The Gateway Center is a complex of office, residential, and hotel buildings covering 25 acres (10 ha)[1] in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It lies between Commonwealth Place and Stanwix Street at the western edge of the central business district, immediately to the east of Point State Park. Construction of the Gateway Center was one of the earliest urban renewal projects in the United States and part of Pittsburgh's Renaissance I programs which reshaped large sections of the city.[2][3] The project was developed by the Equitable Life Assurance Society and built between 1950 and 1969.
Gateway Center | |
|---|---|
 Gateway Towers, 1–3 Gateway Center, and Pittsburgh Hilton | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 40°26′31″N 80°00′20″W / 40.44194°N 80.00556°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Allegheny County |
| City | Pittsburgh |
In May 2013, the National Park Service designated a historic district named the "Pittsburgh Renaissance Historic District"[4] which encompasses both the Gateway Center and neighboring Point State Park. All of the Gateway Center buildings were designated as contributing properties in the district except for one, the former State Office Building, which was considered to have lost its architectural integrity due to a 1980s remodeling.[2]
History edit
Plans were developed during World War II to redevelop the dense and "blighted" forks of the Ohio River into both Point State Park and a "Gateway" of offices. It was announced as fully financed on September 21, 1949, when the Equitable Life Assurance Society agreed to underwrite the project after securing lease agreements from Westinghouse, Mellon Financial and other major corporations.[5] On May 8, 1950, work began to clear the Gateway Center site for the new development.[2] Although mainly a run down warehouse district the Center did require the demolition of the 1904 Beaux Arts 11 floor Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal.
Most of the existing streets and buildings were wiped away, giving the developers a clean slate to re-imagine the area as a "towers in a park" concept based on the urban planning ideas of Le Corbusier.[2] The first three office buildings, One, Two, and Three Gateway Center, were completed in 1952. Eggers & Higgins, architects on the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, were the architects for the first three buildings. The Wyndham Grand Hotel was added in 1959, and Four Gateway Center was completed in 1960. The final building in the Gateway Center, the Westinghouse Building, was completed in 1969.[6] In 2004, One, Two, Three, and Four Gateway Center were purchased by Hertz Investment Group, a Los Angeles, California, based real estate investment company, for US$55 million.
Buildings edit
The original Gateway Center development included a total of ten buildings: eight office buildings, one residential building, and one hotel.[6] One of the office buildings, the State Office Building, was later converted to residential use. As of 2021, Gateway Center consists of four buildings.[7]
| Name | Image | Location | Year built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One Gateway Center | 
|
420 Fort Duquesne Blvd. | 1952 | |
| Two Gateway Center | 
|
603 Stanwix St. | 1952 | |
| Three Gateway Center | 
|
401 Liberty Ave. | 1952 | |
| Four Gateway Center | 
|
444 Liberty Ave. | 1960 | |
| Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania Western Headquarters Building | 
|
201 Stanwix St. | 1957 | No longer part of Gateway Center |
| River Vue (State Office Building) | 
|
300 Liberty Ave. | 1957 | No longer part of Gateway Center |
| Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown (Pittsburgh Hilton) | 
|
600 Commonwealth Pl. | 1959 | Not part of Gateway Center, but adjacent the Gateway Center parklike plaza area
|
| United Steelworkers Building (IBM Building) | 
|
60 Boulevard of the Allies | 1964 | No longer part of Gateway Center, but sometimes referred to as Five Gateway Center. |
| 11 Stanwix Street (Westinghouse Building) | 
|
11 Stanwix St. | 1969 | No longer part of Gateway Center, but sometimes referred to as Six Gateway Center. |
The 625 Stanwix Towers building is within the Gateway Center boundaries but was not an official part of the development. One other building on the site, the Pittsburgh Press Building, predates the Gateway Center project.
Major tenants edit
- KDKA-TV studios in One Gateway Center (CBS Broadcast Center Pittsburgh).
- Gateway Health Plan in Four Gateway Center.
- Industrial Appraisal Company, corporate headquarters in Two Gateway Center
See also edit
- Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal, former train terminal that previously occupied the site
- Gateway Center (PAT station)
- Gateway Towers
References edit
- ^ Seidenberg, Mel (May 10, 1958). "Gateway Center Put Securely in Black As Long-Range Project". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Pittsburgh Renaissance Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. May 2, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
- ^ "Downtown Pittsburgh Walking Tour: Gateway Center" (PDF). Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 4/29/13 THROUGH 5/03/13, National Park Service, 2013-05-10. Accessed 2013-05-13.
- ^ "Star-News - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ a b Rosensweet, Alvin (November 21, 1969). "Gateway's Newest 'Jewel' in Place". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ npochepko
External links edit
- "Emporis building complex ID 100402". Emporis. Archived from the original on 2016-06-20.
- Hertz purchase of Gateway Center in Pittsburgh closes