[TheForge] Iron Work at U of Pitt

[RIES NIEMI]

My inlaws have an apartment a block from the cathedral of learning, so I
have been visiting it almost yearly for 20 years or so.
It is a magnificent building- a gothic skyscraper, built in the thirties,
with immaculate detailing in every area. It occupies about 4 city blocks,
with landscaped grounds and 2 chapels as well as the big building itself.
Samuel Yellin did indeed do the ironwork, and quite a bit of it. Probably a
year or two's work for a big crew. Inside, the ground floor lobby is like a
european cathedral, only with college kids everywhere listening to walkmans
and drinking coke. The interior ironwork is stunning, with huge gates,
railings, even enormous firedogs in the giant fireplace. Outside there are
great big twisted railings all over the grounds, and gates, hinges, etc on
both chapels as well. One of the most interesting pieces to me though, is
one that didnt get photographed in the photo access site. It is the gates to
the underground loading dock. Everywhere else, yellin was pretty historical,
and traditional, but on these gates, which are probably 12' tall and 16'
wide, he got really funky. They have kind of a noveau thing going on,
different from any other Yellin work I have seen. They are beautifully
forged from some real big stock. I took some pictures of them the last time
I was there, and I will see if I can find em and post em. They are much more
reflective of the time they were made than all the other yellin ironwork I
have seen, in Pittsburgh, Chicago, and here in Seattle. I think much of his
work was for wealthy clients who wanted to impress all with their old world
culture. The boards of directors of the universities, museums, etc, along
with the architects, did the choosing, and they chose Yellin because his
work said "money and class". This was the same time period when wealthy
americans like Hearst were buying entire castles and their contents in
europe, and bringing em home. Many entire rooms were rebuilt into mansions
on long island and newport rhode island. We literally bought culture and
history. But while Yellin was working for these guys, validating their
social positions, he couldnt help but be aware of what was going on in
contemporary metalwork, things like edgar brandt and other french deco
ironworkers were making. I would be interested  to know if he made any other
pieces that were his response to that style of work. These gates in
pittsburg definitely reflect deco and noveau ideas, as well as some of the
funkier southern german stuff from the 17th century.