Pittsburgh Athletic Association

The Pittsburgh Athletic Association was a private social club and athletic club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Its clubhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]

Pittsburgh Athletic Association
Pittsburgh Athletic Association
Pittsburgh Athletic Association is located in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Athletic Association
Pittsburgh Athletic Association is located in Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Athletic Association
Pittsburgh Athletic Association is located in the United States
Pittsburgh Athletic Association
Location4215 5th Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°26′42″N 79°57′17″W
Area0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built1909-1911
ArchitectBenno Janssen
Architectural styleVenetian High Renaissance
Part ofSchenley Farms Historic District (ID83002213[1])
NRHP reference No.78002338[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 15, 1978
Designated CPJuly 22, 1983
Designated PHLF1970[2]

Located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard in the city's Oakland district, it faces three other landmark buildings: the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning and William Pitt Union (formerly The Schenley Hotel) as well as the Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial. The latter, as well as the nearby Twentieth Century Club, being designed by noted architect, Benno Janssen.

The club was organized in 1908 by real estate developer Franklin Nicola. Architect Benno Janssen (1874—1964) used a Venetian Renaissance palace as a prototype for his design, perhaps Palazzo Grimani or Libreria on Piazza San Marco. The structure was completed in 1911. Prior to that, the club operated out of the Farmer's Bank Building (now razed), downtown at Forbes St (then Diamond) and Smithfield.

The Pittsburgh Athletic Association was a nonprofit membership club chartered in 1908, operating to 2017.[4]

It offered comprehensive athletic facilities, sports lessons, spa services, fine dining, and overnight accommodations. Some of the building's more interesting features include a pool on the third floor, full basketball and squash courts, a 16 lane bowling alley, and a room dedicated to former University of Pittsburgh football coach Johnny Majors. The club had several annual events, the most popular including an Easter brunch, a lobster dinner, and collegiate boxing events.

From 1916 to 1920, the PAA fielded an elite amateur ice hockey team featuring such Canadian stars as Herb Drury and brothers Joe and Larry McCormick. The team won the championship of the short-lived National Amateur Hockey League in 1918.[5] When the Olympic Games first included ice hockey in 1920, four of the eleven players on the silver medal-winning U.S. team came from the PAA squad.[6]

The clubhouse is currently undergoing a complete renovation and restoration after which the club will be housed in a smaller space incorporating athletics, lap pool, and fine dining. It is slated to reopen in 2020.

In film

In 2009, the film Love & Other Drugs, directed by Edward Zwick and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Hank Azaria, filmed a scene in the Pittsburgh Athletic Association's Grill Room. The 2010 film, She's Out of My League was partly filmed in the bowling alley.[7]

See also

References
  • Kidney, Walter C. (1997). Pittsburgh's Landmark Architecture: The Historic Buildings of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. ISBN 0-916670-18-X.
  • Miller, Donald (1997). The Architecture of Benno Janssen. Pittsburgh: Madison Books. ISBN 0-9660-9550-2.
  • Toker, Franklin (1994) [1986]. Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-5434-6.

[8] [9]

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. "Internet Archive: Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation: PHLF Plaques & Registries". 2007-01-27. Archived from the original on 2007-01-27. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  3. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Pittsburgh Athletic Association" (PDF). 1973. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
  4. Sabatini, Patricia (August 8, 2017). "Pittsburgh Athletic Association reviewing 10 proposals for clubhouse in Oakland". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  5. "Winged Head Is Winner". The Pittsburg Press. March 10, 1918. Sports sec., p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Howard, Tom, ed. (1921). Official Ice Hockey Guide and Winter Sports Almanac 1921. Spalding's Athletic Library. New York: American Sports Publishing Co. p. 17 – via Internet Archive.
  7. Navratil, Liz (2009-09-18). "Jake Gyllenhaal on campus". The Pitt News. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  8. "Pitt students forced to abandon rented rooms at Pittsburgh Athletic Association". www.post-gazette.com. Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  9. "Pittsburgh Athletic Association's liquor license revoked". www.post-gazette.com. Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 12, 2017.

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