Gathered Fragments The Publication of the Catholic Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania

Historia Fidei Lux Vol. XITI, No. 2, Fall 2002 Epiphany in Uptown - 100 Years By Father James Garvey ~~~~~------~------:fi~%i~ widely before o understand the arriving at a deci- history of Epiphany sion to sell the T Parish, it is neces- Cathedral proper- . sary to review the history ty. Moreover, of St. Paul Cathedral. St. Bishop Phelan Paul Cathedral was origi- was sensitive to nally located at the comer the feeling of the of Grant Street and Fifth Catholic commu- Avenue (Woods Plan. lots# nity in the matter 421, 422, 423, 424, Deed of the disposition Book Volume 1143, P. of the most promi- 315). This was prime nent church in the downtown property, diago- D i o c e s e . nally across the street from Unfortunately, St. the Allegheny County Paul's was never Court House. Ownership successful in pay- of the property and building was seven inches each) so that the parish- ing down its sub- ' transferred from the estate of James ioners could gain admittance to the stantial debt. Over a period of sever­ O'Hara (DBV #47, P. 148-149) to church from Grant Street. al years, Bishop Phelan consulted Bishop Francis P. Kenrick, April 25, Unfortunately there was a devastat- with the clergy of the Diocese, 1834, when Pittsburgh was still part ing fire May 6, 1851, which prominent Catholic citizens, and of the Diocese of Philadelphia. When destroyed the Cathedral building. especially the priests and parish­ the Diocese of Pittsburgh was estab- The Bishop, however, ordered that ioners of St. Paul Cathedral before lished in August 1843, St. Paul's, the cathedral be rebuilt _ at much arriving at a decision concerning the located on the most prominent hill in expense - on the same Grant Street sale of the Cathedral property. At a downtown Pittsburgh, became the site. The newly constructed meeting held with the parishioners of Cathedral Church in the newly Cathedral was dedicated June 25 St. Paul Cathedral April 9, 1901, a formed Diocese. • 1855. ' resolution was passed that the Bishop The prominent positioning of St. The "new" Cathedral building was to sell the property for a sum Paul Cathedral on Grant Street meant served the needs of the Diocese of "not less than one million three hun- that it stood above much of the rest of Pittsburgh for many years. dred thousand dollars." the City. That situation, however, Unfortunately over the years the Bishop Phelan approached the was not always an advantage. Diocese was never able to pay off the Court of Common Pleas May 31, 1 Newspaper reports indicated that in oppressive debt associated with 901 (No. 597, June Term, 1901), 1836 Grant Street was lowered rebuilding the cathedral, and the which issued an order that the prop­ approximately ten feet. In 1848, church rectory (where the Bishop erty might be sold at private sale. Grant Street was lowered another lived) on that same property. In the September 28, 1901, Bishop Phelan seven feet. This unfortunate set of intervening years, the property on sold St. Paul Cathedral property at circumstances required that the pas- ~r~nt Street increased in value sig- the comer of Grant Street and Fifth tor of St. Paul Cathedral erect a 15- mflcantly. Throughout the closing Avenue to Henry Clay Frick for foot wooden stair tower (26 steps of decade of the 19th century, Bishop $1,325,000. Straightway that deci- Phelan moved slowly and consulted Continued on next page. Gathered Fragments

sion was made, plans were put in poral needs of his parishioners, and place to: (1) Erect Epiphany Church, the multi-ethnic peoples of the neigh­ rectory and school a few blocks away borhood. Fr. 0' Connell served as the on Washington Place to serve the pastor of Epiphany for 54 years. He ·Catholic families who lived in the experienced both the zenith and the . Uptown area. (2) Planning was decline of the parish in his own life­ begun in earnest to construct a new time. In 1903, when Epiphany grade · St. Paul Cathedral to be built on Fifth school first opened, the Uptown Avenue in the Schenley Farms area neighborhood consisted mostly of of Oakland. Epiphany Church would immigrant Irish families. The Sisters serve as the pro-cathedral until the of Mercy welcomed all to the school, "new" St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland and made sure the children learned came into use in 1906. The Grant their catechism as well as reading, Street site where the old St. Paul Artist Taber S~~;; ~ ·~~tercolor plan for writing and arithmetic. At its peak, Cathedral stood for so many ,years Epiphany s