pittsburgh

Carnegie Museum Auctions Off George Romney Portraits

Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Art is selling off five portraits by British portrait artist George Romney at Christie's New York on January 26. The works were painted between 1770 and 1789 and according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette they have not been exhibited at Carnegie Museum of Art since the 1930s. Four of the five portraits were donated to the museum in 1929 after the death of Katharine Louise Siedle, widow of J. Willis Dalzell. She had collected the art and it hung in her dining room. Romney's work was popular amount the wealthy in the early 20th century. The museum decided to sell the art because their storage space is limited and the museum's curators continue to collect.

The painting of Colin Dunlop of Carmyle, the provost of Glasgow, shown at right, carries the highest estimate: $25,000 to $35,000. The other pieces are estimated at between $10,000 to $20,000.

Tags: carnegie museum, carnegie museum of art, pittsburgh

Table Games Gambling To Boost Pennsylvania's Coffers

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Pennsylvania gambling went a step further this week with the official opening of table games at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that 80 people were waiting in line at 6 a.m. to get started on opening day. The North Shore casino has 86 table games including a poker room, blackjack, craps and roulette. Table games were also launched at the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County and at Presque Isle Downs and Casino in Erie. State legislators approved table gaming this year as a move to help repair the budget deficit. The state keeps 14 percent of the revenue and the host counties and municipalities get one percent each.

The Rivers Casino is open 24 hours a day. It has five restaurants including a buffet and Andrew's Steak & Seafood, a restaurant named for several important Pittsburgh Andrews such as Carnegie, Mellon and Warhol. There are also several bars and a sports lounge.

Tags: pennsylvania gambling, pennsylvania gaming control board, pittsburgh, rivers casino, table gaming

New Fairmont Hotel Open In Pittsburgh

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is bringing their brand of hotel luxury to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the opening of the Fairmont Pittsburgh. The new hotel in Three PNC Plaza has 185 guestrooms some with river views, a large health club and two dining options. Andys' bar, named after two of the city's most famous Andrews - Carnegie and Warhol - and Habitat restaurant, which features local ingredients in globally-inspired cuisine are both located in the double-height lobby of the hotel. The hotel features local artwork and artifacts from the excavation of the building site are also on display. The Fairmont Pittsburgh is offering an introductory It's a Date package with deluxe accommodation and a $50 food and beverage credit for $179 per night double occupancy through June 30, 2010.

Tags: fairmont pittsburgh, fairmonth hotels, pittsburgh, pittsburgh hotels

Timberhill Road, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column reported earlier this week that Jeffrey M. Lipton, the former chief executive of Nova Chemicals, has listed his Pittsburgh-area house for $7.75 million. Lipton's home is in the pricey suburb of Sewickley Heights. He tells the Journal that he spent around $6 million to build the home and buy the land in 2002. He is moving his family to Scottsdale, Arizona.

The six-bedroom home is roughly 13,000 square feet and is on 11 wooded acres. The home has a terrace, pool, five-car garage and vegetable gardens. It's a beautiful, modern family home with plenty of light and room and a far more gracious interior than the blocky exterior might suggest. The open floor plan and high wood ceiling make the home seem both spacious and warm. A large stone fireplace serves as a divider between living and dining areas and the kitchen is open to the rest of the space. The sunroom has another stone fireplace and does the media room which also includes a wet bar.

Gallery: Timberhill Road

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Tags: jeffrey lipton, JeffreyLipton, nova chemicals, NovaChemicals, pennsylvania, pittsburgh

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Which Cities Are Ready For A Real Estate Rebound?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

What's that sound in the distance, could it be the distant rumblings of a real estate recovery? The economy is still in flux but there are reasons to be hopeful. U.S. News & World Report has compiled a list of cities that may escape the tremendous dip in commercial real estate and be on their way to a full scale recovery. The data comes from REIS, a real estate research firm and looks at retail and office vacancy rates in the 79 biggest metro areas factoring in projections for 2010. Some of the entries on the list might surprise you (or at least they surprised me). Washington D.C. isn't shocking but Pittsburgh, Tulsa and Louisville, Kentucky are all on the list. It seems that in the commercial real estate game the smaller cities have fared better.

