237:. The Kee building is 4 feet 11 inches (1.50 m) wide at the ground floor, but has overhanging bay windows on the second floor that extend to 6 feet (1.8 m). The Skinny Building's narrow lot was created in 1903 by a street widening project, and the building itself was constructed in 1926 by Louis Hendel (c. 1874–1945), partly out of spite for neighboring business owners who complained about him obstructing the sidewalk with his fruit-selling business. Due to the building's impractical dimensions, the second and third floors have not seen much use, but the ground floor has housed a number of different businesses including a popular lunch counter. It is listed on the
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317:.) Another successful tenant was a lunch counter called Raywell's, which operated from 1938 to 1979. Patrons of the restaurant sat on stools with their backs to the street, facing a narrow counter with about 18 inches (46 cm) of space behind for the employees—too narrow for the two waitresses to pass each other. A grill was installed in the corner. The building has housed various businesses since Raywell's closed and as of 2015 was occupied by a clothing store.
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270:, one of which was a two-story brick store owned by Hugh McKee. After the widening, only a 6-foot (1.8 m) by 80-foot (24 m) strip remained from McKee's formerly standard-sized lot. Other inconveniently sized parcels were consolidated into neighboring properties, but Greek-American entrepreneur D. J. Demas saw a business opportunity and secured a ten-year lease on McKee's lot. The
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reported that Hendel, a Jew, was sympathetic to the black community: "Mr. Hendel owns the building in which the restaurant is located. Through his friendship with Mr. Jefferson and the desire to help the colored race, he has leased this property, disregarding the bitter comments of the nearby white
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had frequent run-ins with authorities and other business owners over sidewalk obstruction issues, as there was no room for customers inside the store. He earned particular enmity from the
Diamond Street Sidewalks Association, which placed ads in local papers asking "Is this man higher than the law?"
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for $ 1.3 million. As part of the sale, PNC agreed to preserve the exteriors of both buildings and work with preservationists to make sure any changes are historically sensitive. PNC plans to convert the
Roberts Building to office space, while the upper floors of the Skinny Building will be used to
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In 2000, the Hendel
Building was proposed for demolition as part of the Market Place redevelopment project, though this ultimately did not come to fruition. However, the debate brought attention to the unusual building. In 2001, community activists turned the upstairs windows into an outward-facing
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reported "The property has an obsolete improvement consisting of a one-story building. Mr. Hendel's place of business is in the rear, a cigar stand occupies the front, while a small restaurant is conducted in the intervening space." Hendel continued to run his business for the next eight years, but
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Despite the bad press, Hendel decided in 1926 to double down on his investment by building a new three-story building on the site. According to family members, he was motivated at least partly by spite for his hostile neighbors. Work started on July 29, and the first tenants, a cigar store and a
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flanked by large panes on either side, with three or five small multi-pane transom lights above. The short sides of the building, facing Wood Street and Book Way, are one bay wide and have single-pane windows with multi-pane transom lights. The top of the building has a projecting
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While the upper levels of the building did not see much use, the ground floor housed a number of tenants over the years, including Hendel's original fruit store. Although it eventually outgrew the space, the company survived until the 1980s. (Hendel himself died in 1945 in
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business men, in order that we might have a decent place to eat in the downtown section." Advertising "cozy booths for two" in the "world's narrowest building", the restaurant was said to have a row of narrow tables along one wall like a
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when the boundaries of the district were increased in 2013. That same year, the
Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) bought the building, along with the neighboring Roberts Jewelers building, for $ 1.3 million. The
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reported that "A frame building of 'shack' proportions is now being erected on the site. In this narrow stand will be a shoe shining emporium, an ice cream and soda dispensary, a peanut market, and a fruit stand."
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restaurant, signed their leases in early
December. In 1928, the Lincoln Restaurant opened on the top two floors, catering to African-American customers who had few places to eat in the area. The
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The Skinny
Building is 80 feet (24 m) long and 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) wide. It is a three-story, steel-framed building with a brick, wood, and glass facade. The
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and a hipped tile roof that slopes up toward the neighboring
Roberts building. The upper floors are accessed by narrow, steep staircases; there is also reportedly a basement.
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bought the property from McKee for $ 40,000. Mellon sold the building in 1918 to one of its tenants, fruit vendor Louis Hendel, who paid $ 95,000. At the time of the sale,
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886:"National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Fourth Avenue Historic District (Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation)"
223:. At only 5 feet 2 inches (1.57 m) wide, it is one of the narrowest commercial buildings in the world, rivaling the
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elevation is four bays wide with large, multi-pane windows. The windows vary in size, but each has a central
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art gallery displaying "images of, variously, graffiti art, vintage strippers and the late sportscaster
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861:"The Skinny Building: an unlikely preservation success story for an unlikely Downtown structure"
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803:"Shopping in the Shadows of History: A Special Report on the Controversy at Fifth and Forbes"
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used leftover money from a state grant to renovate the exteriors of both buildings in 2014.
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The narrow lot on which the building stands originated in 1903, when
Diamond Street (now
454:"Big Cut Made In Valuation: Reassessment of Diamond Street Property Takes Off $ 500,000"
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In 2021, the URA approved the sale of the Skinny
Building and Roberts Building to
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938:"Downtown Pittsburgh's Skinny Building to be restored to its original state"
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912:"PNC clears key hurdle in bid to acquire two Downtown historic properties"
829:"Storefront Galleries: Locally Made Art Dresses Up Vacant Shops Downtown"
428:"Viewed the Property: Steps Are Taken In the Plan to Widen Diamond Alley"
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647:"Skinny Building in Downtown Pittsburgh granted a fresh face"
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Fourth Avenue
Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
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Historic district contributing properties in Pennsylvania
403:"Origins of downtown 'Skinny Building' remain a mystery"
506:"Important Realty Deals for Week Ending November 9"
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336:Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation
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558:"Hendel Must Quit His Sidewalk Business"
891:. National Park Service. March 20, 2013
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974:Commercial buildings completed in 1926
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801:Lowry, Patricia (February 14, 2000).
587:"Contractors Start Smallest Building"
231:which is considered the narrowest by
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859:Rosenblum, Charles (July 30, 2014).
239:National Register of Historic Places
984:1926 establishments in Pennsylvania
979:Commercial buildings in Pittsburgh
613:"Is this Man Higher than the Law?"
532:"Small Lot in Wood Street Is Sold"
401:Zurawsky, Kaitlin (May 19, 2015).
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910:Belko, Mark (September 9, 2021).
730:. Advertisement. January 5, 1929
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698:"New Restaurant Opens Downtown"
538:. Pittsburgh. November 28, 1918
480:"Cheap Midway In Heart of City"
331:Fourth Avenue Historic District
247:Fourth Avenue Historic District
619:. Advertisement. June 29, 1926
212:, is a commercial building in
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645:Bauder, Bob (June 13, 2015).
208:, more commonly known as the
110:Show map of the United States
936:Belko, Mark (May 22, 2014).
18:United States historic place
843:– via Newspapers.com.
790:– via Newspapers.com.
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776:"Obituary: Louis Hendel"
129:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
85:Show map of Pennsylvania
942:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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833:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
807:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
754:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
325:". It was listed as a
234:Guinness World Records
37:U.S. Historic district
865:Pittsburgh City Paper
327:contributing property
243:contributing property
41:Contributing property
724:"Lincoln Restaurant"
58:The building in 2015
835:. November 17, 2001
782:. November 21, 1945
750:"The Smallest Shop"
704:. November 10, 1928
672:"First Leases Made"
512:. November 10, 1907
156:40.44027°N 80.001°W
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728:Pittsburgh Courier
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678:. December 5, 1926
564:. October 10, 1920
484:Pittsburgh Gazette
460:. January 23, 1903
301:Pittsburgh Courier
273:Pittsburgh Gazette
195:Designated CP
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895:October 30,
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813:October 30,
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760:October 30,
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682:October 30,
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597:October 30,
568:October 30,
542:October 29,
516:October 29,
490:October 29,
464:October 29,
438:October 29,
412:October 31,
377:Spite house
315:Miami Beach
159: /
135:Coordinates
125:Forbes Ave.
963:Categories
388:References
323:Myron Cope
307:dining car
217:Pittsburgh
188:ID85001961
147:80°00′04″W
144:40°26′25″N
651:Trib Live
280:In 1907,
229:Vancouver
371:See also
360:casement
214:Downtown
120:Location
365:cornice
329:in the
258:Origins
253:History
245:in the
180:Part of
889:(PDF)
241:as a
172:Built
949:2018
923:2021
897:2018
872:2018
841:2018
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684:2018
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570:2018
544:2018
518:2018
492:2018
466:2018
440:2018
414:2018
407:WTAE
204:The
175:1926
123:241
343:PNC
227:in
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