sanctuary. student enrollment throughout eight became the site for one of the most grades was nearly 1,200 students. In T. Comes and cast in Europe. architecturally interesting structures subsequent years, as the neighbor­ The final Mass at St. Paul in Pittsburgh, the Union Arcade, later hood changed, newly immigrated Cathedral was celebrated in May known as The Union Trust Building. families moved in. The Mercy Sisters 1903. Bishop Richard Phelan, after a Bishop Phelan himself blessed the also welcomed these children, whose lifetime of service to God and the newly laid cornerstone at Epiphany parents had come from Italy, East~rn Church, died at St. Paul Orphanage, Church August 1O, 1902. The cost for Europe and Lebanon. At one pomt, December 20, 1904. He was buried . e~ecting Epiphany Church, rectory 30% of the student body was made from Epiphany Church, the pro­ and school was $386,016.12. The up of Syrian Maronite children. cathedral. Church is a red brick Romanesque After Fr. O'Connell had accom­ Epiphany church was used for structure with Byzantine details. plished all that was necessary so ~hat daily and Sunday celebrations of Edward Stotz served as architect. the new parish was up and runmng, Mass and the sacraments by the con­ Taber Sears executed the paintings of he began to construct the Pittsburgh gregation, but its many appointments Christ and the apostles which domi­ Lyceum opposite the parish chu.rch at were not completed until 1910. The nate the sanctuary. Magnificent llO Washington Place (the stte of pews, statues, vestments, station~ of stained-glass windows were Chatham Center today). Originally a the cross and various other furntsh­ designed and installed between 1903 group of young men from the neigh­ ing from St. Paul Cathedral were and 1910 by George Satter. On the borhood had met in the basement of transferred to Epiphany. Four larger­ left side these windows depict famil­ St. Paul Cathedral; now they had a than-life statues from the Cathedral iar stories from the New Testament; new building devoted to organized are still to be found at Epiphany. The on the right side stories from the Old sports and supervised activities for figure of Christ is at the peak of the Testament. The marble canopy over young men. Two well-known boxers Church exterior in front, flanked by the main altar contains the extraordi­ trained at the Lyceum: Harry Greb St. Peter and St. Paul. St. John occu­ nary Venetian mosaic tympanum of and Billy Conn. Conn challenged J~e pies a favorite spot in the small gar­ the Visit of the Magi, and on the Louis for the heavyweight champi­ den outside the priest's sacristy. The upper arch the enameled mosaic of onship. The Lyceum also offered a children who had been attending St. the Lamb of God. Marble for the lending library, a lecture series, and Paul Cathedral Grade School, and the sanctuary was ordered and cut in adult education. The Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy who taught them, all Pietrasanta, Italy and reconstructed Lyceum offered English as a second transferred to Epiphany School in when it was delivered to Epiphany language class for newly immigrated 1903 _ as soon as the new school Church. Various marbles are used. families until the City of Pittsburgh building was ready for occupancy. These include, Carrara, the purplish­ took on this responsibility more than Bishop Phelan appointed Rev. yellow Pavonazzo, Dipolliono, red a decade later. Lawrence O'Connell the first pastor Verona and the deep Numidian. Fr. O'Connell had a compassion­ of Epiphany Parish. Fr. O'Connell Bronze tabernacle doors, the cruci­ ate love for children. He worked with shepherded his flock with care, and fixes and candlesticks, and commu­ particular enthusiasm to establ.is~ helped to meet the spiritual and tern- nion rail gates were designed by John programs that would aid underpnvt- Gathered Fragments leged children from the city neigh­ offered each Sunday at Epiphany accomplishment. However, the rules borhood that surrounded Epiphany from 1905 to 1991. In addition to the for urban renewal so well practiced Church. He was instrumental in printers, many couples who were in Gateway Center would not trans­ working with cdmmunities of reli­ "out on the town," uniformed police fer as readily to the area known as the gious women and lay people in open­ and firemen, college students and Lower Hill. In the late 1950s, the city ing St. Rita's Home for Babies, St. others frequented this early-morning fathers and industrial and business Anne's Day Nursery, and the Mass. The priests from Epiphany leaders once again set to work to