Fineview group says incline's wall is historic
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The Fineview Citizens Council has nominated for historic status the retaining wall that served as part of the foundation of an incline that ran from the hilltop neighborhood to a base station where Henderson and Federal streets meet.
At Wednesday's Historic Review Commission meeting, Katherine Molnar, the city's historic preservation planner, said the incline operated from 1887 to 1899. "It had short-lived use," she said, "but it was interesting because it was one of the only inclines in the country that had a curve."
The rails made a 250-degree bend along the route to and from what was then known as Nunnery Hill, so named because Flemish nuns operated an academy for young women there in the 1830s.
The commission will hold a public hearing Sept. 1 on the nomination. A vote is scheduled for Oct. 6. Before the hearing, the Fineview Citizens Council hopes to include the base station in its nomination.
Roy Johnston, president of the citizens council, told the commission the group plans to ask the owner of the building if he is willing to have it included. An owner's agreement is not necessary, and he is not required to do anything to the property if a building is formally declared historic. The status protects properties from unapproved alterations and demolition.
"The base station should be part of the nomination," said commissioner Ernie Hogan.
"It would be a lot more meaningful with it," said commission chair Michael Stern.
The protected property would include the portion of retaining wall that served as the foundation for the tracks. It is on city-owned right of way alongside the Henderson Street roadbed. The retaining wall is now topped by trees and overgrowth, and the landscape the incline followed has been altered. Henderson was called Fairmount Street then.
The retaining wall ends at the entrance to the Allegheny Dwellings housing complex. That is where the rails curved to follow the hillside up to what was then Clyde Street. On current maps, that street is Catoma.
The year the Nunnery Hill incline was built -- by the same engineer who built the mechanical system for the Ferris wheel -- Pittsburgh had 10 inclines. By 1901, there would be 17, of which two remain.
First Published August 10, 2010 12:00 am
