An iconic Downtown Pittsburgh building that became a light rail station will get a three-month face washing beginning Monday.
Wood Street Station, the triangular building at Wood Street, Sixth Avenue and Liberty Avenue owned by Pittsburgh Regional Transit, will have its exterior power-washed by Arcon Contracting Inc. of New Kensington. The $950,000 project should be finished by October, PRT spokesman Adam Brandolph said.
The station will remain open during the work.
The agency has owned the building since the mid-1980s, and it isn’t aware of any previous project to clean its masonry surface. The building is nearly 100 years old and has served as a bank and the Max Azen fur store, among other uses.
“We’ve never cleaned it,” Brandolph said. “It lived in Pittsburgh’s steel industry, and we all know what that involved. You can look at it and see that each side looks different because of the amount of dirt and soot on it.”
During the project, crews will erect scaffolding around the building. As a result, the bus stop on Liberty Avenue near Wood Street, used by routes 86, 87, 88 and 91, will be closed temporarily and moved to Liberty Avenue and Strawberry Way.
Brandolph said some bus riders may decide to use the previous stop at Katz Plaza at Seventh Street and Penn Avenue.
Wood Street Art Galleries, on the upper floors of the building, will stay open during the project.
Brandolph said the company will use chemical soap to clean the surface and will set up a system to collect the used water.
The building was designed by noted architect Edward Stotz. Stotz is known for other local buildings such as Fifth Avenue and Schenley high schools in Pittsburgh Public Schools as well as the clubhouse at Oakmont Country Club.
“The final product? I think we’re excited to see it,” Brandolph said.
The cleaning project is the latest in a series of upgrades at the building. Two years ago, the interior lighting system was replaced, and the escalators to the light rail tracks are in the process of being replaced.
“It’s all part of our program to keep facilities in the state of good repair,” Brandolph said.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.