Presenter
Presented by Mr. Ferlo
Title
Resolution Authorizing the City of Pittsburgh to: make application for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Save America's Treasures Grant; to enter into appropriate cooperation agreement(s) with the Urban Redevelopment Authority to secure said grant; and to initiate historic site designation of the property situated in Hazelwood at 4604 Monongahela Street, commonly known as the John Woods House.
Body
WHEREAS, In 1792 a home was built in the community of Hazelwood, now situated within the City of Pittsburgh, by John Woods (1758 – 1816) who, along with his father Colonel George Woods, laid out the plan for the City of Pittsburgh in 1794. John Woods, a revolutionary war soldier, later became a pioneering manufacturer and pivotal government contractor in the region. President Washington appointed him Quartermaster of the United States Army in 1792 and served as such in 1794 during the Whiskey Rebellion and the Battle of Fallen Timbers. John Woods was also a presidential elector in 1796, state senator in 1797, and elected to the 14th U.S. Congress in 1815; and,
WHEREAS, the Woods home is only one of three surviving 18th Century structures remaining in Pittsburgh, the other two being the Ft. Pitt Blockhouse at the Point and the Neill Log House in Schenley Park. The Woods home, the only of these structures built of cut stone, is significant as a rare survivor of a late 18th Century architecture; and,
WHEREAS, the Woods home's historic importance to the city is well documented. However, it is also of national historic significance in that during the mid 1800's it was a favorite gathering place for a group known as the Knights of the Square Table whose founding member was "America's Troubadour" Stephen Collins Foster, America's first professional composer; and,
WHEREAS, the historical record indicates that many of Foster's best known songs were first sung or composed at the Woods Home such Nelly Bly, Oh Susannah!, and Old Folks at Home (Swanee River). Old Folks at Home was first performed on the Woods' family piano, which is now housed at the Stephen Foster Memorial in Pittsburgh.
WHEREAS, the Department of the Interior Appropriations Act provides for Save America's Treasures Grants up to 1 Million Dollars in order to preserve our cultural heritage, and is administered by the National Park Service, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The grants are awarded through a competitive process. Grants are available for preservation and/or conservation work on nationally significant historic structures and sites.
Be it resolved By the Council of the City of Pittsburgh
Section 1. The Council does hereby recognize the local and national historic significance of the structure known as the John Woods ("Woods") Home situated in Hazelwood at 4604 Monongahela Street and, in the interest of preserving our local and national heritage, desires to act to initiate an effort to preserve this rare 18th Century structure.
The Council authorizes the City of Pittsburgh to act, in cooperation with the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority – the owner of the Woods Home - to nominate the structure and grounds pursuant to the City Code for the designation as a Historic Structure under Section 513 of Chapter 1007 of the Code of Ordinances.
. Additionally, the Council authorizes the city to make applications for grants from but not limited to, the National Endowment for the Art's Saving America's Treasures program in order to allow for the restoration and preservation of this nationally significant historic structure.
Futhermore, the Council authorizes the city to work in cooperation with the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, local community-based and other organizations involved in historic preservation in order to pursue additional state and local funding for the restoration of this site and to develop matching fund sources as required by the Saving America's Treasures grant program. The City of Pittsburgh shall also begin to develop a plan for the ultimate use of the home once it has been restored.