| City-County Building | |
|---|---|
| PittsburghCity-CountyBuilding.jpg Pittsburgh City-County Building (right), adjacent to the Allegheny County Courthouse (left) |
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| Alternative names | City Hall |
| General information | |
| Type | Neo-Classical, Beau-Arts |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| Location | Pittsburgh, USA |
| Address | 414 Grant Street |
| Coordinates | 40.4381, -79.9969 |
| Construction started | July 5, 1915 |
| Completed | December 1917 |
| Cost | $2.771 million (1917 $'s) |
| Height | 144 feet |
| Technical details | |
| Diameter | 300 feet X 183 feet |
| Floor count | 10 |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | City of Pittsburgh, County of Allegheny |
| Main contractor | James L. Stewart |
| Architect | Henry Hornbostel |
| Architecture firm | Palmer, Hornbostel & Jones |
| Structural engineer | McClintic-Marshall & Co. |
| Other designers | R. Gustavino, Charles Keck |
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Pittsburgh City-County Building
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|
| Governing body: | Local |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73001586 |
| Significant dates | |
| Designated CPHS: | December 26, 1972[1] |
| Designated PHLF: | 1968[2] |
The Pittsburgh City-County Building is the seat of government for the City of Pittsburgh and houses both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County offices. It is located in Downtown Pittsburgh at 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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The building was designed by Henry Hornbostel and opened in 1917. Its main hall is surrounded by gilded classical columns 47 feet high, supporting a vaulted ceiling of Gustavino terra cotta tile. Architectural sculpture on the building was created by Charles Keck.
Although massive in its own right, it is just the main structure in a complex of city/county service buildings in the neighboring blocks. The city/county annex is a block east of the structure "behind" it on Ross Street and it is also very large. The Allegheny County Courthouse and offices border the structure to the north. Up until the 1960s, the corrections department had its offices to the northeast of the structure.[3] On the seventh floor of the building is a massive mural completed in 1940 entitled "Justice" by award winning artist Harry Scheuch. [1]
Many scenes of the Bruce Willis and Sarah Jessica Parker police drama Striking Distance were filmed both inside and on the Grant Street entrance to the building. Most notable is the nighttime scene of Dennis Farina's supervisor character arguing with Willis' "Tom Hardy" over the "Polish Hill" documents. Scenes of the Superman remake Superman Returns were slated to be filmed in the building's "crystal palace" grand mezzanine but the film production was delayed by Warner Brothers and the scenes were never added to the finished film.[2] The very first film to feature the City Hall however was produced in the first decade after its completion. In the Name of the Law starred Pittsburgh Pirates great and future Hall of Famer Honus Wagner as the hero, as a Pittsburgh Police Superintendent pitched baseballs off the 144-foot-high roof in the film's climax.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Pittsburgh_City-County_Building Pittsburgh City-County Building] at Wikimedia Commons