Historic Pittsburgh Produce Terminal

The Pittsburgh Produce Terminal, officially called The Pennsylvania Railroad Fruit Auction & Sales Building, has been in the news quite a bit the last two years.  It seems it is the target of redevelopment, with strong opinions for and against the various projects that have been proposed.  So in 2012 I made an effort to get some photos before it was gone.  The occasion was an Independence Day visit to my cousins' new loft apartment in the redeveloped Cork Factory, just a few blocks away, to view the fireworks in downtown Pittsburgh.  In addition to the photos I took, I have enjoyed researching the history of the building on the Internet.  Here is what I learned.
~ Andy

The Produce Terminal is massive - it measures 1,500 feet long and spans four city blocks! It was built in 1926 (some sources say 1929) and was once serviced by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Fruit and produce would be unloaded from the railcars, then auctioned or sold to local restaurants and grocery stores. I understand that this activity usually happened in the wee hours of the morning, so the fresh food could be in the stores ready for customers when they opened. The building is bordered on the south by Smallman Street, which runs through the heart of Pittsburgh's Strip District (so named because it is a "strip" of land between Herron Hill and the Allegheny River). The building fell into neglect in the 1970's and was acquired by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in the early 1980's. The URA has made no secret that it would like to sell the building to a developer, based on their characterization of the building as "blighted." The few remaining tenants, however, maintain that they have only been granted month-to-month leases, which makes it pretty difficult to grow your business or attract new tenants. There are reportedly many structural problems with the building, perhaps too many to economically repair. It is the building unique and historic? Absolutely! Regardless, there must be a plan to pay for rehabilitation and repairs, and to produce the necessary revenue stream to keep the building operating. Redevelopment of some sort may be the best option to preserve some of the structure.

This sign on the western end of the building is showing its age.

The opposite end of the building is two stories and has an identical sign. This is apparently where offices were located.

This is the northern side of the building, where most business seems to be conducted today. Small covered loading docks with roofs, arranged like saw teeth, allow loading and unloading of trucks. I believe the saw tooth portion was not original.

There are adjustable height loading ramps at each dock. They are heavy steel with a diamond plate surface texture.

These ramps can be raised to exactly match the floor height of trucks to facilitate forklifts.

During my visit, both smaller box vans (outgoing goods?) and tractor trailers (incoming?) were present at the loading docks.

The south facade of the building, where rail cars were once off loaded, is not nearly as interesting. This area is generally used as a paid parking lot these days. Note the clerestory windows above the loading dock roof to allow light into the building interior.

A bit of research on the Internet turned up these two neat historic photos on the Post-Gazette's web site. I believe this is the Smallman Street side with the long-gone railroad tracks still in place.

There will be time to clean up later - we've got to get these trucks loaded now!

The Internet also turned up these two pictures from the same vantage point. This current day photo from across Smallman Street...

...and this 1982 photo from the same spot. Note the two conversion vans from the 1970s! It appears the railroad tracks were still in place then.

If room allows, this would be a great industry for the PML layout. The Walthers Railway Express Agency building has kit bashing potential.

Or this kit, whose maker I do not know, which looks even closer to the prototype. Can anyone identify this kit? If so, please post a comment.

Here is the concept plan proposed by the Buncher Corporation to develop the land between the Produce Terminal and the Allegheny River. They propose to demolish roughly the western third of the building, and extend 17th Street towards the river. Pittsburgh City Council would have to approve the sale of the building by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, but the necessary votes are not yet there (although the City's Historic Review Commission unanimously recommended historic status last fall). Nonetheless, on 1/21/14, Council declined to grant historic status to the building, perhaps signaling their true intentions. Other alternative development plans are being entertained with a recent proposal to turn the building into loft apartments (really?). Another possibility is unique shops and food-related businesses. Wouldn't it be neat to have our own Faneuil Hall (Boston) or Reading Terminal Market (Philadelphia)? Stay tuned for further developments.

Given its smaller footprint, we do intend to include the Tom Ayoob, Inc. banana distributor on the layout.

Ayoob's could have been the prototype for Walther's Miranda's Bananas structure kit.

A block closer to the river is this new, sterile building signed "Consumers Produce." Judging by the number of trucks, apparently this is where the action is today.

Consumers Produce is still served by rail - the Allegheny Valley Railroad - running right down Railroad Street.

Photos taken of the Produce Terminal, we moved on to the Cork Factory, formerly an abandoned building, that has been rehabilitated and turned into loft apartments.

The building takes advantage of its location to connect with the Allegheny River. A trail follows the river to downtown Pittsburgh.

The lobby area has a pool table, coffee bar...

The developers have retained much of the industrial flavor of these buildings, including this elevated walkway and storage silo.

This has become one of the most desirable places to live in Pittsburgh for young professionals; there is a waiting list for apartments.

...a library and lounge area - a very nice place to call home!

About 9:45 pm the fireworks display began. It was interesting to watch, until...

...AVR 2004 & 2005 came down the street to switch out a couple mechanical reefers at Consumer's Produce. This was much more interesting than the fireworks to Charlie and me!