Charles Schwab House Circa 1889 541 Jones Avenue North Braddock, Pennsylvania Information Compiled by: The Fayette County Cultural Trust 139 West Crawford Avenue Connellsville, Pennsylvania 15425
Architect Frederick Osterling's design for the Schwab home's first-floor foyer is strikingly similar to that of Clayton, the Point Breeze residence of Henry Clay Frick. Massive arched fireplaces visible in the two homes' first floors are like mirror images. Mr. Osterling added a porte-cochere and a wide arcaded stone porch to Clayton, features that he included in the Schwab mansion.
The Schwab house, begun in 1889 and finished in 1893, showed what Mr. Osterling could do when he designed a home from the start. Today, the oak, cherry and tiger's eye maple woodwork glistens in the grand foyer, front parlor, library and dining room as well as an upstairs living room and bedroom. The Charles Schwab house, as it sits today, is a diamond in the ruff. Updates and needed repairs are a must so the legacy of Dr. Dixon, Charles Schwab and Architect Frederick Osterling live on.
When Dr. Bruce Dixon bought the Charles Schwab mansion in 1984, he was 41 and full of ideas about how to restore the steel tycoon's palatial home on Jones Avenue in North Braddock.
Bruce Dixon passed away recently and we would like the legacy, love, and passion he has put into restoring this home to live on. Dr. Dixon was in charge of the Allegheny County Health Department for many years. This house is a treasure of historic significance for the entire Pittsburgh Region.
With In Walking Distance From The Charles Swab House:
Braddock Andrew Carnegie Library (First Carnegie Library)
Braddock’s Battlefield History Center
Charles Schwab House North Braddock Location History
Significant buildings designed by Osterling in chronological order: All buildings are in Pittsburgh unless otherwise stated; italics denote a registered Historic Landmark: Charles Schwab House (541 Jones Avenue), 1889 *First Commissioned Work
Bellefield Presbyterian Church (Bellefield and 5th Ave) 1889; only the bell tower remains)
Westinghouse Air Brake Company General Office Building (Wilmerding, Pennsylvania), 1889– 1890
Bell Telephone of Pennsylvania Building, now Verizon Building (416-420 Seventh Avenue), 1890
Marine Bank Building, later known as Fort Pitt Federal Building (301 Smithfield Street), 1890
Times Building, now Magee Building (334-336 Fourth Avenue), 1892
Clayton, now the Frick Art & Historical Center, 1892 remodeling by Osterling of an 1860s house at 7200 Penn Avenue. This was the home of Henry Clay Frick, the industrialist.
First Methodist Church, now Shadyside Seventh Day Adventist Church (821 South Aiken Avenue), 1893
Chautauqua Lake Ice Company Warehouse, now the Heinz History Center (1212 Smallman Street), 1898
Washington County Courthouse & Jail (Washington, Pennsylvania), 1899–1900
Allegheny County Morgue (Originally on Forbes Avenue; the building was physically moved to 542 Fourth Avenue in 1929), built 1901 Armstrong Cork Company Building, now The Cork Factory Lofts (2349 Railroad Street at 23rd Street), 1901
Hays Hall, a residence hall at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, built from 1901 to 1903 (demolished in 1994)
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Washington Trust Building, Washington, Pennsylvania, 1902
Arrott Building (401 Wood Street), 1902
Colonial Trust Company Building, now part of the Bank Center of Point Park University (Wood Street, between Forbes and Fourth Avenues), 1902. Also, Osterling designed a T-shaped lobby that was added to his original building in 1926.
Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls (Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania), 1903
Iroquois Apartments, now offices (3600 Forbes Avenue), 1903 Allegheny County Jail (Ross Street), 1903-1905 additions by Osterling to the 1886 building by Henry Hobson Richardson Allegheny High School, now Allegheny Middle School (810 Arch Street), 1904 Commonwealth Trust Building (312 Fourth Avenue), 1907 Luzerne County Courthouse (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), 1909
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Union Trust Building (501 Grant Street), 1917
Gwinner-Harter House, also known as the William B. Negley House (5061 Fifth Avenue) was designed by an unknown architect and built 1870-1871. However, Osterling was responsible for additions between 1912 and 1923. Osterling Flats, date unavailable. These are three houses at 3603-3607 California Avenue with Dutch design elements, which were converted into condos by the Brighton Heights Citizens' Federation in 2003.