History

When it was built in 1928, the Grant Building was the tallest and most prestigious building in the City of Pittsburgh. It is on Grant Street's premier business location, adjacent to the City-County Building and Allegheny County Courthouse.

Renowned architect Henry Hornbostel, pictured right, created a building in the classic Beaux Arts style to compete with the great high rises of the early twentieth century. Developers spared no expense, cladding the building in Swedish Granite at its base and topping the building with a flamboyant neon tower that spells out P-I-T-T-S-B-U-R-G-H in Morse Code. Like the Empire State Building, the Grant Building with its mast helped aviators to locate their way. Both buildings became iconic symbols of their cities.

The list of tenants occupying the Grant Building through the years reads like a Who's Who of successful power brokers. Today the building houses respected attorneys, judges, and financiers. McKnight Realty Partners has undertaken an ambitious restoration of the Grant Building to align the Class A building with their signature project, Heinz 57 Center.

The Grant Building. Location. History. Power.