Category Archives: Uncategorized

A New Chapel for Shadyside Church?

Two renderings  in the Carnegie Mellon Architecture Archives, attributed to Pittsburgh architect James T. Steen,  raise more questions than they settle about Shadyside Church.  Even the date of their production is uncertain (between 1914 and the mid 1930s – likely … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Cross at Shadyside

The Cross is the most widely recognized symbol of Christianity. And, while the Gospels and the Epistles speak of its overarching significance to the earliest believers, the Cross was not always openly displayed.  By the third century, Christians made the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I Wish I Could Have Seen It

Shadyside Sanctuary 1890 facing east A new friend, after seeing my book Evidence of Things Not Seen about the church’s architecture and Christian symbolism, remarked, “I wish I had been able to see Shadyside Church’s sanctuary before the 1938 remodeling.”  … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Roof Over Our Heads

The buildings of Shadyside Presbyterian Church represent a wide variety of shapes, sizes and proportions. Each was designed to suit the intended (and foreseen) purposes of the spaces enclosed. Richardsonian Romanesque style readily accommodates functional design with volumes and masses … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment