The stretch of Fifth Avenue in Shadyside where the Mansions on Fifth sit was once known as Millionaire’s Row, home to families with last names including Westinghouse, Carnegie, Frick and Mellon.
Today, many of the opulent structures are gone, but a 20,000-square-foot mansion and a nearby 8,000-square-foot mansion remain. The larger of the two, the Mansion on Fifth, and its smaller neighbor, the Amberson House, were commissioned by Willis McCook – legal counsel to industrialist Henry Clay Frick — and his wife Mary in the early 1900s. The couple lived there with their 10 children.
The McCook’s oldest daughter Bessie McCook Reed lived in the Amberson house with her husband.
Designed in the Elizabethan Revivalist and Tudor style by the architectural firm Carpenter & Crocker, when construction was complete in 1906, the total cost was $300,000.
“The Mansions on Fifth is historic and its character attracts people to come here,” said David Farkas, director of real estate for Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, during a recent event highlighting the organization’s effort to help save such historical buildings.
The Great Depression caused hardships for McCook’s family after he died in 1922. The main house was seized by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department and used for offices for the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1949, it was purchased for $28,000 by Emil Bonavita Sr. and his wife Margaret. They lived there with their two children and also rented rooms to Carnegie Mellon University students.
Their son, Emil Bonavita Jr., and his wife Marie acquired the Amberson house after Reed’s death in 1966. The main mansion sustained a fire in 2004. Both properties were sold for $1.5 million to Mary Del Brady and Richard Pearson in 2005.
The total cost of the repair project was $8 million. The main house opened to the public in 2011 and the adjacent home in 2012.
The properties were recognized as a historic landmark by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2012.
There was a time when it was in danger of demolition as a developer wanted to use the land for apartments, said Karamagi Rujumba, director of education, development and advocacy for Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
Del Brady and Pearson approached the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation for help and it agreed to if it could get an easement — a legal agreement between the owner of a property and the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.
“An easement is a tool that means a building cannot be taken down or razed without permission,” Farkas said.
In 2016 the Graf family, who own the Priory Hospitality Group — which includes the Priory Hotel, Grand Hall and the former Priory Fine Pastries bakery on Pittsburgh’s North Side — was recruited to operate the property. John Graf purchased it in 2018 by assuming the $5.4 million debt from ERECT Funds, a lender.
Today, Mansions on Fifth operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week as a boutique hotel. Graf said they have sales of more than $2 million annually between events and lodging.
Couples have been married on the landing adorned with stained glass windows that create a picturesque backdrop — the décor lends itself to nuptials and other special events.
The McCook estate boasts 13 rooms, including a 1,000-square-foot suite, a large dining room, cocktail lounge and a spacious foyer, and the Amberson house has nine rooms available to stay in.
But one doesn’t have to be an overnight guest to take in the history. The Oak Room on the first floor is open to the public daily from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. unless there is a private event. They have live music on Thursday evenings. Mansions on Fifth serves breakfast daily unless there is a private event.
The residence was used for some of the production of Netflix’s “The Pale Blue Eye” with Christian Bale and “Archive 8.”
Much of the original woodwork and stained glass windows — including those in the family chapel — and door handles remain, as do a wine cellar and a Franklin piano from the early 1900s.
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“It is critical to maintain a sense of connection to our past,” said Graf. “Pittsburgh has such an industrial past and we have lost some of that with the demolition of buildings.”
Mansions on Fifth is located at 5105 Fifth Ave., Shadyside
Details:mansionsonfifth.com
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region’s diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people and a weekly column about things to do in Pittsburgh. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of “A Daughter’s Promise.” She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.