Overview

The remaining monolithic downtown towers reflect a valid testament and legacy crowning Pittsburgh's gilded era. Influential industrialists and financiers such as Andrew Carnegie, H. J. Heinz, Thomas and Andrew Mellon and Henry Clay Frick immortalized their wealth and industry dominance by hiring the era's premier architecture firms and architects. The results created a concentration of accomplishment and innovation highlighted by aesthetics. During the late 19th and early 20th century, these capitalist titans dominated the steel, coal, metals, cigar and railroad industries. Streaming revenues, public works projects and abundant employment created a pulsating economy. Department and retail store chains such as Kaufmann's, Horne's, Gimbels and G. C. Murphy flourished. In 1955, over 40% of the local workforce was directly tied to manufacturing employment. That sector would become unprepared for the volatile changes prompted by international competition introduced towards the conclusion of the twentieth century. By the time the steel industry collapsed in the early 1980s, the effects of massive unemployment had already stymied the local economy. Pittsburgh would be compelled to diversify employment emphasis following the Millennium towards high technology, health care, professional services, tourism, finance and education. This illustrated edition profiles over 85 downtown historic structures that remain local icons built from the earlier prosperous era. The majority has undergone major renovations and identity transformation. The results have created a reinvigorated downtown core that has polished the sheen on many of these remarkable gems. Among the structures profiled include the renowned William Penn Hotel, Union Trust Building, Arrott Building, Henry Oliver Building, Press House, Heinz Hall, Horne's and Kauffmann's Department Stores, Keenan Building, Pittsburgh City Council, Hendel Skinny Building, German National Bank, Park Building and numerous significant others. Architects and firms credited include Frederick J. Osterling, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frederick C. Sauer, Henry Hobson Richardson, MacClure and Spahr, Charles Bickel, Harold Crosby, Titus de Bobula, James T. Steen, Edward Stotz, Daniel Burnham, Trowbridge & Livingston, Thomas H. Scott, Edward B. Lee, Henry Hornbostel, Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, Janssen & Cocken, Theophilus P. Chandler, Edward B. Lee, Andrew Peebles, Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, Janssen & Cocken, Theophilus P. Chandler, Rapp & Rapp, John M. Donn, ThenDesign Architecture, Benno Janssen, William Cocken, Thomas Hannah, Philip Jullien, Andrew W. Peebles, George B. Post, Charles Bartberger, Grosvenor Atterbury, Webber and Wurster, George M. Rowland, Gordon W. Lloyd, Peabody and Stearns.

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Visual Artist, Writer and Photographer Marques Vickers is a California native presently living in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington regions. He was born in 1957 and raised in Vallejo, California. He is a 1979 Business Administration graduate from Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles area. Following graduation, he became the Public Relations and ultimately Executive Director of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce between 1979-84. He subsequently became the Vice President of Sales for AsTRA Tours and Travel in Westwood between 1984-86. Following a one-year residence in Dijon, France where he studied at the University of Bourgogne, he began Marquis Enterprises in 1987. His company operations have included sports apparel exporting, travel and tour operations, wine brokering, publishing, rare book and collectibles reselling. He has established numerous e-commerce, barter exchange and art websites including MarquesV.com, ArtsInAmerica.com, InsiderSeriesBooks.com, DiscountVintages.com and WineScalper.com. Between 2005-2009, he relocated to the Languedoc region of southern France. He concentrated on his painting and sculptural work while restoring two 19th century stone village residences. His figurative painting, photography and sculptural works have been sold and exhibited internationally since 1986. He re-established his Pacific Coast residence in 2009 and has focused his creative productivity on writing and photography. His published works span a diverse variety of subjects including true crime, international travel, California wines, architecture, history, Southern France, Pacific Coast attractions, fiction, auctions, fine art marketing, poetry, fiction and photojournalism. He has two daughters, Charline and Caroline who presently reside in Europe.

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