Raphael Temporary Home for Older Parish also began offering Mass each enlarge and "improve" the Uptown Children. He also established Camp Sunday at the Allegheny County Jail, Pittsburgh neighborhoods, so that the O'Connell in Bradford Woods to pro­ a few blocks away. City might expand into this area that vide a 'fresh-air camp' experience for Beginning in the 19th century and had been a residential neighborhood needy boys and girls. He played a continuing into the 20th Century, for more than a century. major role in orgamzmg the Pittsburgh was hailed as one of the Although it took a number of Downtown Boys Club (1916), primary industrial centers in the years to plan, urban renewal in the launching the St. Vincent de Paul nation. The railroad and coal indus­ Uptown-Lower Hill District neigh­ Society Store (1919), and served as tries fed the steel industry which had borhoods had a ravaging impact Secretary of the Diocesan Charities grown up along the Ohio, the almost overnight. In the late 1950s Commission from 1,914 to 194 7. In Allegheny and the Monogahelia and early 1960s, the neighborhood 1912 Fr. O'Connell was the director River valleys. Urban planning was a surrounding Epiphany Parish was of a campaign to raise $200,000 to little known science in the early part bulldozed off the map. In less than build the St. Regis Residence for of the 20th Century. The Pittsburgh six months ten thousand families Women on Congress street, behind region was too busy expanding into were relocated. Homes and business­ Epiphany School. St. Regis an industrial giant to bother planning es were torn down, and the rubble Residence offered a protective place parks, open spaces, or greenery in the was hauled away. No one in living to live (room & board) for women downtown area. However, when memory remembered seeing so much who came from the countryside in Pittsburgh was reinventing itself in flat land in the Uptown neighbor­ search of employment in the City of the 1950s following World War II, hood waiting to be developed. The Pittsburgh. This service continued one of the major efforts was the effect was devastating. It was one until 2000, when the program was demolition of the mills, factories and thing to tear down aging factory or ended. Plans by another agency for a warehouses which had grown up and machine-shop buildings as had been program to help meet the needs of surrounded Fort Pitt in what is now done in the Gateway Center. It was low-income women in that building known as The Golden Triangle. In much more painful and damaging to never came to fruition. The parish those years, it was difficult to find a the human spirit to displace such a now awaits proposals for another use grassy spot or a tree downtown. significant number of families in a of the St. Regis building. Many voca­ When they cleared away the rubble city neighborhood. tions to the priesthood and religious from the demolished factories, it was I have not been able to discover life came from among the families a very pleasing site to see the stain­ research describing how widely the who attended Epiphany Parish. less steel Gateway Center office city fathers consulted with Bishop O'Connell, during the later years of buildings, the State Office Building, Hugh C. Boyle or Bishop John his life, established a ·scholarship and the Hilton Hotel towering over a Dearden concerning the proposed program for the education of semi­ tree lined grassy park where the urban planning that would have such narians at St. Mary Seminary, begrimed factories had been. Point a devastating effect on the Uptown Baltimore. State Park with a beautiful fountain neighborhoods. In hindsight, though, In the early 1900s seven newspa­ was situated at the beginning of the I suspect no one in the Church, City pers were printed each day in Ohio River. It was a first-rate accom­ or the industrial-business community Pittsburgh. The Catholic printers plishment among industrial cities in could have envisioned the frightful asked Fr. O'Connell if a Mass could the northeast, and an achievement of effects this particular urban-renewal be offered when they finished their which the city fathers and industrial effort would visit upon the low­ shift at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning. leaders of Pittsburgh could take income families who peopled the Permission was sought from and much pride. neighborhood. Epiphany Parish, in granted by Church authorities in Redevelopment in the area around less than six months, was reduced Rome, and the 2:30 a.m. Mass was The Point was an award-winning from 2,200 families to 350 families. St. Peter's