Category: Pointless Digressions || By

Last week, I ranted and raved about the pure, unadulterated crapitude of Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority --- at least in the way they gave me and the G.C. Murphy Company Foundation the runaround regarding Murphy's old "Store No. 12" in Market Square.

I thought I should point out that Lucas Piatt of Millcraft Industries, which is renovating the store for commercial and residential use, has been nothing but supportive of our efforts to preserve what we could of the store.

Also, Millcraft's Chad Wheatley, who's the project manager of what's being called "Market Square Place," gave me an extensive tour of the store complex, repeatedly apologizing for the URA's shortsightedness in failing to save any of the photographs or other documents. It's obviously not Millcraft's fault, but his commiseration was much appreciated. (Little birdies have told the Almanac that representatives of the Senator John Heinz Regional History Center also toured the store after the URA gutted it, and they were equally unhappy.)

Today, Chad emailed to say that Millcraft is donating one of the glass entrance signs that used to adorn the Fifth Avenue side of the building --- as shown in the small picture at right.

Yours truly will have to do some cleanup and repair work, but this sign is tentatively slated to wind up as part of a permanent display at the McKeesport Heritage Center in Renzie Park.

In addition, a lot of the old features of the "Store No. 12" buildings --- like the railings that once lined the stairwells between the basement and first-floor --- are being reused in the renovations. Even the big plastic "G.C. MURPHY" letters from the Fifth Avenue marquee are to be reincorporated into a gameroom inside the building.

We spend too much time focusing on the bad, and not enough applauding the good. Thanks to Lucas, Chad and Millcraft for their help and kindness; and speaking as someone who's spent nearly five years researching the history of the G.C. Murphy Co., I can't think of a better use for the old downtown Pittsburgh store than what they plan to do with it.

Incidentally, click on this picture of the original, 1930 entrance of the store to see the ad that ran in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph on Oct. 14, 1930 --- two days before the store opened for business.

(Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at tubecityonline.com or in The Almanac are not necessarily those of the G.C. Murphy Company Foundation or any other organization.)