Inn or house?
North Side’s Allegheny West mansion is spectacular no matter how it’s used
To watch a boxing match, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney used to cross his backyard to reach the back door of the house at 939 Western Ave., North Side.
The 1870s mansion was built by industrialist and financier Joshua Rhodes, but it was owned and used in Rooney’s time by the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic fraternal organization. Today it’s the Parador Inn, and it’s still spectacular.
This is your chance to be the fifth owner of a house with nine bedrooms, nine full bathrooms, four powder rooms and property that takes up six city lots in the historic Allegheny West neighborhood.
Owner Ed Menzer has it listed it for sale for $1.9 million (MLS No. 1403702) with Susan Meadowcroft of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services (412-403-4471 or www.coldwellbankerhomes.com. It is being sold as a single-family home or as a turnkey bed and breakfast for $2.2 million (MLS No. 1420075).
“If someone wants to keep it as an inn, I will help them with the process,” said Mr. Menzer, who formerly worked at the Palm Beach Ocean Front Hilton. “I would be willing to stay on site for a month or two if they wanted me to and would always be a reference. They would always be able to get a hold of me.”
Mr. Menzer purchased the house in 2005 from Joedda Sampson McClain, who purchased it from the Knights of Columbus in 1990.
When she bought the house, most of the furnishings, chandeliers and mantelpieces were gone, sold at auction when the Knights of Columbus bought it from the Rhodes’ family. Only the fireplace mantel in the main parlor remained.
“The auctioneer was standing in front of it and forgot,” Mr. Menzer said. “That is why it is still here.”
Ms. McClain added stained-glass windows and renovated some areas. Mr. Menzer also did lots of work restoring the house’s many architectural details. Some bedrooms have adjoining sitting rooms, and all have full bathrooms. The rose border in one of the rooms dates from the 1870s and so do the tile and fixtures in some of the bathrooms. Twelve fireplaces add ambiance if not actual heat.
The property also includes a separate guest house with two more suites
above a ballroom that seats 100. It was once the social hall for the Knights of Columbus. There is also a commercial kitchen.
“To change it to a residential kitchen, all you would need to do is put in a different sink and change out the appliances,” said Ms. Meadowcroft.
Mr. Menzer notes the many architectural details that have survived. His favorite space is the entrance vestibule.
“The cornice is hand-tooled leather from the 1870s, and they matched the wood grain on the paneling,” he pointed out. “It was all done with hand tools, and the tile floor is the same as in the main parlors.”
After the house was built, a library was added with a bedroom above it. The library features leaded-glass windows and doors on built-in cabinets. Ornate hinges and knobs illustrate the Victorian builders’ attention to detail.
“If you look at the trim work on all the hardwood floors, you will see it is different from room to room. That was a symbol of wealth at the time,” Ms. Meadowcroft said.
Murano glass and Waterford chandeliers grace the 12-foot ceilings on the first floor and original pocket shutters are in place on the windows.
The commercial property’s assessment is $514,400. Over the past three years, seven properties have sold in the 900 block of Western Avenue for prices ranging from $170,000 in April 2017 for a storefront with apartments above to $750,000 in August 2016 for an office building (www2.alleghenycounty.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx).
A 40-foot-long covered porch looks out onto an expansive garden. A tent accommodates up to 80 guests in the back garden with easy access to the ballroom.
“The garden in summer is spectacular,” Mr. Menzer said.