-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/11\/14\/the-construction-of-chatham-center-the-city-within-a-city\/","title":{"rendered":"The construction of Chatham Center, the city within a city"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"April <\/a>
April 14, 1965: From the 12th floor of the Plaza Building, a view of the Epiphany Church and Uptown, where the site of Chatham Center was then being excavated. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sept. <\/a>
Sept. 27, 1965: Forms for the Chatham Center dome floor construction were erected at a record speed of 10,000 square feet per day. (Handout\/Hausman Corp.) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Fall <\/a>
Fall 1965: Steel rises over Uptown and the Lower Hill District for Chatham Center. (Left: Bill Levis\/Post-Gazette; Right: The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Dec. <\/a>
Dec. 19, 1965: Barry Biel, left, and Bernadette Marraway were fourth grades at Epiphany School who watched Chatham Center construction. A camera also captured the progress. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Aug. <\/a>
Aug. 29, 1965: Steel starts up on Chatham Center Apartments as urban renewal continues, The Pittsburgh Press wrote. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Feb. <\/a>
Feb. 6, 1966: Chatham Center nears completion. The apartment tower is on the left. (Handout photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"June <\/a>
June 25, 1976: Howard Johnson hotel sits atop the Chatham Center office building, left. (Morris Berman\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Oct. <\/a>
Oct. 13, 1990: A view from the 15th floor apartment of Chatham Tower. (Vince Musi\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"September <\/a>
September 2014: One Chatham Center, seen in the week during which it faced foreclosure problems. (Bill Wade\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Chatham Center couldn\u2019t have entered Pittsburgh\u2019s skyline with any more fanfare.<\/p>\n

“Here we go again, folks!” Gilbert Love wrote Oct. 20, 1964, in The Pittsburgh Press, ” \u2026the Pittsburgh renaissance is a lot like a fireworks program. It dies down for a while and you think the spectacular part of it may be all over; then there\u2019s a new display, often more dramatic than anything before it.”<\/p>\n

Richard K. Mellon himself set off the fireworks from the 40th floor of what is now the Citizens Bank Tower, 525 William Penn Pl., heralding the beginning of Chatham\u2019s construction and, of course, Pittsburgh\u2019s continued renaissance.<\/p>\n

The $22 million project was seen as a gateway to a key eastern point. \u201cBefore many years,\u201d a Press columnist wrote, \u201can expanded downtown could meet an expanded Oakland, forming a city center five miles long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not quite.<\/p>\n

In spring 1965 after its groundbreaking, it was promoted as \u201cthe self-sufficient city within a city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh industrialist Leon Falk Jr. and New York realtor Morton Wolf invested in this \u201cbright and sophisticated\u201d part of the Lower Hill-Uptown urban renewal effort. The investment worked for many years, but as\u00a0Mark Belko chronicled in September<\/a>, its prospects dimmed considerably as tenants moved out.<\/p>\n

Even before UPMC\u2019s recent departure, the building had vacancy problems. Notably, the Chatham Cinema, which went up with the complex in the 1960s, was the first theater to be built in or near Downtown since the Stanley in 1927. After seeing the exquisite drawings, columnist Kaspar Monahan wrote, \u201cI think I\u2019m safe in predicting that the Chatham Cinema will be unique among theaters, not only of the local area but of the entire nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a way, he was proven correct. It was unique among theaters; there was little free parking nearby.<\/p>\n

A 10 percent city amusement tax and suburban competition also doomed the Cinema. It closed in 1985, the fourth to shutter near Downtown since 1980.<\/p>\n

Now, One Chatham Center will be sold Jan. 5 at a sheriff\u2019s sale. Sadly, we predict few fireworks.<\/p>\n

Top photo April 14, 1965: From the 12th floor of the Plaza Building, a view of the Epiphany Church and Uptown, where the site of Chatham Center was then being excavated. (The Pittsburgh Press)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time, Chatham Center was predicted to be the start of an Oakland-Downtown connection.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesThe construction of Chatham Center, the city within a city<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[945],"tags":[996,997,1014,1256,1174,1051],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chatham-Center-5.jpg?fit=1280%2C1004&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4944,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/02\/04\/the-construction-of-pittsburghs-downtown-subway\/","url_meta":{"origin":72,"position":0},"title":"The construction of Pittsburgh’s Downtown subway","date":"February 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The T was 75 years in the making, and while it still doesn't go as far as many Pittsburghers would like, it did help improve the city's 20th century Downtown traffic headaches.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Pittsburgh-subway-construction-013.jpg?fit=814%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":397,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/08\/01\/wild-sisters-coffeehouse-pittsburghs-first-feminist-bar-bistro-and-cabaret\/","url_meta":{"origin":72,"position":1},"title":"Wild Sisters Coffeehouse, Pittsburgh\u2019s first feminist bar, bistro and cabaret","date":"August 1, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Mary Pat Donegan, a psychotherapist, was president.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/tumblr_n9laljEGpW1rr5swxo5_r1_1280.jpg?fit=1080%2C743&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1832,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/05\/01\/pittsburghs-liberty-avenue\/","url_meta":{"origin":72,"position":2},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s Liberty Avenue","date":"May 1, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"In Amsterdam, it\u2019s called De Wallen. 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