In 1913, James and his brothers founded the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in memory of their father who passed away in February 1908, An old calendar from 1970 at the house. He believed the old man's sentimentality had been taken advantage of. Richard Mellon Scaife, the billionaire philanthropist whose fortune was almost entirely misapplied, died 82 years too late on Independence Day, July 4, 2014. For $200 a year (paid three months in advance) Sarah Jane would have studied reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, composition, geography, astronomy with the use of globes, natural philosophy, chemistry, history, and plain and ornamental needle work. The home's owner made his money through investment in such prosperous industries as oil, coal, and steel. What Remains Behind were all in all to each other. Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mellon_Park&oldid=1138195611, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks, National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 14:16. He was president of the board of trustees of East Liberty Presbyterian Church, James served as president of Western Pennsylvania Hospital and the Allegheny County Juvenile Court Farm. Growing up surrounded by the Mellon name in Pittsburgh Mount St. Peter Roman Catholic Church was founded in the early 1900s by Italian immigrants. Did Sarah Jane feel "fairly settled"? It's in plain sight but bland and usually overlooked.. Rather like Andrew Mellon, actually. Here, I thought, perhaps here is something I can actually relate to. We then hold some of these same things to be important. Sarah Jane didn't make a marriage of passion. Janet Zweig, an artist chosen by the project team, turned the floor of the garden into an exact replica of the sky in Pittsburgh on the day Ann was born. The house was razed in 1940 after the City of Pittsburgh refused to forgive the taxes owed on the structure. The mansion was built by Italian immigrants from New Kensington, PA under the direction of Monsignor Nicola Fusco. Mellon Bank, then Pennsylvania's largest banking institution, dis-invested in the Pittsburgh region during its time of need in the early 1980s. And to the Mellon parents, enlistment in May 1864 was indeed a very bad idea. My childish deductive reasoning skills led me to assume that this family must be like some PBS high-brow version of Mr. R.B. Avenue. transformed the mansion into what contemporary newspaper accounts He was the son of Richard Mellon and Jennie King.He passed away in 1970. A farmhouse built by grandmother It had been erected in 1912 by Sarah Negley Mellon to honor her grandparents, Alexander and Anna Maria Burkstresser Negley, who were buried there in unmarked graves along with many other nameless Pittsburgh pioneers. The controversial then-Lieutenant General Grant had been newly appointed as commander of the Union Army and the Battle of the Wilderness had just concluded, resulting in more than 25,000 casualties. His uncle Richard B. Mellon (1858-1933) was Andrew's business partner. The Richard King Mellon Foundation's $30 million commitment in advanced and additive manufacturing at CMU builds on its previous philanthropic supportin this area and allows the university to expand its work through the Manufacturing Futures Institute (MFI). The four who survived became famous men, two of whom - Andrew W. Mellon - and Richard B. Mellon - attained worldwide fame in banking, business, government, philanthropy and the arts. Some of Eagle Rock was saved, however. However, he himself bankrolled an extensive black-market LSD manufacturing and distribution operation from the West Coast. (1592-1673), who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. Tamara is the founder of luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo. 'On May 7th, 1919, at the age of 73, Rachel Mellon passed away upon arriving home to Pittsburgh. The memorial stone indicates that the remains of some 50 other East End pioneer families are interred therebaouts, although I have not been able to find a comprehensive list. I nevertheless felt a vague sense of loss when the races were shut down in 1982. The homes owner made his money through investment in such prosperous industries as oil, coal, and steel. Edgeworth Ladies' Boarding School, Braddocksfield near Pittsburgh, How Sarah Mellon Scaife and Family Helped Transform the Museum of Art, The social mirror: a character sketch of the women of Pittsburg and vicinity during the first century of the county's existence. One story claims that they were originally buried downtown Pittsburgh at Smithfield and Sixth Streets, at what became the German Evangelical Protestant Church church (just around the corner from today's Mellon Park). R.B. murder?). The park is home to the Walled Garden and holds events throughout the year. The extravagance of the Mellons may never be seen again. The land surrounding the mansion was donated to the city of Pittsburgh and now serves as Mellon Park. With opalescent glass alone, the panel presents an evocative scene of rippling water, floating lotus flowers, and a footbridge draped with roses. Children followed in rapid succession. His father, Judge Thomas Mellon, was the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch to the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Biography [ edit] He and his brother Andrew Mellon, sons of Judge Thomas Mellon, were frequent business partners. 