Alcoa Building

1951/1952

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Alcoa Building
  • Title
  • Alcoa Building
  • Creator
  • Samuel A. Musgrave
  • Identifier
  • MSP285.B001.F05.I07
  • Description
  • The Alcoa Building (left foreground), located at 425 6th Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, used aluminum wherever possible, including aluminum furniture, aluminum piping and wiring, and aluminum air-conditioning ducts. Its thirty-story tower is lighter and more efficient than buildings of comparable size at the time of its construction. The entire exterior wall of the structure was built using prefabricated aluminum sheets that contained both windows and the floor zone. These windows swung open in special inflatable rubber gaskets containing neoprene that minimized heat from the sun’s rays, and also required minimal cleaning and maintenance on the exterior. Construction on the building began in 1951 and was completed in 1953. The architectural firms involved with this project were Harrison & Abramovitz, along with Altenhof & Bown, and Mitchell & Ritchey. The Alcoa Building stands on the site of the renowned Beaux Arts-style Nixon Theater. The Smithfield United Church (right foreground) was designed by architect Henry Hornbostel in 1925, and was dedicated in December 1926. The church houses a main sanctuary, a chapel, Sunday school classrooms, a social hall, a shelter, and a gymnasium. The most important architectural feature of the structure is the openwork spire of cast aluminum (pictured here), which marked the first large-scale use of this material at the time.
  • Subject
  • Alcoa Building (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Smithfield United Church (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Buildings--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Churches--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    Downtown (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
    Skyscrapers--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
  • Contributor
  • Detre Library & Archives, Heinz History Center
  • Collection
  • Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs
  • Rights Information
  • The copyright and related rights status of this Item has been reviewed by the organization that has made the Item available, but the organization was unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the Item. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.
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