HISTORY OF 4154 BIGELOW BOULEVARD

The Schenley Farms Company built 4154 Bigelow Boulevard for Martin J. Dowling in 1912. The house was designed by the architecture firm of D. Simpson & Company with elements of both the Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival Styles. Martin J. Dowling was the superintendent of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company, located on the South Side of Pittsburgh. He was born and raised in Braddock in a working-class household and worked his way up through the ranks of the local steel mills. He married Mary Elizabeth Hettick, a dressmaker, in 1879, and the couple would have ten children. One of the couple’s grandchildren, Lois Moran, became a silent movie star who was well- known for movies such as Stella Dallas and other early movies. She reportedly had an affair with the author F. Scott Fitzgerald and is the basis for the character of Rosemary Hoyt in his novel, Tender is the Night. The former Dowling house at 4154 Bigelow Boulevard has now had 6 owners. Detailed information on the history of 4154 Bigelow Boulevard is contained in the following report.

Prepared by Beth Reiners and Carol J. Peterson [email protected] 2019

OWNERSHIP

Pre-construction May 3, 1905 (Allegheny County Deed Book 1388: 94): Frank F. and Margaret L. C. Nicola conveyed 4154 Bigelow Boulevard to The Schenley Farms Company for $2,500,000. This deed conveyed two adjoining large tracts of land in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. The property that was conveyed was bounded by Fifth Avenue, Boquet Street, Allequippa Street, Centre Avenue, Bellefield Avenue, and Bayard Street. Andrew Carnegie, Denny Brereton and John William Herron, trustees under the will of Mary Schenley, had conveyed the property to Frank F. Nicola on April 15, 1905.

Post-Construction December 11, 1912 (Deed Book 1752: 388): The Schenley Farms Company conveyed 4154 Bigelow Boulevard to Martin J. Dowling for $29,500. This deed included extensive covenants as to the use and maintenance of the property. The deed required that any structure built on the property be a single-family residence of brick, stone or cement (allowing for shingles above the first floor), with a construction cost not less than $18,000. Any structure built was to be parallel with Bigelow Boulevard and set back at least 35' from Bigelow Boulevard, excluding bay windows, and set back at least 5' from the northern and southern lot lines. No stable, shed, garage, or wood frame building was to be built within 120' of Bigelow Boulevard. No wooden fence was to be built within 35' of Bigelow Boulevard. The Schenley Farms Company retained the right to plant trees along the front of the property.

December 22, 1926 (Deed Book 2320: 561): Title to 4154 Bigelow Boulevard was put into Mary Elizabeth Dowling’s name. Martin J. Dowling died on January 17, 1930. May 7, 1930 (Deed Book 2415: 594): Mary Elizabeth Dowling conveyed 4154 Bigelow Boulevard to Union Trust company for $1. Martin J. Dowling’s will stipulated that all of his property be put into a trust for Mary Elizabeth Dowling until her death, at which time it would be divided among his living children. June 23, 1972 (Deed Book 5102: 21): Mellon National Bank and Trust Company, (formerly Union Trust Company), trustee under a Deed of Trust of Mary Elizabeth Dowling AKA Elizabeth Dowling and Catherine Ursula Dowling conveyed 4154 Bigelow Boulevard to Roderick W. and Joan L. Carruthers of Pittsburgh for $45,000. March 12, 1974 (Deed Book 5319: 505): Roderick W. and Joan L. Carruthers conveyed 4154 Bigelow Boulevard to George P. and Janet M. Hresko for $50,000. September 20, 1977 (Deed Book 5853: 89): George P. and Janet M. Hresko conveyed 4154 Bigelow Boulevard to Dean A. and Natalie M. Baker for $105,000. Dean A. Baker died on May 7, 2000.

December 5, 2000 (Deed Book 10929: 118): Natalie M. Baker conveyed 4154 Bigelow Boulevard to Christina M. and Ellis L. Schmidlap for $345,000. On April 7, 2017, Evan L. and Laura Smith Waxman purchased 4154 Bigelow Boulevard from Christina M. and Ellis L. Schmidlapp (Deed Book 16768: 353).

AGE OF 4154 BIGELOW BOULEVARD

Construction City of Pittsburgh building permits show that on March 13, 1912, Schenley Farms Company received a permit for a stone 12-room dwelling with a slate roof on Grant Boulevard near Tennyson. The building to be constructed was to have 2 ½ stories, measure 39 feet wide by 40 feet deep, and had an estimated cost of $15,000.

The Contractor: F. Hoffman & Company Schenley Farms Company hired F. Hoffman & Company to construct 6699 Kinsman Road. The firm’s proprietor, Frederick Hoffman of 615 Hampton Avenue, Wilkinsburg, had established the business in 1901. Buildings that F. Hoffman & Company constructed include: - La Tourelle, the Edgar J. Kaufmann mansion in Fox Chapel. - The Pittsburgh Field Club in Fox Chapel. - A house at 5016 Amberson Place, Shadyside. - A house at 5563 Northumberland Street, Squirrel Hill.