'The institution helped finance the construction of the Ligonier Valley Railroad. [1], The Walled Garden is surrounded by walls of brick and limestone and is one of Gothic design. Was it love at first sight? 'The Mellon family ranked among the wealthiest and most prominent industrialists in the United States by the time of Judge Mellon's death in 1908. Didnt he know how badly I would want to walk through it? Richard Mellon. And thus history becomes attainable, not a scholarly discipline, but a simle human story. Let's assume that these items were rendered less conspicuous by decorators who Only a few other families could influence urban or national destinies to such an extent in the modern era. After Richard Mellon and his wife died in the 1930s, their son Richard King Mellon, lived there briefly before retreating to Ligonier. Billy made the family's secluded Millburn, New York estate available to Leary and his team of Harvard researchers, where they famously examined psychedelically-altered states of consciousness. A number of public buses serve the area. But she seems to have remained the same quiet, pleasant, self-possessed, keen-eyed observer of the world whom Thomas Mellon met in 1841. Privately produced photograph album to mark the occasion of the marriage of Sarah Mellon (1903-1965) and Alan Scaife (1900-1958). [8], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}40277.47N 79554.99W / 40.4520750N 79.9180528W / 40.4520750; -79.9180528. wife was herself a good cook and not in the least averse to work.we Stop in to reconnect with the history. Interestingly, though, this home was the only one of the Fricks three residences to be demolished (the other two were preserved as museums). Was there anything there, the pastor and building committee wondered, that a parish with little money could procure for a new church building? An avid lover of history, Mr. Mellon was inquisitive and curious, collecting in many areas of the fine and decorative arts, including English Neo-Gothic furniture, sporting art and bronzes. [2] In 1926 he established a $15 million pension fund for Presbyterian ministers. 29 vintage silver prints (9 x 13 inches) mounted to album leaves, printed title-page. Such was the beginning of my married home The Mellon private family archives contain private written material and memorabilia which no doubt shed more light on Sarah Jane's personality -- including the scrapbooks which so infuriated her husband when they were courting. 63 years old, died in the Veterans Administration Medical Center, West Roxbury, on June 23, 2009 after a long battle with cancer. Poor Andrew remained "It" for four years until he died. Mellon has been recognized as one of the most important private benefactors of environmental causes, achieving his significant stature quietly and humbly. The chandeliers once graced a 1930s-era Los Angeles theater. Richard K. Mellon remained an outdoorsman and grew the family retreat in Ligonier into a grand estate. Pastor and committee investigated. A Fair in the Park Mellon Park Tennis Center History The park was established in 1943, on the grounds of the former estate of Richard B. Mellon. The way Thomas describes their courtship is intriguing for the boorish but earnest picture it paints of him, and the enigmatic portrait presented of Sarah Jane. courtship in his memoirs: Apparently she was "all right otherwise" because Thomas Mellon decided to pursue Sarah Jane. I was afraid to even gaze at a gaudy Tiffany mantle clock for too long for fear my stare alone would cause it to fall to the floor and shatter. Now, striking pictures show the white-panel exterior of the large house, the ornate tiled pathway leading to the front door and the slightly overgrown garden that features palm trees. In the 1990s, a three-wing conservatory was added to increase his supply of fresh flowers common and exotic. Even as I half-remembered old jokes about the haunted grove in the park, I was haunted by other musings. Mellon's mansion was at the time the largest in Pittsburgh and was built in 1910. In addition to diaries and valuable historical documents, the collection includes two hand-written letters from Sarah Jane, plus the title pages from school books that once