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Tags: commercial real estate, CommercialRealEstate, fairfield county, FairfieldCounty, pittsburgh, real estate markets, RealEstateMarkets, tampa, washington dc, WashingtonDc

Steelers Super Bowl Rings Prove Bling Never Goes Out Of Style For Champions

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Sports

Think bling is over? Don't tell that to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The rings celebrating their record-setting sixth Super Bowl title are covered in diamonds. The rings created by Jostens have 63 round brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 3.61 carats. The six round brilliant-cut diamonds on the top of the ring celebrate the six victories; the previous year's Steelers Super Bowl rings featured five oval diamonds. The Super Bowl XLIII logo is done on a field of green enamel and six Lombardi Trophies are shown on the side of the ring. Each ring is cast in 14K gold and personalized for the owner. The cost of the rings and the appraisal value haven't been released.

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Tags: pittsburgh, pittsburgh steelers, PittsburghSteelers, steelers, super bowl, SuperBowl

Luxury Condo Projects Bloom In Downtown Pittsburgh

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Big construction is going on in downtown Pittsburgh. The downtown area which has long been in a state of slow decline is looking to be revitalized thanks to a couple of major projects especially the Piatt Place project. Piatt Place will be a redesign of the Lazarus department store building. Two upscale chain restaurants, McCormick and Schmick's and the Capital Grille will anchor the building and the rest of the building will be turned into offices and condos. The residential units are new construction, built on a new slab on top of the roof. The condos start $330,000 to $1.5 million each and in an article on KDKA it has been reported that 40% of the units are under contract.

But in a nationwide market that is not, for the most part, favoring condos, there may be trouble ahead. For example at another high-end project in Pittsburgh, 151 First Side, owners have closed on more than half of the 83 units but a handful are already up for resale. At the Carlyle, a project that has currently a 6,000-square-foot penthouse listed at $2.195 million, half of the 60 units are under contract but many of those buyers are investors and the second phase of the project is on hold. It seems that the problem in Pittsburgh isn't so much a condo glut of the type that has affected so many other cities, but instead is a question of changing people's perceptions of life downtown and whether or not people are willing to pay these types of prices when for the same amount of money they could get a fairly large home in the suburbs.

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Tags: condominiums, development, pennsylvania, pittsburgh

Babcock Mansion, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Pittsburgh recently made the Forbes list of most affordable cities. The probably weren't thinking about the high end of the market but there are deals there too. Check out the Babcock Mansion, a vintage beauty in the Shadyside area that dates back from the 1880s. The elegantly columned home was designed by Pittsburgh Architect George Orth for the founders of the Babcock Lumber company. The home has entertained presidents, Madam Curie, Mary Pickford and a host of others. The home has five bedrooms and all sorts of period details including stained glass, ten exquisite fireplaces, hardwood floors, chandeliers and ornate ceilings. It's gorgeous although as we often see with older homes, it might not work for those with more modern wishes like a home theater and a massive bathroom. It is listed at just $1.85 million. After the jump, walls that whisper history.

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Tags: babcock, estate of the day, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, mansion, pennsylvania, pittsburgh

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Sunnyledge Boutique Hotel

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Need a place to stay in the Pittsburgh area? The Sunnyledge Boutique Hotel and Tea Room in Shadyside is an intimate Victorian-style hotel. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tells the story of Avery Abrams and Patricia Romeo who bought the property for $250,000 at auction over 10 years ago and painstakingly brought it back to its former glory. The mansion was built in 1886 and has been restored with an eye toward maintaining its Gilded Age charm and decorated with finds sourced from around the world. The eight-bedroom hotel is also home to a martini bar and a dining room. Suites cost $275 per night and the rooms are appointed with king size beds, cable television, and marble bathroom with Jacuzzi tubs.

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Tags: boutique hotel, pennsylvania, pittsburgh, sunnyledge

The Montecristo Club at PNC Park

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

Pittsburgh Pirates fans have a new posh place to relax while attending a game. The Montecristo Club, located on the Pittsburgh Baseball Club Level at PNC Park and offers cocktails, cigars, live jazz and blues performances. The club will host 200 members each night during the Pirates 81-game home schedule. The new club has special ventilation system to eliminate smoke from inside the club and not allow it to enter other areas of the ballpark. The club offers private cigar lockers to the first 100 full-season memberships. Full season memberships cost $4,800.

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Tags: baseball, montecristo club, MontecristoClub, pennsylvania, pittsburgh, pittsburgh pirates, pnc park