Architect: D. Simpson & Company. Schenley Farms Company hired the architectural firm of D. Simpson & Company to design 4145 Bigelow

Boulevard. The firm was located in room From the Pittsburgh Daily Post, December 31, 1911 308 of the Wabash Building in Downtown Pittsburgh. Its principal, David Simpson, lived in Crafton. Simpson was born in Scotland, and was 35 years old in 1912. He appears to have left the Pittsburgh area in about 1915. D. Simpson was one of Schenley Farms Company’s preferred architects. Deeds to unimproved lots sold in Schenley Farms included the stipulation that homes in the plan were to be designed by one of the following architects: Alden & Harlow, T.E. Bilquist, H.D. Gilchrist, Janssen & Abbott, Edward B. Lee, MacClure & Spahr, M. Nirdlinger, F.J. Osterling, Palmer & Hornbostel, Rutan & Russell, D. Simpson & Company, Louis Stevens, or Vrydaugh & Wolfe. Other work by D. Simpson & Company included the design of: - 5876 Solway Street, Squirrel Hill, circa 1909. - 5733 Northumberland Street, Squirrel Hill, 1910. - 6404 Forbes Avenue, Squirrel Hill, 1910. - 11 houses on Tennyson Avenue, Schenley Farms, 1911. - 5822 Marlborough Road, Squirrel Hill, 1911. - 5826 Marlborough Road, Squirrel Hill, 1911. - 5812 Fifth Avenue, Shadyside, 1912. - 18 two-story brick houses, Taggart Street, North Side, 1911. - 5825 Marlborough Road, Squirrel Hill, 1912. - 4319 Parkman Avenue, Schenley Farms, 1915. - 24 houses at Dennison and Aylesboro avenues, Squirrel Hill, 1915. - 4318 Murray Avenue, Greenfield, 1915. Before 1909, Simpson was a partner in Nirdlinger & Simpson. That firm’s work included the design of: - 5746 Aylesboro Avenue, Squirrel Hill, 1906. - 5267 Wilkins Avenue, Squirrel Hill, 1908. Architectural Style Simpson designed 4154 Bigelow Boulevard with a mix of Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles. The Colonial Revival style is evident in the house’s symmetrical form with centered entry, hipped roof, centered dormer, and full-width porch. The Tudor Revival elements are shown in the home’s stone and stucco exterior, and windows with diamond- shaped panes. The Colonial Revival style became popular locally in the late 1890s, partly as a reaction against what was perceived as the excessive ornamentation of the Queen Anne style. The latter was the most common architectural style for middle-class homes built in the Pittsburgh area between about 1885 and 1896. Although not lacking its own decorative conventions, the Colonial Revival style came to be perceived as more desirable because it drew from historical precedent, while the Queen Anne style was more a product of late 19th century stylistic innovations. The Colonial Revival style's popularity waned in the Pittsburgh area in around 1910. The style became popular again locally in about 1920, and remained in use into the 1930s. The Tudor Revival style was often used in Pittsburgh-area homes built between about 1920 and 1940, and less commonly between 1900 and 1910. Nationally, homes were built in this style beginning in about 1890.

