Pitt professor explores Pittsburgh’s architecture

Pitt art professor Franklin Toker thinks the ’Burgh is a “pretty good town” overall. And its architecture reflects that, he said.

Toker gave a lecture at Carnegie Music Hall last night highlighting many aspects of Pittsburgh’s architecture, through its industrial past and shifting present to its uncertain yet bright future. A slideshow displaying views from many of Pittsburgh’s diverse neighborhoods accompanied Toker’s lecture.

“What I try to do is understand what Pittsburgh’s buildings are saying,” said Toker, who regularly traverses the city by both car and bike.

Apparently Pittsburgh’s architecture has a lot to say, particularly about its past.

Several pictures from the slideshow were of a far more polluted city, from a time when “smoke was the sign of food on the table,” Toker said.

He explained how the working-class history of Pittsburgh influenced the development of its infrastructure. The city was able to adapt to the varied topography by constructing bridges and inclines to prevent neighborhood isolation and accommodate workers’ commutes to factories.

Among the highlighted neighborhoods was Oakland. Toker pointed out the architecture of the Cathedral, more specifically its Commons Room, along with the “elegant and learned” Heinz Chapel and the neighborhood under the bridge, Junction Hollow.

A worthwhile endeavor in his mind was the recent cleaning of the Cathedral, as he cited the fact that Pittsburgh has the highest proportion of college students of any major U.S. city.

On the topic of Pittsburgh’s future, Toker is cautiously optimistic. Twenty-five years ago he wrote a book much like “Pittsburgh: A New Portrait” — the book that inspired yesterday’s lecture — titled, “Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait,” then under the impression that the city was experiencing a revolution. Looking back, he refers to it as an “Indian summer,” rather than a “high noon,” in terms of prolonged innovation and change. He relates this to a perhaps troubling dichotomy in the ideology of Pittsburgh’s population.

“The problem is half the city has forgotten about its past, and the other half thinks about it too much,” Toker said.

While his cautious optimism about the city’s future holds, Toker also has some recommendations for city leaders. Among his suggestions for land-use planning are a more effective water transport system and turning the Rivers Casino into a museum of Pittsburgh’s industrial and cultural history.

Pitt freshman Julia Pyko said that Toker’s lecture caught her attention.

“I’m not from Pittsburgh,” said Pyko, a Michigan native, “so I have never heard about so many of those places.”

Pitt freshman Vicky Lopez said, “The best part about it for me was being reminded of the historical significance of the city.”