Tube City Almanac

October 23, 2006

Real Estate Pop Quiz

Category: default || By jt3y



After writing Friday's Almanac, it occurred to me that I had some material that I'd forgotten to run.

So, this is pop quiz time. Where do you think the house in this picture is located? Mt. Lebanon? Fox Chapel? Sewickley Heights? West (By God) Newton?

The answer will surprise you.

Answer: Clairton.

Clairton?

Yep.

A few weeks ago, I printed a letter from Rebecca and Don, who are restoring the house that had belonged to the superintendent of U.S. Steel's Clairton Works. In response to my inquiry, Rebecca sent along some photos of their home:

The grandson of the very first superintendent knocked on the door with his brother. They have a photo of their mom sitting on our window seat as a young girl! We had a house history done and learned some things.

We love going on house tours and there as many great homes here. I would like to have a house tour with the neighbors if I could interest them, but people say that burglars will come and case the joint. It helped the Friendship area by bringing young people into the area. If people could see the homes around here and the affordable prices, they might come here.


Personally, I seriously doubt many burglars are going to go on house tours in Clairton.

So, maybe it's time for a Mon Valley house tour, hmm? How many hidden gems are hiding in these valleys?

Anyway, here are some more pictures. Remember, houses like this would sell for a half-million dollars in Shadyside. You can pick 'em up for $40,000 in McKeesport, Clairton, Duquesne, Homestead, etc.

We've got a lot of them, some in good condition, some not-so-good. But these were high-quality structures when they were built --- remember, the Mon Valley was the Silicon Valley of the early 20th century, and the wealthy had a lot of money to spend --- so these old houses can almost always be salvaged.

I hope more people like Rebecca and Don have the gumption to fix up some of our historic old homes. Personally, I'd rather have a house like this than some mass-produced drywall and Styrofoam McMansion on a plot out in the boonies.

You get a lot more house for a lot less money in the Mon-Yough area.










Your Comments are Welcome!

I think any neighborhood with quality housing stock should consider home tours. Brookline, where I live, is a great example. Our house would probably be worth three to four times as much were it in Shadyside or Squirrel Hill. (I’m not bragging—I didn’t build it, nor did I do any of the major restoration work.) There are a lot of other examples.
Jonathan Potts (URL) - October 23, 2006



I performed an inspection (for an occupancy permit ) of that house when it was last purchased. The structure is amazing. Built as solid as a fort. The accoutrements, woodork, etc. are astonishing, and the craftmanship is remarkable. They don’t build them like that any more.

ps: I wouldn’t trade heating bills with the owner.
terry - October 24, 2006



I was thinking the exact same thing, Terry, but I didn’t want to point it out!

On the other hand, a lot of the new houses going up in Hempfield, North Huntingdon, etc., have got ceilings just as high, so some people don’t mind paying the heating bills.

Not me —- if I can’t see my breath in the house, it’s too warm.
Webmaster (URL) - October 24, 2006



I was very impressed, and very surprised, even though I know there are some nice areas of Clairton. My question: How does the Mon/Fayette Expressway affect property values once that roadway starts its expansion north (or is that, whenever the turnpike commission squeezes out enough dimes and pennies for that expansion)?
An occasional Clairton visitor - October 26, 2006



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