belonged to each of his parents (see above for Sarah's). The Mellon family Above the cast iron door of the original bank building at 514 Smithfield Street was placed a near life-sized statue of his inspiration, Benjamin Franklin. The specifics of Sarah Mellon and Alan Scaife's extravagant 1927 wedding still leave readers slack-jawed in amazement. As you can see from these photos, Eagle Rock was a beautiful piece of architecture that should have been kept for future generations. These are priceless artifacts we will never get back, and now we must rely on people like you to educate us on what used to be. In suburban Philadelphia, art and industry are joined in a residence commissioned in 1901. James Mellon founded the City Deposit Bank, becoming its president in 1898. Along with being a successful bank and industrialist, he was a philanthropist like the rest of the Mellon family and deeply invested in his community. Thomas Mellon warmed up to his new wife, whom he described as taking ".full possession and master of the situation, not the least discouraged through without any company or help." when the couple moved into a rented home downtown. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Things were looking up, especially since ".my He also served as a trustee for the Athalia Daly Home for Working Girls, James died on October 20, 1934. Mellon Park is a park in the Shadyside and Point Breeze neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, straddling both sides of Fifth Avenue, from approximately Shady Avenue to Penn Avenue, the western corner abutting Pittsburgh Center for the Arts building. Did she grow to like, or love, her husband? Is this really a burial ground? After Mellon's sixty-room home was brought down during World War II, most of the garden still remained and was transformed into a city park known now as Mellon Park. What Pittsburghers do remember about the Mellons are the salacious details. No admission fee is charged. A bare mattress on the floor also suggests that someone may be squatting in the building. I think its important for us to stress what the buildings truly stand for and that theyre more than just material, so we can save more buildings from being destroyed. The day after my tour, I was reading a book about art collecting in Pittsburgh during the Gilded Age when I stumbled upon something that, as our columnist Rick Sebak would say, isn't there anymore. Other images show inside the property with a piano and old records left behind, along with old tennis rackets and an American flag. in Highland Park. The Mellon family's enormous wealth was accrued primarily by brothers Andrew William Mellon and Richard B. Mellon during the 1920s and 1930s, investing or founding companies that include Mellon Bank, Alcoa, Standard Steel Car Co., Westinghouse Electric Co. and Gulf Oil. As a lifelong Pittsburgher there are many elements of the Mellon saga that I never knew, including Sara Jane's story. His son Jacob married Barbara Anna Winebiddle, a descendant of the Taubs (who owned property in present-day Shadyside) and Winebiddles (who owned property all around today's Bloomfield, Friendship, Lawrenceville, and Downtown areas). Powered by. Source. Thomas Mellon assures us in his memoir chapter entitled "Courtship and Marriage" that Sarah Jane's attitude was not born of coquetry. Been waiting for this to open, congratulations #MarkHolden of Blend Cigar Bar He was founder and President of RAM Transit, Inc.,. She didn't seem to collect much beyond platitudes, trivia and memories in her scrapbooks -- nothing like the grand homes or art that her offspring would acquire. The Mellon Institute building was dedicated in May 1937 by brothers Andrew W. and Richard B. Mellon. Facing Shady Avenue is the Tudor revival house once home to the Scaife family and donated in 1943. James and his eldest brother Thomas agreed to pool their business interests together, becoming dealers in coal, lumber, and other building materials which were in high demand at the time in Pittsburgh. The park is home to the Walled Garden, and holds events throughout the year. half-hidden in the ivy near a split-level cul-de-sac along Negley [6], The Mellon Park Tennis Center is a year-round facility that offers classes for younger children ages 47 and other age groups up to adults. I occasionally took myself to Mellon Park in Shadyside. Despite admonishments from his parents, James didn't come home. Although there are four distinct branches descending from the legendary Judge Thomas Mellon, I'm unsure how many Pittsburghers know (or care) which Mellon is which. All this, while my mother smoked and rested for what seemed like an eternity. life.". Whenever I encountered something fancy in my hometown, be it a staggeringly grand bank, college, building, or parks, it more often than not bore the Mellon name.