MARTIN J. AND MARY ELIZABETH DOWLING

Martin J. Dowling was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania (some accounts say on the site of Kennywood) on May 12, 1853. He was the oldest son of Dennis and Mary Franey Dowling’s seven children. Dennis Dowling was a river pilot and later a bricklayer, which provided a typical working-class upbringing for Martin and his siblings. In 1875, Martin Dowling took a job working for the Edgar Thompson Steel Works in Homestead, and it was around this time that he met Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hettick, a dressmaker. Hettick was born on August 7, 1854. She was the seventh of ten children born to German immigrant Augustus Hettick and his second wife Brigitta. Augustus Hettick was a shoemaker and had a shop downtown located at 747 Penn Avenue. In later years, his daughter, Teresa, operated a dressmaking shop out of the same location. Dowling and Hettick married on September 11, 1879, and they had their first of ten children, Martin Howard, in 1880. James Walter Dowling followed in 1881, William Roger in 1883, and Dennis Eugene in 1886. During this time, Martin J. Dowling was rising through the ranks at Edgar Thompson Works, and left the company in 1886 to work for Jones & Laughlin Steel Company on the South Side, where he was first in charge of the bessemer department and later became superintendent of the entire mill. The family moved to 3264 Ward Street in South Oakland, and had five more children: Daniel Raymond in 1887, Mary Elizabeth in 1888, Margaret Alice in 1891, Catherine Ursula in 1893, John Malcom in 1895 and Josephine Claire in 1899. In the early 1900s, they then moved to a larger home at 705 Lothrop Street in Oakland where they would live until moving to 4154 Bigelow. Tragedy would strike the family in August of 1910 when their third son, Roger, was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 29. Roger had been following in his father’s footsteps and was head of the open hearth and blast furnace departments at Jones & Laughlin Steel. Roger left behind his wife of two years, and a daughter, Lois, 1. Roger’s wife, Gladys, would later marry Dr. Timothy Moran, and Lois would eventually take her stepfather’s last name. Lois Moran would grow up to become a silent film star, getting her start in the 1925 film, Stella Dallas. It was rumored that she had an affair with F. Scott Fitzgerald and that he based the character of Rosemary in his novel Tender is the Night on Moran. Newspapers from the time show that at the height of her fame, she would frequently visit family at 4154 Bigelow Boulevard. The 1920 census was the first to enumerate the Dowling family living at 4154 Bigelow Boulevard. It showed the house was owned free of a mortgage. Martin, 66, modestly listed his occupation as a “steel worker.” Mary Elizabeth did not work outside the home and the couple lived with three of their children: James Walter, who was also a steel worker, and Ursula and Josephine, who did not work outside the home. Martin J. Dowling died of a heart attack on January 17, 1930 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery. When the 1930 census was taken, Mary Elizabeth was now the widowed head of household. She lived with her son, James Walter, who was now 47 and was a commercial salesman for a brick company. Ursula, now 34, still lived in the home and had no occupation. J. Malcom, 35, had moved back home and was working as a salesman for a publishing company. James Walter and Ursula were still living with their mother at the time of the 1940 census. J. Walter had worked 52 weeks in 1939 and had earned over $5,000. Ursula did not work outside of the home. The family also employed three live-in maids in 1940. Joan Beline, 27, was a naturalized German immigrant with a fifth-grade education. Beline had worked 52 weeks in 1939 and had earned $480 for the year. Nina Harris, 30, was a native of Pennsylvania. Harris had graduated high school and was married. She had worked 28 weeks in 1939 and had earned $400. Thelma Davis was a 40-year-old widow from Virginia. Davis had an 8th grade education, and had worked 28 weeks in 1939, earning $208. In 1940, according to census records, that 4154 Bigelow Boulevard had an estimated value of $15,000. The house’s value was estimated at $40,000 in 1930, before the Great Depression affected property values throughout the Pittsburgh area and in other regions of the United States. The 1940 census is the last census that provides information on residents of 4154 Bigelow Boulevard. Manuscript census records are withheld from public view for 72 years, to protect the privacy of persons who were enumerated Mary Elizabeth Dowling died on November 19, 1942 and is buried in the family plot in Calvary Cemetery. J. Walter Dowling lived at 4154 Bigelow Boulevard until his death on August 16, 1968. C. Ursula Dowling would live in the home until 1972, and she passed away shortly afterward on February 5, 1973. Ursula and Walter are also buried in the family plot.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS

The following materials accompany this report: -Copies of parts of plat maps of the area around 4154 Bigelow Boulevard published in 1882, 1890, 1910, and 1923. - A photograph of the Dowling family from 1905. - Photographs of Martin and Mary Elizabeth Dowling. - “Steel Expert is Killed by his Automobile,” from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 29, 1910. - “Will Have Beautiful Home,” from the Pittsburgh Daily Post, December 20, 1911. - “Pretty Houses Being Designed by Architects,” from the Pittsburgh Press, December 20, 1911. - “Much Building Under Way,” from the Pittsburgh Daily Post, June 6, 1912. - A letter from Martin J. Dowling to the developers of Schenley Farms. - Martin J. Dowling’s retirement announcement from Iron Trade Review, 1920. - “Officer Shoots Alleged Robber,” from the Pittsburgh Press, November 21, 1927.

- The obituary of Martin J. Dowling, from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 18, 1930. - “Lois Moran Halts Trip,” from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 20, 1930. - “Widow and Children get Dowling Estate,” from the Pittsburgh Press, February 11, 1930. - “Sues for Love,” from the Pittsburgh Press, July 19, 1932. - “Lois Moran Neglects Wedding Bells for Job,” from the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, March 15, 1933. - The obituary of Mary Elizabeth Hettick Dowling from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 20, 1942. - The obituary of J. Walter Dowling from the Pittsburgh Press, August 17, 1968. - The obituary of C. Ursula Dowling from the Pittsburgh Press, February 6, 1973. - The obituary of Lois Moran Young from The Los Angeles Times, July 16, 1990.

A portrait of the Dowling Family from 1905

Martin and Mary Elizabeth Downing

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 29, 1910

Pittsburgh Daily Post, December 20, 1911

Pittsburgh Press, December 20, 1911

Pittsburgh Daily Post, June 6, 1912

Pittsburgh Press, November 21, 1927

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 18, 1930

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 20, 1930

Pittsburgh Press, February 11, 1930

Pittsburgh Press, July 19, 1932

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, March 15, 1933

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 20, 1942

Pittsburgh Press, August 17, 1968

Pittsburgh Press, February 6, 1973

The Los Angeles Times, July 16, 1990