{"nrhp_refnum":"85001964","name":"Osterling, Frederick J., Office and Studio","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"228 Isabella St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.44842698800005,"lon":-80.00156481199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story row-type commercial building with an architect's studio and office at 228 Isabella Street on Pittsburgh's North Side, about one block north of the Allegheny River. It was rebuilt in 1917 by architect Frederick J. Osterling.","why_significant":"The building is significant as a rare example of an architect's studio and office from the early twentieth century. Its terra cotta Gothic tracery facade directly reflects Osterling's Union Arcade, and it represents an unusual use of Gothic elements on a small commercial structure. The nomination also cites the building's design as representative of its period.","narrative":"Built in 1917 as an architect's studio and office on Isabella Street in Pittsburgh's North Side, this two-story row-type building was remodeled by Frederick J. Osterling, who was among the city's leading architects around 1900. Its dominant feature is a front facade of terra cotta Gothic tracery framing a large recess filled with leaded small-pane windows, with pointed arches, trefoils, quatrefoils and crockets. The design closely echoes Osterling's Union Arcade of 1915-17, the Flemish Gothic retail and office building for industrialist Henry C. Frick, and the studio is regarded as an unusual adaptation of Gothic motifs to a small commercial structure. Osterling lived in the building's basement apartment, and a 1922 account praised the structure for its compactness and symmetry. The building is also known for a 1934 will contest after a woman claimed to be the architect's wife, a case that drew newspaper attention to the basement apartment.","period_of_significance":"1917","architect_builder":"Frederick J. Osterling (architect)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The building is described as altered, and the present owner has not permitted examination of the interior.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.392894-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85001964.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001964/2fadf8b552-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001964/2fadf8b552-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frederick_J._Osterling_Office_and_Studio.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frederick_J._Osterling_Office_and_Studio.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997648","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_J._Osterling_Office_and_Studio","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5498118"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/osterling-frederick-j-office-and-studio-85001964/"}