Not to get all “kids these days,” but so much of everyday life with a smartphone revolves around looking down. Writer and architecture aficionado Mark Houser encourages people to look up instead on the Pittsburgh skyscraper tours he leads.
Houser is now the author of several books on Art Deco-era buildings of the past and present across the United States, but he began his career as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. After a break from writing, he started a column for Pittsburgh Magazine about overlooked Art Deco architecture in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has the most buildings by famed Chicago architect Daniel Burnham besides his native Chicago. Burnham designed the Union Station building (1100 Liberty Avenue), the Union Trust building (337 Fourth Avenue), the Frick Building Annex (437 Smithfield Street), and even more across the city.
Part of what drew Houser to travel the country researching Art Deco skyscrapers and sharing them with others is the larger-than-life stories behind their commissions by hotheaded captains of industry. Pittsburgh’s Henry Clay Frick built his skyscraper downtown specifically to block out a building commissioned by his rival, Andrew Carnegie. (Houser often goes to the Frick Building on his Pittsburgh Skyscraper Tours).
“Skyscrapers radically changed every city.”
Houser explores these in MultiStories: 55 Antique Skyscrapers & the Business Tycoons Who Built Them, his 2020 compendium of his skyscraper travels. “In the early days, buildings were designed to inspire awe,” Houser said. “Skyscrapers radically changed every city and were what people associated with the cities they were in. They used to be what showed on postcards.” There is a legal definition by the Council of Tall Buildings about what constitutes a skyscraper versus a “tall building,” but Houser generally defines it as having ten stories or more. The term “skyscraper” also originated from sailing and then became an architectural term over time. In 2022, Houser collaborated with photographer Chris Hythe for High Rises Art Deco, a coffee table book sharing some of the views from skyscrapers around the country.
New York and Chicago get a lot of the thunder for the best skylines. But Houser has found that smaller cities often have some of the most interesting, dynamic buildings. Detroit, Kansas City, Houston, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Buffalo, are a few of the places he saw the most thought-provoking skyscrapers in. Houser’s enthusiasm for skyscrapers is contagious. He even shared with me that his phone background is the City Hall building in Buffalo. His favorite is the quirky, boxy Smith Tower in Seattle, once the tallest building in the city now dethroned by the Space Needle—“It’s goofy-looking and you have to wonder why they built it that way, but still antique and elegant,” he said.
“It’s really gratifying to get to show people the beauty in their own city.”
His Pittsburgh skyscraper tours allow him to use the knowledge from traveling in his home city. He began giving them in 2019 and since then almost 2000 people have attended them to see sights like the Kopper Building, the U.S. Steel Tower, the Benedum Trees Building, and the Frick building. “In a weird way, Pittsburgh’s historic buildings benefited from the economy being bad here, since they weren’t torn down to make newer office spaces,” Houser said.
The walking tours are an opportunity for people to see Pittsburgh from a new angle. While the city has Mt. Washington’s overlook to see it from above, rooftop dining and entertainment isn’t nearly as popular as in other cities. “We lack easily accessible rooftops where the public can experience these views from up high, Houser said. Very few rooftop restaurants exist in Pittsburgh now, with the notable exception of Over Eden in Lawrenceville, but the U.S. Steel Tower once had its own rooftop fine dining.
Houser reported that there are some talks to re-open that restaurant as an entertainment space. But, for now, the only way to access these rooftops is through Houser’s tours. This year, he has July 27-28, September 14-15, and October 19-20 available, with tour times at 10AM, 1PM, and 4PM each day—though the July dates are almost sold out. “It’s really gratifying to get to show people the beauty in their own city,” he said. “I get a lot of pleasure from seeing people’s eyes widen.”
Story by Emma Riva / Photo courtesy of Mark Houser
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