Church, Fernando Street, include painting and spot pointing and· other community institutions the exterior of the church, painting were ·closed and demolished. Old the interior of the church, repairing streets were relocated, and new many of the stained glass windows in streets appeared where none had the church, and remodeling the been before. The infrastructure of the parish hall and kitchen. Our current whole neighborhood collapsed project is to raise $180,000.00 to almost overnight. Gone were the gas repair the beautiful, but aging, pipe . stations, neighborhood grocery organ that was installed early in the stores, drug stores, florist shops, bars 20th century. and restaurants. Before the demoli­ Epiphany's original European-crafted fix­ The shape of the future for tures: candlesticks, lamps and a crucifix, tion was complete, and the new Epiphany Parish is clear, yet at the surounding the tabernacle door. buildings began to rise from the rub­ same time cloaked in mystery. It is clear that Epiphany Parish continues ble, Epiphany Church, ' School, located within the parish. Each pastor a long tradition of serving parish­ Rectory and the St. Regis Building over the years, working with the ioners and others in the wider com­ were the only structures remaining parishioners, struggled to define and munity by celebrating the sacraments from what was once a vital, pulsating then redefine the role Epiphany and preaching the Gospel. How that multiethnic neighborhood. parish would play in serving the tradition of service will be exercised For more than 50 years Fr. Catholic community. As we celebrate in the future is a mystery, given the O'Connell had ministered to thou­ our 100th Anniversary, that role has continuing and unknown evolution sands and thousands of families in become much more clearly defined. of the community surrounding Epiphany Parish. Now he was Epiphany parish continues to serve shocked to witness the dislocation of Epiphany Church. As the Parish cel­ the Catholic faithful who live in the ebrates this Centennial, we look to these same parishioners to other parts neighborhood, the faculty and stu­ of the City and County. It was too the past with thanksgiving for all that dents at Duquesne University, and has been, even as we look to the much. At age 84 he submitted his res­ the medical staff and personnel at ignation to Bishop Dearden, retired future with confidence and trust in Mercy Hospital. At the same time, Jesus Christ for all that is yet to in residence, and died in 1959. we also serve the Catholic faithful come. Subsequent pastors who served who live in the suburbs, and travel to Epiphany Parish with distinction and the city for employment or shopping, The author of this history, Father constancy are: Rev. Daniel A. who want to attend church in down­ Gearing, Rev. Daniel H. Brennan, James Garvey, is pastor of Epiphany town Pittsburgh. Parish and a longtime member of the Auxiliary Bishop John B. McDowell Each of the pastors since Fr. (served as pastor for 28 years), Rev. board of the Catholic Historical O'Connell, in his own way, has Society of Western Pennsylvania. Thomas F. Manion, Rev. Robert E. undertaken some remodeling and Spangenberg, C.S.S.P., Rev. E. renovation projects to update the Daniel Sweeney, and the current pas­ parish. Most recently these efforts tor Rev. James W. Garvey. Each of these pastors - and the assistant Your Membership Makes pastors who worked with them - Historical Society Board of has done his best to serve the fami­ Our Work P.ossible Directors lies who people a much smaller Anthony P. Joseph, President parish neighborhood in what is now Sustaining Member $25 Blanche McGuire, Vice President defined a "downtown parish." Institutional Member $15 Robert P. Lockwood, Secretary The Crosstown Boulevard slices Individual Member $10 Mike Aquilina, Treasurer through what was once a vital part of Individual Vowed Religious $5 John C. Bates Epiphany Parish. Chatham Center Additional donations help the society Paul Demilio and the Marriott Hotel have grown to complete research, publishing, and preservation projects in local Church Msgr. Russell A. Duker up across the street from the Church. Paul Dvorchak Opposite the rectory, the Mellon history. To find out more, contact us at Catholic Historical Society of Father James Garvey Arena draws crowds for hockey Western Pa., Synod Hall, 125 North Regina Kelly games and other recreational activi­ Craig Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213- Father David J. Kriss ties. New apartment houses and a 1510. Kathleen M. Washy few other buildings have also been