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Chatham Center
Pittsburgh, PA
Chatham One Building at Chatham Center
Chatham One Building at Chatham Center
General information
Type commercial and residential
Architectural style modern
Location Downtown Pittsburgh
Address 112 Washington Place
Town or city Pittsburgh, PA
Country USA
Coordinates 40°26′21.67″N 79°59′32″W / 40.4393528°N 79.99222°W / 40.4393528; -79.99222
Construction started 1964-10-20
Completed 1966-09-07
Cost $26 million USD
Dimensions
Other dimensions 5.5 acre complex
Design and construction
Architect William Lescaze
Main contractor Diesel Construction Company

Chatham Center is a large group of buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It covers about 5.5 acres, which is like 4 football fields! This big complex includes a huge parking garage for 2,200 cars, a Marriott Hotel, fancy apartments, and offices and shops. It's a busy spot, especially since it's close to the PPG Paints Arena and Duquesne University.

History of Chatham Center

Chatham Center got its name from William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, who was also the person Pittsburgh was named after. Building the complex started with a big celebration on October 20, 1964. It was built between 1964 and 1966 by a company called Chatham Center Inc. The main people behind it were Morton S. Wolf and Leon Falk Jr.. The project cost about $26 million.

Before construction began, some other hotels in Pittsburgh tried to stop the project. They went to court for two years, saying that the city already had enough hotel rooms. But they didn't win, and Chatham Center was built anyway.

Original Plans and Completion

The first plans for Chatham Center were very exciting! They included a 20-story luxury apartment building, an office building with a hotel on top, a movie theater with 650 seats, and a large parking garage with a gas station.

There were some delays during construction, like worker strikes and missing building materials. But the whole complex was finally finished by 1966. A special ceremony to open Chatham Center happened on September 7, 1966.

Changes in Ownership

Chatham Center Inc ran the complex until 1975. At that time, a company called Prudential took over. This happened because the original owners couldn't make their loan payments.

Prudential made many changes to Chatham Center. In 1976, the hotel changed from a Howard Johnson's to a Hyatt House. In 1981, the apartment building was turned into condominiums, which means people could buy their own apartments there. Prudential also built Chatham Two, which was the final part of the original plan for the center.

In 1988, Prudential sold its share of Chatham Center to another company for $36.2 million. This sale included the Chatham One and Two buildings, plus the parking garage. The new owners updated the parking garage soon after.

Later, in 2014, the Chatham One building faced problems when a major tenant, UPMC, moved out. This left many offices empty. In 2015, HSBC Bank USA bought One Chatham Center. Then, in 2017, Core Realty bought it for $8 million. Core Realty is now turning some of the office floors into new apartments.

Buildings and Plaza at Chatham Center

Chatham Center has three tall buildings and a large outdoor plaza. All of these are built on top of a huge parking garage that can hold 2,200 cars. The center also used to have a movie theater.

Chatham Tower Condominium

Chatham Tower Condo
Chatham Tower Condominium building from Sixth Ave.

The Chatham Tower Condominium building was planned to be a luxury apartment building from the start. It has 180 apartments and opened to residents on May 1, 1966. For many years, it was a very popular place to live in Pittsburgh.

In 1981, the apartment building was changed into condominiums. This meant that instead of renting, people could buy their own apartments. The building was renamed "The Tower, A Condominium at Chatham Center." It's still a top residential address in Pittsburgh today. In 2010, the inside of the building was completely updated.

Chatham One

Chatham One is a mixed-use building, meaning it has different types of spaces. The first nine floors have about 230,000 square feet of office space. The top 11 floors hold a hotel.

Some of the first companies to have offices here were Travelers Insurance and Westinghouse Electric. Today, the building is home to Allegheny County Economic Development and the Pittsburgh Penguins offices.

When it first opened in 1966, the hotel was a 450-room Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge. It even had a pool on the eleventh floor! In 1976, Hyatt Corp took over and renamed it the Pittsburgh Hyatt House. They made some big changes and reduced the number of rooms.

The hotel changed again in 1996 when Marriott bought it. They spent $8 million on renovations. Now, it has 396 rooms and six suites and is known as the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center Hotel.

In 2017, Core Realty bought One Chatham Center. They are now turning floors 4-8 into apartments, while floors 3 and 9 will remain office space.

Chatham Two

Two Chatham Center
Two Chatham Center building and Plaza

Chatham Two is a 16-story office building that was built between 1980 and 1981. It has about 340,000 square feet of office space. This building was one of the first new high-rises built during Pittsburgh's "Renaissance II" building boom in the 1980s.

Chatham Two has a modern design, covered in mirrored glass and aluminum. It was designed by Burt Hill Kosar Rittleman Associates.

Plaza

The Chatham Center plaza is a large outdoor area covering 4.5 acres. In 2007, it got its first full makeover in 40 years. It now has a new fountain, surrounded by trees, walkways, and beautiful plants. Residents and guests use the plaza every day.

Chatham Cinema

Chatham Cinema
Chatham Cinema

The Chatham Cinema was part of the original plan for Chatham Center. It opened on October 25, 1966, showing the movie "Alfie." The cinema had a fancy design, with old-fashioned furniture in the lobby and movie seats that reclined. The cinema closed in 1985, and its entrance has since been covered up. It was located at the corner of Washington Place and Fifth Avenue, and you could also enter it from the parking garage.

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