Koppers Tower

Koppers Building
Koppers Tower (left) and Gulf Tower, 2015
General information
Type Offices
Location 436 Seventh Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°26′31″N 79°59′44″W / 40.44194°N 79.99556°W / 40.44194; -79.99556Coordinates: 40°26′31″N 79°59′44″W / 40.44194°N 79.99556°W / 40.44194; -79.99556
Construction started 1927
Completed March, 1929
Cost $5.3 million
($75.5 million today)
Height
Roof 475 ft (145 m)
Technical details
Floor count 34
Floor area 290,464 sq ft (26,985 m2)
Lifts/elevators 13
Design and construction
Architect Graham, Anderson, Probst & White with E. P. Mellon
Developer Andrew W. Mellon
Main contractor Mellon-Stuart
Designated 1973[1]

Koppers Building is a historical building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, commissioned by Andrew W. Mellon and completed in 1929. The tower is named after the Koppers Chemical Corporation and is one of the major distinctive and recognizable features of Downtown Pittsburgh.

Overview

Koppers Building was completed in March 1929, and it has 34 floors at a cost of $5.3 million (equivalent to $75.5 million in 2017).[2] It rises 475 feet (145 m) above Downtown Pittsburgh. Its address is Grant Street & Seventh Avenue. It is the best example of Art Deco construction and ornamentation in Pittsburgh.[3]

It is constructed with Indiana limestone with a polished granite base and dark copper roof. Inside the Koppers Tower the lobby is richly decorated with marble walls. Its copper roof is pitched in a chateau-like design and is illuminated at night. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst & White.

In February 1948, Equitable of New York purchased the building for $6 million (equivalent to $65.8 million in 2017).[4]

References

  1. Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  2. Gannon, Joyce (November 14, 2004). "As Koppers Building marks 75 years, the iconic structure also marks changes in region". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  3. Conti, John (May 4, 2013). "Art Deco style survives in Pittsburgh — if you look around". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  4. "Koppers Building Chronology". Historic Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved November 26, 2017.

Further reading

  • Toker, Franklin (2007). Buildings of Pittsburgh. Center for American Places. ISBN 978-0813926506.

Media related to Koppers Tower at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Two PNC Plaza
Pittsburgh Skyscrapers by Height
475 feet (145 m)
35 floors
Succeeded by
Grant Building
Preceded by
Grant Building
Pittsburgh Skyscrapers by Year of Completion
1929
Succeeded by
Gulf Tower
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