Founded by Mary J. Paradise in 1991, the nonprofit organization, Preservation Pittsburgh, was born out of an unsuccessful, although very significant, attempt to prevent the demolition of an Oakland landmark: the Syria Mosque. A performance venue located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Bigalow Boulevard in Oakland, the Syria Mosque was designed by Huehl, Schmidt & Holmes architectural firm of Chicago and constructed in 1912. As part of an official Master Plan, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) successfully lobbied the Pittsburgh City Planning Commission to raze the Syria Mosque to make way for an expansion of its medical facilities. Preservation Pittsburgh emerged out of the mobilization of concerned citizens in a very public protest and campaign known as the "Save the Syria Mosque Organization." Despite attempts by the Pittsburgh City Council to preserve the building, the Syria Mosque was torn down beginning in August 1991; today the site contains a parking lot. This mobilization effort gave birth to Preservation Pittsburgh, which soon developed into a viable activist group with an advanced structure of bylaws, officers, a vast membership, and numerous committees in place, each with a prerogative concerning the retention and creation of designated historic landmarks, buildings, and districts. The organization's mission statement advocates for public awareness of local history and preservation, as well as the promotion of relevant goals to public officials, most notably the City Council. It has functioned to mitigate and instigate deliberations between government and development institutions, private groups, and citizen organizations in favor of its mission. It also has financially supported the creation and restoration of endangered historic landmarks, primarily buildings. Significant successful campaigns include the designation and restoration of Schenley Farms as a historic district as well as the Oakland Civic Center. Preservation Pittsburgh also supported the designation of the King Estate as a historic landmark, and other nineteenth-century mansions such as the former Victoria Hall, now the Waldorf School. Ascetic projects were also successfully undertaken to ban excessive billboard signs by recommending stringent regulations to the Pittsburgh City Planning Commission.
From the description of Preservation Pittsburgh Records, 1985-2005. (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 701727264
