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Design guide available for homes in Mt. Lebanon and beyond

By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
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With much of Mt. Lebanon’s housing stock now between seven and nine decades old, present or prospective residents may have a few questions befitting a not-so-new home.

What’s the difference between a Colonial Revival and Dutch Colonial? Should I have a two- or six-panel front door?

And what on earth is a quoin?

The answers are a couple of mouse clicks away, thanks to the efforts of the Mt. Lebanon Historic Preservation Board, elected officials and some talented architects.

“Mt. Lebanon Design Guide: Suggestions for Maintaining and Enhancing the Beauty of Value of Your Historic Home” is available through the municipal website, providing an overview of various architectural styles, maintenance recommendations, and how to make renovations that retain the character of the home and its neighborhood.

“There are some special features of your Tudor or your Colonial or your Bungalow that, if you’re smart, you would probably retain and incorporate into your new, more contemporary living scheme, so you’re not throwing out materials that could really add value to your house,” Susan Morgans, Mt. Lebanon public information officer, explained.

An example of a diagram in “Mt. Lebanon Design Guide: Suggestions for Maintaining and Enhancing the Beauty of Value of Your Historic Home.”

The design guide is specific to the 4,300 contributing properties in Mt. Lebanon’s National Register Historic District, as established in 2014. The architectural styles detailed, though, extend throughout the municipality and, of course, beyond.

“Somebody who lives in Bethel Park who has a Tudor,” Morgans said, “or in Upper St. Clair who has a Colonial, and wants to make some improvements – put on an addition, spruce up the front of the house, landscaping, put on a garage – they’re welcome to consult it, as well.”

The impetus for the design guide comes from long-range plans by the Historic Preservation Board to fulfill its mission, including serving as a resource for community members regarding rehabilitation of their properties.

One idea was to pursue establishing local historic districts, and discussion about the potential for doing so in the Virginia Manor plan led to Mt. Lebanon commissioners approving the hiring of T&B Planning Consultants of Murrysville to develop possible guidelines.

This year, architect and preservationist Nicole Kubas produced the easy-to-navigate document that now is posted online using elements from the T&B project.

“They were very generous,” Morgans said. “They shared other information they had collected that she was able to retool and turn it into what we think is such a user-friendly guide for residents.”

Kubas arranged the guides pages to provide information about various styles of homes present throughout Mt. Lebanon, including Foursquare, Tudor, Cotswold, French Provincial, and Arts and Crafts. Descriptions of each style include diagrams and photographs, mostly local examples, to assist in identification.

“I went around throughout other neighborhoods in Pittsburgh to take pictures for the ‘do not’ photos,” Kubas said.

The Westmoreland County native finds the historical aspect of Mt. Lebanon’s homes especially interesting. A construction boom came with the opening of the Liberty Tunnels in 1924, continuing into the period just after World War II.

The growing prevalence of automobile ownership during that period led to some architectural challenges.

“They had to figure out how garages could be added but still look really appropriate,” Kubas explained.

Seventy years later, the owners of those homes have an expedient resource to make improvements, on a voluntary basis, that continue to be appropriate. And, as Morgan pointed out, the guide’s presence online means it can be updated expediently:

“It costs nothing but our time.”

And in case you’ve been wondering, the guide’s glossary defines quoins as “large decorative stones accenting the corner of a building or adjacent to doors and windows.”

Now you’re ready for “Jeopardy.”

The view the design guide, visit ebooks.mtlebanon.org/designguide.

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