Frick Building and Annex
Why it's listed
Built in 1901 in downtown Pittsburgh on Grant Street, the Frick Building is a twenty-one story office tower designed by Chicago architect Daniel Hudson Burnham for industrialist Henry Clay Frick. It combines a steel skeleton frame of the Chicago School with Classical detailing, including a temple-like base with Greek Doric columns and bronze-framed plate glass windows, and a monumental top. The marble lobby has curving stone stairways, two bronze lions beside the main door, and a stained glass window by John LaFarge. Sculptor J. P. Proctor, a student of Saint-Gaudens, made a statue for the lobby. The building is regarded as a leading example of Burnham's later work and as the beginning of the skyscraper era in Pittsburgh. An eighteen-story annex built behind it in 1905 across an alley is similar in appearance but lacks the Classical features. The upper floors remain in office use.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is an excellent example of Burnham's later work, combining Chicago School steel-frame construction with Classical features. It is presented as the start of the age of the skyscraper in Pittsburgh, and the document places it within the wider development of the tall office building following affordable steel and the elevator.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 78002336, listed May 22, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 437 Grant St., Pittsburgh |
|---|---|
| County | Allegheny County |
| Listed | May 22, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78002336 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1901 |
| Architect / builder | Daniel Hudson Burnham (architect) |
| Architectural style | Chicago School with Classical features |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The document says the upper stories are used for offices and the lobby holds a bank branch and a library business branch. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Within district | Pittsburgh Central Downtown Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.43903, -79.99781 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 78002336.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q175182
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.