Frederick J. Osterling

Frederick John Osterling (1865 in Duquesne, Pennsylvania – 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. [Post-Gazette, May 3, 2003 [http://www.post-gazette.com/homes/20030503osterlingp2.asp] ]

("Italics denote a registered Historic Landmark")

Notes

External links

* [http://www.emporis.com/en/cd/cm/?id=100608 Structures by Osterling]
* [http://www.phlf.org/news/essays/eclectic/ch15/ Osterling at phlf.org]

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.