The Pennsylvania National Bank Building is a historic building in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located on a prominent site facing Doughboy Square, the acute intersection of Butler Street and Penn AvenueGannon, Joyce. "Sprucing Up the Neighborhood." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 31, 1993, p. 17 (subscription required). which is often considered the "entrance to Lawrenceville"."Will Not Build Until Next Year: Pennsylvania National Bank Postpones Erection of New Building." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Daily Post, March 28, 1901, p. 10 (subscription required).Notice of Bank Opening Event (column two). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, May 27, 1903, p. 16 (subscription required).
History The building was constructed in 1902–03 as the new headquarters of the Pennsylvania National Bank, which had operated out of an earlier three-story building on the same site since 1893."Will Not Build Until Next Year: Pennsylvania National Bank Postpones Erection of New Building," Pittsburgh Daily Post, March 28, 1901. The building was listed as a contributing property in the Lawrenceville Historic District in 2019 and a Pittsburgh historic landmark in 2020.
The Pennsylvania National Bank Building is a one-story, Beaux-Arts-style building"Former Pennsylvania National Bank Building." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Preservation Pittsburgh, August 13, 2019. constructed from buff-colored brick with terra cotta ornaments."Building Boom Strikes City: Permits Issued for Many Large and Costly Structures." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, May 31, 1902, p. 2 (subscription required). It was designed by the Beezer Brothers,"Former Pennsylvania National Bank Building Nominated for City Historic Landmark Status." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Preservation Pittsburgh, October 26, 2019. who also designed the nearby St. John the Baptist Church which was completed the same year. The bank's footprint is trapezoidal, with the non-parallel sides defined by the streets on either side.
The narrow front of the building has a single entrance bay and an arched parapet decorated with a keystone emblem. The two side elevations are both five bays wide with a combination of arched and pedimented windows; however, the Butler Street side also has an exposed basement due to the sloping topography of the site. The rear of the building has two additions, the latter of which was added in 2019 by the current tenant, Desmone Architects.Jones, Diana Nelson. "Reinventing Lawrenceville took time and effort." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 26, p. A8 of pp. A1, A8 (subscription required).Schooley, Tim. "Personalities of Pittsburgh: Desmone Architects revitalizing the ol' neighborhood." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Business Times, February 27, 2015 (subscription required).Gannon, Joyce. "Sprucing Up the Neighborhood," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 31, 1993.
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