Glass City looks to past for path forward
City officials hopeful that new brewery will revitalize Jeannette
City officials and business people in Jeannette say they hope that a new ordinance and a new business will help restore the community’s primary commercial street.
On Jan. 10, city council passed an ordinance creating a local historic district along both sides of Clay Avenue between Second and Eighth streets. Clay Avenue has long been the heart of the community’s business district. Many of the brick buildings that line both sides of the steep street date back a century or more.
The move by council comes as a father-and-daughter partnership is advancing plans to open a brewery and tasting room in the former Gillespie department store at 500 Clay Ave. Jackie Sobel said she and her father, David, hope to be making and selling their beer in Jeannette within a year. The company’s products, now made under contract by a brewery in Luzerne County, are sold under the name Sobel’s Obscure Brewing, or S.O.B.
Ms. Sobel said she and her father picked the location for their brewery in part because of the potential they saw in the former department store. “We like the character of the structure — the curves, the multiple pillars, the tin ceiling,” she said. “We will maintain and respect the history of the building.”
The partners also found other things to like in the neighborhood. The “You Are Here” community art center and gallery opened in August a block away at 406 Clay Ave. “There are plans for a new park and amphitheater right across the street,” Ms. Sobel said. “Many smaller towns are regaining popularity, and we hope to see other kinds of shops and restaurants returning to the neighborhood.”
City clerk Michelle Langdon described the brewery plan as “the spark that will help get all the stores on Clay Avenue occupied.” The Sobels’ project will not only serve city residents but is likely to help attract out-of-town diners and shoppers back to the community, she said.
Incorporated in 1889, Jeannette was long known as “the glass city” with
many glass-making plants within the municipality. Jeannette’s name was taken from the first name of the wife of one of the glass plant owners: Jeannette E. McKee.
The city also was home to companies that made diesel engines and rubber products. Its population peaked in 1960 at more than 16,500, according to U.S. Census figures. As many factories closed and more and more families moved to the suburbs, the number of city residents declined 44 percent to fewer than 9,200 in 2017. The results included closed businesses, empty storefronts and declining real estate values.
Many of those two-story structures constructed along Clay Avenue feature patterned brickwork and ornamental lintels above doors and windows. The new ordinance creating the local historic district is designed to help preserve the best of the business district architecture, Ms. Langdon said.
The language of the ordinance says that the “preservation, protection and regulation of buildings, structures and areas of historic importance” will “strengthen the City’s economic base … establish and improve property values … foster economic development … foster civic pride … and preserve and protect the cultural, historical and architectural assets of the City.”
Worked in Sewickley
Mary Beth Pastorius, who has been involved in architectural preservation efforts for 35 years, agreed that historic district designations can make both cultural and economic sense.
Sewickley, where she lives, has designated three historic districts in the borough. Within each of those districts, marked with brown and white signs, real estate prices have risen faster than in the overall community, Ms. Pastorius said.
“Creation of a historic district does mean giving up some control over your property, but the flip side is you gain protections from neighbors doing something horrible,” she said.
Ms. Pastorius has owned and overseen the restoration of several historical and architecturally significant properties. She is a board member for the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, which advocates for the preservation of culturally important structures.
Buildings within the new historic district would be eligible for a variety of governmental grants for both exterior restoration and interior improvements, Ms. Langdon said. The Jeannette ordinance is local legislation, and its provisions do not match those of the state’s Historic District law or the federal Historic Sites Act.
“Our law is designed to protect buildings but give investors more flexibility,” she said. The new rules also set new specifications for sidewalks and utility line placement.
The brewery and tasting room will be a good addition to what is becoming a cluster of dining, arts and culture-focused businesses and organizations downtown, John Howard said. A lifelong resident of Jeannette, he is a founder and former president of the community’s historical society, located at 415 Clay Ave.
“The Sobels’ project will add to what is here,’’ he said.