Frederick J. Osterling collection ca. 1888-1910

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Frederick J. Osterling Collection
Creator
Osterling, Frederick J.
Collection Number
DAR.2014.01
Extent
19 items
Date
ca. 1888-1910
Abstract
The Frederick J. Osterling Collection includes 19 photographic images of buildings or plans for buildings that were designed by Pittsburgh architect, Frederick J. Osterling. The collection consists of a wide range of types of structures from commercial buildings, public institutions, to private residences.
Language
English .
Author
David R. Grinnell and Kathleen Donahoe.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Arrangement

The 19 photographs in this collection are arranged in six folders by the function or type of building depicted in the image.

Biography

Frederick John Osterling was a Pittsburgh architect in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Osterling was born in Dravosburg, Pennsylvania, on October 4, 1865. His parents were Philip Osterling, a Civil War veteran who came to western Pennsylvania at age 11, and Bertha Stauffer, whose family were early settlers in Butler County. Philip and Bertha Osterling had five children: Frederick, Daniel, Bertha, Annetta, and Elizabeth, who died at the age of eleven. The family moved from Dravosburg to Allegheny City while Frederick was still young. There he attended the Manchester School, followed by the Lessing Institute. Following his education he went to work in the office of architect Joseph Stillberg. Osterling experienced success in architecture from the start, having a design published at age 18 in American Architect and Building News, and also being called on to design a house for his father's lumber business partner at age 19. Following these successful events, Osterling's would soon travel to Europe to study the architecture for approximately one year.

Upon Osterling's return to Pittsburgh, he set up his own offices and would soon create designs for Allegheny High School, the Magee Building, the Washington County Courthouse, and, perhaps most famously, the Union Arcade. He also designed additions to the Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail complex, which was originally designed by Boston architect Henry Hobson Richardson. His work also extended to residential designs, being commissioned to design Charles Schwab's home in Braddock, Henry J. Heinz's "Greenlawn," and the expansion for Henry Clay Frick's "Clayton."

Frederick Osterling died in Pittsburgh on July 5, 1934. He was unmarried and so left his estate to his surviving sisters and Martha Aber. Aber then claimed she had been his "secret wife" in an attempt to access a widow's pension instead of the lump sum he bequeathed to her. Aber took her case to the State Supreme Court, who ruled against her in 1940. Osterling is buried alongside his parents and his sister, Bertha, at the Rosedale Cemetery in Ross Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Copyright

No copyright restrictions.

Previous Citation

Frederick J. Osterling Collection, ca. 1889-c1910, DAR.2014.01, Darlington Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Frederick J. Osterling Collection, ca. 1889-c1910, DAR.2014.01, Darlington Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by David R. Grinnell in January 2014.

Related Material

Union Arcade Building Photograph Collection, 1915-1916, AIS.2005.09, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Nelson, J. Franklin. Works of F. J. Osterling, architect, Pittsburg. Pittsburg: Murdoch-Kerr Press, 1904 (http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/text-idx?idno=31735064611308;view=toc;c=pitttext)

Scope and Content Notes

The collection consists of 19 individual photographic prints of renderings of proposed structures or of completed buildings designed by Pittsburgh-based architect Frederick J. Osterling. Each image has the identification of the building and Osterling's name typed on the reverse of the print. The structures range from commericial and public buildings to personal houses.

Custodial History

The collection was located in the Darlington Memorial Library in the Cathedral of Learning until 2007 when it was moved to the Archives Service Center for processing, storage, preservation and service. The collection is in the custodianship of the Special Collections Department of the University Library System.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Western University of Pennsylvania -- Buildings

    Personal Names

    • Frick, Henry Clay -- Homes and haunts

    Geographic Names

    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.

    Genres

    • Photographs

    Other Subjects

    • Education
    • Architecture
    • Churches and Synagogues
    • Church buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Architects -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Library buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Dwellings -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • School buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Commercial buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Bank buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List