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Irene Kaufmann Settlement

1896 establishments in PennsylvaniaBuildings and structures in PittsburghJewish American cultureSettlement houses in PennsylvaniaSource attribution
Irene Kaufmann Settlement
Irene Kaufmann Settlement

Irene Kaufmann Settlement (IKS), known as the Columbian School and Settlement from 1895 to 1910, was a settlement house located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, at 1835 Center Avenue. It was the idea of Pauline Hanauer Rosenberg and established by the Columbian Council (now known as the National Council of Jewish Women - Pittsburgh Section) for moral, educational, and religious training. "The special purposes of the Settlement is the advancement of the civic, intellectual and social welfare of the surrounding community. It aims to do this (1) by guiding the foreign-born to American conditions, (2) encouraging self-improvement, (3) stimulating healthy pleasures, (4) broadening civic interests, (5) creating ideals of conduct. The place is a home in the life of its residents, an institution in the service of its friends, a school in the work of its teachers, a club house in the social uses of its neighbors, a civic organization in the interests of the community, a Settlement in the choice of its location". At the geographical center of the Lower Hill District (Pittsburgh's most populous district at that time), the IKS made its service available to anyone who needed its aid. It coordinated services with the Jewish Federated Philanthropies, the Municipal Safety and Health Departments, the Labor Bureau of the Council of Jewish Women, the public schools, the Associated Charities, the Juvenile Court, the Housing Commission, and the Emma Farm. The IKS housed under its roof 17 outside organizations, including various trade unions and socialist groups. It maintained a public bath and public laundry, and a summer camp. It had a resident staff of seven; additionally, 170 volunteers gave one or more hours each week to some form of social service in the district. The property of the Irene Kaufmann Settlement covered an area of 200 by 60 feet (61 m × 18 m). The settlement building was erected in 1910. It was of steel frame construction with yellow brick, and five stories high. There were 67 rooms in the main building, and a gymnasium and public bath in the rear, that building being known as the Peacock Public Bath. The settlement building was dedicated March 29, 1911. It was a monument to the memory of Irene Kaufmann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kaufmann, owners of Kaufmann's Department Store, one of the largest stores in Pittsburgh. Miss Kaufmann died in 1907.

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Irene Kaufmann Settlement
Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh

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N 40.4429 ° E -79.9817 °
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Covenant Church on the Hill

Centre Avenue
15232 Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania, United States
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Irene Kaufmann Settlement
Irene Kaufmann Settlement
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Fifth Avenue High School
Fifth Avenue High School

Fifth Avenue High School is a defunct school located at 1800 Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Bluff neighborhood, United States. Built in 1894 as a large Romanesque/Gothic Revival building, it served the Pittsburgh Public Schools until its closure in 1976. For over thirty years, the building sat empty, boarded up, and fenced off until it was eventually converted into other uses. Fifth Avenue was the first fireproof school in Pennsylvania and was home to the Alpha chapter of the National Honor Society. Its colors were red and white, and the mascot was the Archer, so chosen because of the school's architecture and hallways filled with Gothic and Victorian arches lined with red and white tile. Fifth Avenue was a dominant force in city sports, winning the state title in its last year open for basketball. The school served the Lower Hill District, while its main rival, Schenley High School, served the upper and middle Hill. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and was listed as a Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation landmark in 1998 and a City of Pittsburgh landmark in 1999.Beginning in 2009, it was converted into loft apartments by a Pittsburgh-based investor group. Construction on the project was completed in 2012. Numerous components of the structure, such as plaster ceilings in common areas, were saved, preserved, or reused in the renovations.Among the school's notable alumni are former Mayor of Pittsburgh Sophie Masloff, Dapper Dan Charities founder and former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports editor Al Abrams, and forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht, who served as Coroner (later Medical Examiner) and a Commissioner of Allegheny County.