{"nrhp_refnum":"99000878","name":"Whitehill-Gleason Motors","other_names":["Keystone Buick","Steel City Motors, et al"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"5815 Baum Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pittsburgh","county":"Allegheny County","state":"PA","lat":40.45959526200005,"lon":-79.93075184899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-07-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former automobile showroom and service complex at 5815-5835 Baum Boulevard in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, made up of a 1920 two-story Commercial style building and a three-story Art Deco building of 1926, with an enclosed ramp added about 1950.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant for its Art Deco design and intact showroom interior, and for its role in Pittsburgh's early automobile trade along Baum Boulevard. It is presented as among the first Pittsburgh dealerships to combine sales and service in one building.","narrative":"Built in 1920 and 1926 on a triangular lot at Baum Boulevard, Friendship Avenue and St. Clair Street, this two-building complex in East Liberty was designed for automobile sales and service. The larger 1926 building, three stories with brick walls and limestone trim, was designed by Pittsburgh architect Maximilian Nirdlinger in the Art Deco style, and its cornerstone is inscribed with his name. The 1920 section was built for L.J. Kloos's Keystone Buick dealership, and an enclosed vehicle ramp was added about 1950. Its showroom retains a terrazzo floor and a two-story office section with plaster-sheathed columns. Baum Boulevard was the center of Pittsburgh's car trade for decades, and the complex is regarded as one of its most intact remaining dealerships. The site was home to a Gulf gas station from 1913, and the Whitehill-Gleason firm occupied the 1926 building until the Depression ended its business.","period_of_significance":"1920-1949","architect_builder":"Maximilian Nirdlinger (architect)","architectural_style":"Art Deco; Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Operated as a car dealership until 1994; sold in 1996 for conversion into apartments, with rehabilitation in 1997-1998.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.165377-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/99000878.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000878/1ac534271d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000878/1ac534271d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"User:Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whitehill-Gleason_Motors.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whitehill-Gleason_Motors.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997696","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitehill-Gleason_Motors","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7996054"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/allegheny-county/whitehill-gleason-motors-99000878/"}