{"nrhp_refnum":"74001748","name":"Union Trust Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"501 Grant St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.439734540000075,"lon":-79.99650535899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-01-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large office and arcade building occupying a full city block in downtown Pittsburgh, bounded by Fifth and Oliver Avenues, Grant Street and William Penn Place. It was built as the Union Arcade by Henry Clay Frick and later became the Union Trust Building.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the finest large office building in Pittsburgh and one of the most architecturally significant structures downtown. Its steel frame, stone and terra cotta exterior, mansard roof with Gothic towers, and large central rotunda with a stained glass skylight are presented as its main distinctions. The building is also linked to Frick's development of the former cathedral site.","narrative":"Built on a full city block in downtown Pittsburgh, the Union Trust Building rises 237 feet to the tops of its twin Gothic towers. Henry Clay Frick began it as the Union Arcade, and construction started in May 1915, with the arcade opening on April 1, 1917. Its design combined a steel frame with Cleveland sandstone and terra cotta, and a steep mansard roof with dormers and glazed tan terra cotta crestings. The central rotunda rises ten stories to a stained glass skylight. Frick chose a site formerly occupied by two Gothic Revival cathedrals, the second of which was demolished in 1904. The Union Trust Company bought the building in 1922 and converted the Fifth Avenue arcade into banking rooms. The building is regarded as the finest large interior space in Pittsburgh, and it remains in use and well maintained.","period_of_significance":"1915-1916","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian; Gothic and Tudor influences; Renaissance elements; twentieth century commercial styles","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"It is in excellent condition and very well maintained, and it is well occupied and still a valuable functioning unit in the downtown area.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.976938-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/74001748.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001748/ff5799a61b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001748/ff5799a61b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"HoboJones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Trust_Building_Pittsburgh.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">HoboJones</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Trust_Building_Pittsburgh.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85003216","name":"Pittsburgh Central Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/pittsburgh-central-downtown-historic-district-85003216/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997666","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Trust_Building_(Pittsburgh)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7886360"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/union-trust-building-74001748/"}