Movie magic will rise in old coffin factory
Ten years ago, James Pastorius started a business that creates visual effects for commercials, television shows and movies, notably “Gone Girl” and “House of Cards.”
The energetic entrepreneur and Carnegie Mellon University graduate established Savage Visual Effects in 2007 with partner Brice Liesveld in Los Angeles. Five years later, the company opened a Pittsburgh office in Uptown. Soon, the business will have a new home on the North Side — in a former coffin factory.
The two buildings that Mr. Pastorius bought in 2015 — 506-508 W. North Ave. — are among 11 stops on the Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 10.
The three-story Italianate building at 508 W. North Ave. has the longer pedigree, having housed several prominent Pittsburgh businessmen over the last century and a half. Built in the late 1850s, it was the residence of dry goods proprietor Joseph W. Spencer; David McCandless, a partner of steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie; and former governor William A. Stone, whose greatest contribution was overseeing completion of Pennsylvania’s state capitol, the crown jewel of Harrisburg landmarks.
Hand-carved brackets appear to support the roof of the red-brick building. At the entrance, ornate walnut front doors feature intricately carved lions’ heads. Inside, another set of elegant doors with leaded glass and a hand-laid terrazzo floor show that previous owners valued architectural beauty. By June of 2018, Mr. Pastorius hopes the building will house three newly renovated apartments, with square footage ranging from 1,800 to 2,500 square feet.
Starting in 1914, Fleischmann Co. made yeast in the building. When U.S. Casket Co. bought the
property in 1923, it built a two-story warehouse next door at 506 W. North Ave. to assemble coffins, according to a 2015 house history prepared by architectural historian Carol Peterson.
Paul Irwin, the architect for 506 W. North Ave., also designed a country residence and barn in East McKeesport for candy manufacturer David L. Clark, founder of the company that made the popular Clark candy bar. The building later became the office for Media Casket Co.
Mr. Pastorius’ purchase of the two buildings in 2015 launched a year of design work and multiple appearances before the city’s Historic Review Commission. A Pittsburgh native who grew up in Overbrook, he lives in an apartment on West North Avenue with Lindsey Morrow, his girlfriend.
The couple like the neighborhood because they can take their two dogs for walks around Lake Elizabeth and through an off-leash dog area in West Park. After working in Los Angeles for more than 10 years, Mr. Pastorius said he moved back to Pittsburgh in 2012 to be closer to his parents, a brother, sister and two young nephews.
The general contractor renovating the two buildings is Sante Berarducci. By November, the building at 506 W. North Ave. will become the headquarters of Savage Visual Effects. The second floor will hold restrooms, Mr. Pastorius’s office, a large work area, a reception room and a kitchen for 10 employees.
Changes include a new passenger elevator and raising the ceiling in the mezzanine from 12 to 20 feet.
“This will be our screening room with a 20-foot-high ceiling,” Mr. Pastorius said, adding that the space will double as a small sound stage for shooting commercials, television or movie scenes.
The mezzanine also will open up to a rooftop deck where Savage Visual Effects can hold company events. On the building’s first floor, 5,000 square feet of space will likely hold either a restaurant or a coffee shop.
As for the building’s former use for coffin production, Mr. Pastorius said: “It never bothered me at all. I focused on the potential of the building and the architecture that existed there.”