Mellon Institute of Industrial Research
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| Mellon Institute | |
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| (U.S. Registered Historic District Contributing Property) |
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| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Area: | Schenley Farms Historic District |
| Built/Founded: | 1937 |
| Architect: | Benno Janssen |
| Architectural style(s): | Neoclassical |
| Added to NRHP: | July 22, 1983[1] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 83002213 |
| Governing body: | Carnegie Mellon University |
Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, founded in 1913 by Andrew W. Mellon and Richard B. Mellon, merged with the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1967 to form Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
While it ceases to exist as a distinct institution, the building bearing its name remains located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Bellefield in Oakland, the city's university and cultural district. Designed by architect Benno Janssen (1874–1964), it is a Pittsburgh landmark because of its neo-classical architecture and elegant construction, with its signature monolithic limestone columns (the largest monolithic columns in the world). Andrew Mellon, who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury, specified to Janssen a building with a monumental ionic colonnade similar to the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C.. The proportions of Mellon Institute's street facades are nearly those of the long lateral facade of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Mellon Institute was completed and dedicated posthumously to the Mellon brothers in May 1937.
Mellon Institute currently houses the Office of the Dean for Carnegie Mellon University's Mellon College of Science, as well as the administrative offices and research laboratories for the Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Chemistry. From 1986 until 2006, it also housed the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center.
The Mellon Institute of Industrial Research was first established as a department at the neighboring University of Pittsburgh. It conducted research for firms on a contractual basis; a company would contract the institute to solve a specific problem, and the institute would then hire an appropriate scientist to do the research. The results of the research then became the property of the contracting company.
In 1927, however, it was incorporated as a nonprofit, independent research center. Planning for the Mellon Institute building began that same year.
For decades the columns of the Mellon Institute building have served as a popular background for photographers shooting Pittsburgh wedding parties. Exterior shots of the Mellon Institute were also used to portray the fictitious Tanner Museum in the series premiere of the short-lived CBS television drama Smith in 2006.
Mellon Institute is sited adjacent to The Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and just across Bellefield from two other local landmarks: Heinz Memorial Chapel and the Cathedral of Learning.
[edit] References
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-01-09). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
- Fenton, Edwin (2000). Carnegie Mellon 1900-2000: A Centennial History. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University Press. ISBN 0-88748-323-2.
