Westinghouse Air Brake Company General Office Building facts for kids
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Westinghouse Air Brake Company General Office Building
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The building as it looked in 2009, with the "Executive Wing" on the left.
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 Location in Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
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| Location | Marguerite and Bluff Sts., Wilmerding, Pennsylvania |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1890 |
| Architect | Osterling, Frederick J.; Janssen & Cocken |
| Architectural style | Renaissance, Romanesque, Chateauesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 87000376 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | March 06, 1987 |
The Westinghouse Air Brake Company General Office Building is a historic building in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania. People in the area often call it The Castle or Library Hall. It was built in 1890 and has been recognized for its importance. It was added to the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation list in 1975 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
This building was first used as the main office for the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. Later, from 2006 to 2016, it was home to the George Westinghouse Museum. In 2016, a company called Priory Hospitality Group bought it. They are now turning it into a special kind of hotel called a boutique hotel.
Building The Castle
The building was designed by an architect named Frederick J. Osterling. It has a cool four-sided clock tower that used to work with chains and pulleys. Later, in 1927, another group of architects, Janssen & Cocken, added more parts to the building. They built the "Executive Wing," which had offices for important leaders, meeting rooms, and dining areas.
The building's style is a mix of Renaissance Revival and Romanesque. Imagine old castles and grand European buildings! Sadly, a fire destroyed part of it on April 8, 1896. But the strong foundation, made of brick, stone, and cement, survived. So, the building was rebuilt on the same base. The clock tower was added during this rebuilding.
When it was first built, the entire first floor was made for the employees to use. It had a library, a gym, a restaurant, a swimming pool, and even bowling alleys! This made the building very large, with about 55,000 square feet of space. The building also had a special boiler house and light station. These supplied steam and power to the factory and other places in the community, like the Wilmerding YMCA.
A Company with History
This building was the main office for the Westinghouse Air Brake Company for over 100 years. The company was started by George Westinghouse in 1869. George Westinghouse created many companies during a time of big industrial growth in the early 1900s. The Air Brake factory, which made trains work better and go faster, moved to its new spot in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania in 1889.
Wilmerding is a small town about 14 miles outside of Pittsburgh. Back then, only about 5,000 people lived there. It was seen as a peaceful farming town. People thought it was "The Ideal Town" for the company. This was because it was right next to the Pennsylvania Railroad and had many hard-working people. The Air Brake Company hired 3,000 people from the Pittsburgh area. Most of its workers came from Wilmerding itself.
The office building was used until 1985 when it became empty. It was then given to the American Production and Inventory Control Society. In 1999, the Westinghouse Air Brake Company joined with MotivePower to form a new company called Wabtec. Wabtec still provides jobs for more than 1,000 people in the Wilmerding area today.
Impact on the Community
When the Westinghouse factory moved to Wilmerding, it became hard for employees to find places to live. To help with this, the Westinghouse Air Brake Home Building Company was started in 1919. It had a lot of money to begin with. The company took over 400 houses and empty land that the Westinghouse Air Brake Company used to own.
The new homes were built with different designs. This was to make sure they didn't all look the same, which was common for factory housing back then. The Westinghouse Air Brake Home Building Company was very successful. Within ten years, there were no empty building spots left on the south side of Turtle Creek.
George Westinghouse brought many jobs and a lot of success to Wilmerding. The community still celebrates this today with a festival called "George Westinghouse Days." It happens every year in early June.
Inside The Castle Today
The building used to have The George Westinghouse Museum inside. It also featured a model train display and a room with special "Depression glass." In 2007, many of the old museum items were moved to the Heinz History Center. Since then, The Westinghouse Castle has collected its own display of Westinghouse products. These are now shown in their Westinghouse Museum room.
From 2006 to 2016, a non-profit group called Wilmerding Renewed owned and ran The Westinghouse Castle. They rented out parts of the building and gave tours. However, they couldn't make enough money to cover the high costs of running and taking care of the old building.
In June 2016, a person named John Graf and the Priory Hospitality Group bought the property for $100,000. They plan to turn it into a unique hotel.
