A walk around Greensburg, PA

It's amazing the things you can find hidden in every day sight. Today I was driving back from the barber shop and had my camera on me. I decided to park and just look around. It's no surprise that a town with such a rich history as Greensburg has a lot to offer as far as glimpses of its industrial past.

 

Urania Avenue

 

I have been trying to find out what these are/were for years. Any book or map I've ever looked at contains no information on them. Emails to the Westmoreland County Historical Society and City Council have turned up nothing. So, that being said, if anybody has any information on these please let me know!! There are four different sections. Two seem to be related and two are different. The section closest to MB Bride I'm sure was related to lumber. MB Bride was Greensburg Lumber And Mill Company previously. The other three are a mystery.

Update! A lot of these have been solved! Thanks to everybody for their help and to Bob Chicka for his Sanborn Map links.

I think this one is the most interesting of them all and it appears to be the oldest. The 1915 Sanborn Map has this listed only as "Trestle" and also includes the retaining wall.

I've seen these stone bases at many old mine sites and they're usually tipple bases of some sort. This being right below the tracks would make sense but I can find nothing of any kind of mine ever being here. Definitely railroad related, but what is it? 1915 Sanborn Maps list it as a trestle.

South end.

These are easy to miss in the summer even though they are very close to the street.

The back wall is probably twelve feet tall.

Northern corner.

View from across the street.

This is the first of the two that appear to be related. Located across the street from the Sunset Cafe parking lot. Most of the them are bins of some sort but there are a couple hoppers at the northern end. The 1915 Sanborn Map lists it as "Open 1st Ware House Vacant".

A doorway between the first two.

Other side.

A hopper with its steel door still closed.

Hardware still intact on the hopper next to an old stone retaining wall below the railroad tracks.

This is the section closest to MB Bride and could easily have been for lumber storage. The 1915 Sanborn map lists this as "J. Covode Reed Lumber Yard" and this is listed as "Open Lumber Shed".

A sealed tunnel under the tracks?

This section is across from the Public Works Dept. The 1915 Sanborn Map has this listed as "McFarland Supply Co. Warehouse Coal And Building Material".

A lot of cool old gears and hardware in this hopper.

Another hopper.

More cool hardware.

This hopper has a top section that is fenced off from the tracks.

Big old rusty gear looking up into the top section.

Old wooden retaining wall.

Looking down the street.

Southern end.

 

View of downtown from Sunset Cafe parking lot.

 

Greensburg Brewing Company

 From what I can find the brewery operated under many different names and was constructed in five sections over the years starting in 

1874-1888 - John Hagel Brewery

1888-1920 - Greensburg Brewing Company

1920-1933 - Shut down by prohibition

1933-1936 -  Greensburg Brewing Company

1936-1938 - Victor Brewing Company (of Jeannette, PA) 

1940-1941 - Old Reliable Brewing Company

Closed in 1942

This might not be entirely accurate. Some time in its history it was known as Star Brewery. 

Please contact me if you have more reliable information.

Headed down to the brewery. I love this restored house.

Brickwork on one the buildings.

Seems to be three of the buildings. Going off the 1915 Sanborn Maps, the tall building on the left was the cold storage building. The building on the right was the wash house. The tall building in the middle?

Doors.

Wash House.

I'm thinking this is the oldest building. Going off the 1915 Sanborn Map, this is the Brew House.

Looking up. Laurel Hill Foods is currently using the site.

Strange architecture but it's great the building is still here and still being used.

Cool old door handle on the brew house.

Back of the restored house looking up toward the old hoppers/bins.

 These are a couple old bottle photos I found on the internet.

Downtown

Great old ghost sign.

Troutman's building.

Closeup of detail on the Troutman's building. I'm not really up on my symbolism but there's something here.

Troutman's.

La Rose Shop sign. Five people were killed and an estimated ninety injured in a fire at the La Rose Shop on October 19, 1961.

The old Masonic Temple. I'm pretty sure this is the oldest remaining building in Greensburg. Built in 1872.

Detail above the doorway on the Masonic Temple.

1906-1908 section of the courthouse.

Barclay Westmoreland Trust Co. Building. 1928.

First National Bank ghost sign. 1924.

Scales Of Justice on top of the courthouse. There is an interesting but little known story from the coal miners strike of 1910. In August of that year the coal companies secured warrants calling for the arrest of 87 local district labor leaders on charges on conspiracy. While court was in session, the statue dropped her scales and they came crashing to the street. The courthouse was only two years old at the time, hardly enough time for the metal to deteriorate and there was not even a breeze that day.

More intricate detail.

This one is crazy. I have no idea what this symbolism is. Snakes. Very cool though.

I think these are dragons.

Looking down Main Street towards Troutman's.

Old neon sign remaining on the side of Troutman's.

Amazing old spiral fire escape on Second Street.

Pennsylvania Avenue. I'm not sure what building this is.

Detail on the top.

ANARCHY!!!

More nice old buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Nice little balcony.

I'm not sure of the status of this building.

Looking up Pennsylvania Avenue.

Thomas Lynch House

Thomas Lynch was the President of The H.C. Frick Coke Co. from 1897 to his death in 1914. He was also affiliated with a number of other interests including Carnegie Steel and U.S. Steel. He moved to Greensburg around 1890 after he became General Superintendent of the H.C. Frick Co. 

Ludwick

The old Pennsylvania Railroad Freight Station. 1911.

Still in great condition and currently being used.

Greensburg Storage And Transfer Company. This massive building was built around 1902 and sits across the street from the freight station.

The building itself pretty much tells the story of the company.

Incorporated 1901.

Established 1887.

This building is currently unused. So much potential being wasted.

Front of the train station.

Front of the Transfer building. The enormous door on the left was capable of fitting trains right into the building.

Top front of the building.

Front door.

Bridge abutments from the Radebaugh Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This branch served the mines at Radebaugh as well as Hawksworth Mine which was ahead on the right where the junk yard is on Mt. Thor Road. The western section of Ludwick was once known as Gayville and served as company housing when the mine was active. Gayville was named after Freeman C. Gay who owned the land.

Current railroad overpass.

6/22/2014
Here's a few photos of the old West Penn Railways freight terminal. It's the current Electric and Sign Building, I believe. It sits behind city hall. City Hall used to be the main depot for West Penn Electric Railroad in Greensburg, which offered passenger trolley service throughout Westmoreland and Fayette Counties. 

This concrete thing on the side of the building looks like it could have been used to work underneath the trolley cars. I could be wrong.
 

 A little bit of brick left from when the rails went to the side of the building.

And here is a before and after I made with a photo I got off of http://www.pittsburghtransit.info/wpenn.html