{"nrhp_refnum":"78002338","name":"Pittsburgh Athletic Association Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4215 5th Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.44503738800006,"lon":-79.95444794199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Pittsburgh Athletic Association Clubhouse is a five-story steel-frame building sheathed in brick, stone and terra cotta, located in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It was opened in April 1911.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the clubhouse is a notable example of the Venetian High Renaissance style, drawing on Venetian Renaissance palaces and libraries as models. It also cites the lobby and reception rooms that retain their main architectural features, and the marble and terra cotta swimming pool with Guastavino tiles, described as a fine Late Victorian period piece.","narrative":"Built in 1909-1911 for the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, a club formed in 1908 by a group of young businessmen, this five-story steel-frame building is faced in brick, stone and terra cotta. The association bought land in Nicola's Schenley Farms tract in 1909 and commissioned the firm Janssen and Abbott, then newly formed, to design it. The clubhouse is in the Venetian High Renaissance style and is basically a variation of Sansovino's Palazzo Corner in Venice, with its facade order recalling the Grimani Palace and its frieze of cupids and garlands recalling Sansovino's Library of St. Mark. A flat roof, coupled colossal pilasters in the composite order, semicircular ground-story windows forming an arcade, and rondels around the archivolts give the exterior its ornate surface. Benno Janssen, a Pittsburgh architect, later became known for the Mellon Institute and the E.J. Kaufmann House. The main lobby and reception rooms keep their chief features, and the marble and terra cotta swimming pool with Guastavino tiles is regarded as a fine Late Victorian piece.","period_of_significance":"1909-1911","architect_builder":"Janssen and Abbott (architects)","architectural_style":"Venetian High Renaissance","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The club is in excellent condition; the interior has been altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.273633-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002338.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002338/b78c6d7cc1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002338/b78c6d7cc1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Tim Engleman from Saxonburg, PA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PittsburghAthleticAssociation2012.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Engleman from Saxonburg, PA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PittsburghAthleticAssociation2012.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83002213","name":"Schenley Farms Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/schenley-farms-historic-district-additional-documentation-83002213/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997684","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_Athletic_Association","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7199227"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/pittsburgh-athletic-association-building-78002338/"}