The Troy Hill Firehouse #39 is already designated an historic landmark by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Now, it’s on its way to being recognized at the City level.

By Atiya Irvin-Mitchell

Photo: Joseph Stillburg, the architect in charge of building what is now known as the Troy Hill Firehouse #39. Courtesy of Inga Gudmundsson

Troy Hill Firehouse #39 came one step closer to becoming a City-designated* historic landmark on March 2, after the City of Pittsburgh’s Historic Review Commission (HRC) voted in favor of approving the building’s nomination. 

The century-old firehouse was built in 1901, and as the name suggests, has been a staple in the center of the Troy Hill neighborhood for decades. The firehouse shut down officially in 2005; these days, it’s used mostly as a garage. Preservation Pittsburgh, a local advocacy organization, however, would like the building to be a landmark that goes beyond ceremonial purposes.

The firehouse has had a plaque from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation honoring its significance since 2001, but according to Melissa McSwigan, a Preservation Pittsburgh board member, if the City designates the firehouse as a landmark, it requires a separate and “very thorough process” that must ultimately be approved by the mayor. 

“There are many ways to officially recognize historic structures, sites, and buildings at the local, state, and federal level,” McSwigan explained. The City-level designation, she said, would afford the property protection.* 

“If the City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission and City Council feel the same way [as we do,] then that sort of helps to ensure its future,” McSwigan said of the firehouse.

“It’s about the past, but it also kind of helps keep it somewhat stable and rooted as part of Troy Hill going forward in that whoever buys it down the road—whether it stays with the City or whether it’s sold off to some other private person or entity—then that helps to ensure some continuity and stability for the neighborhood while still allowing for changes.”

McSwigan added that giving the firehouse a City-level historic landmark* designation would honor the modest neighborhood’s history.

“I guess it sort of provides [a] foundational kind of a building block, first by saying this place has some significance, both to the local, immediate neighborhood—to the Northside in general, for Allegheny County, and to Pittsburgh at large—that we value the building,” McSwigan explained. “We value its history; its contributions to… the neighborhood.”

If the City-designated* historic landmark process is successful, the firehouse will be one of many historic landmarks in the area and will join the ranks of the Troy Hill Incline, the 31st Street Bridge, the Thomas Carlin’s Sons Foundry property, Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, and St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Croatian Church. 

Throughout the process, McSwigan reported that so far, there’s been only positive feedback from the community. She also pointed out that due to the long road to designation, this won’t be a decision that’s made lightly and the public will have ample opportunity to weigh in. 

When the HRC discussed the matter, the nomination was positively received with members holding the belief that due to the building’s history and its unique architecture, it was an acceptable candidate for nomination. 

“I think it’s a great candidate and I do hope that somewhere along the line, somebody can bring it back to how it used to look,” Commission member Karen Loysen said. “That would be fabulous.” 

While there was no public comment submitted on behalf of the firehouse’s nomination, Lucia Aguirre, chairperson of the HRC, read a paragraph from a letter that was submitted by Inga Gudmundsson, a descendent of the building’s architect Joseph Stillburg. Within the letter, Gudmundsson urged the commission to approve the nomination.

Aguirre read from the letter that Troy Hill Firehouse #39 is “a building that has lasting influence not only on the men and women who worked in it but also the residents who’ve shared a lasting connection to the building over the past century.

“As not only a proponent of historic preservation, but also [of] the importance of community in my own community, I believe that Troy Hill Firehouse is an important building to be preserved.”

Next, the City’s Planning Commission will weigh in on the firehouse’s historic landmark designation. If they approve, the nomination will head to the Pittsburgh City Council.

*Editor’s note 4/19/2022: This article has been edited to clarify various forms of historic designations and some of the differences between each of them.