Frederick J. Osterling

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Frederick John Osterling (b.1865 in Duquesne, Pennsylvania – d.1934 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an accomplished architect, particularly in the Pittsburgh region of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Osterling received his architectural training from Joseph Stillburg. Following a period of European travel, he launched his own office in 1888. He went on to design many great buildings, such as the Union Trust Building in 1915-17. According to Martin Aurand, Osterling's practice faltered after controversy relating to his anticipated alteration to the landmark Richardson Allegheny County Courthouse and a public lawsuit filed by Henry Clay Frick.

Osterling's studio was in a self-designed building (1917) at 228 Isabella Street on the North Side.


Significant buildings designed by Osterling in chronological order:

All buildings are in Pittsburgh unless otherwise stated:

  • Westinghouse Air-Brake Company (Wilmerding, Pennsylvania), 1889
  • Charles Schwab House (541 Jones Avenue), 1889
  • Allegheny High School, now Allegheny Middle School (810 Arch Street), 1889
  • Heinz Company Factories, now Heinz Lofts (300 Heinz Street), 1889
  • Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania Building, now Verizon Building (416-420 Seventh Avenue), 1890
  • Marine Bank Building, later known as Fort Pitt Federal Building (301 Smithfield Street), 1890
  • Times Building, now Magee Building (334-336 Fourth Avenue), 1892
  • Byrnes & Kiefer Building (1133 Penn Avenue),1892
  • Clayton, now the Frick Art & Historical Center, 1892 remodeling by Osterling of an 1860s house at 7200 Penn Avenue. This was the home of Henry Clay Frick, the industrialist.
  • First Methodist Church, now Shadyside Seventh Day Adventist Church (821 South Aiken Avenue), 1893
  • Chautauqua Lake Ice Company Warehouse, now the Heinz History Center (1212 Smallman Street), 1898
  • Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls (Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania), 1899
  • Bellefield Presbyterian Church (4001 Fifth Avenue), 1899
  • Washington County Courthouse & Jail (Washington, Pennsylvania), 1900
  • Allegheny County Morgue (Originally on Forbes Avenue; the building was physically moved to 542 Fourth Avenue in 1929), built 1901
  • Armstrong Cork Company Building, now The Cork Factory Lofts (2349 Railroad Street at 23rd Street), 1901
  • Arrott Building (401 Wood Street), 1902
  • Colonial Trust Company Building, now part of the Bank Center of Point Park University (Wood Street, between Forbes and Fourth Avenues), 1902. Also, Osterling designed a T-shaped lobby that was added to his original building in 1926.
  • Iroquois Apartments, now offices (3600 Forbes Avenue), 1903
  • Allegheny County Jail (Ross Street), 1903-1905 additions by Osterling to the 1886 building by Henry Hobson Richardson
  • Commonwealth Trust Building (312 Fourth Avenue), 1907
  • Luzerne County Courthouse (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), 1909
  • Union Trust Building (501 Grant Street), 1917
  • Gwinner-Hartner House, also known as the William B. Negley House (5061 Fifth Avenue) was designed by an unknown architect and built 1871-1872. However, Osterling was responsible for additions between 1912 and 1923.
  • Osterling Flats, date unavailable. These are three houses at 3603-3607 California Avenue with Dutch design elements, which were converted into condos by the Brighton Heights Citizens' Federation in 2003.[1]

(Italics denote a registered Historic Landmark)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Post-Gazette, May 3, 2003 [1]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Nelson, J. Franklin, comp. Works of F. J. Osterling, Architect, Pittsburg. Pittsburgh: Murdoch-Kerr Press, 1904.
  • Toker, Franklin, Buildings of Pittsburgh, Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0813926506.
  • Toker, Franklin, Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0822954347..
  • Van Trump, James D., & Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr., Landmark Architecture of Allegheny County Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 1967, No ISBN.