BUILDINGS. Among the prominent public buildings are the Allegheny County court house and jail, erected in 1884 at a cost of $4,000,000. granite structures facing on Grant Street and connected by a 'Bridge of Sighs' across Ross Street. The post-otlic•e building on Smithfield Street is a splendid speebnen of architecture. The rooms occupied by the United States Circuit and District courts are finished in mahogany, magnificently carved. The United States Engi neer. Collector of Internal Revenue. Surveyor of the Port, and other Federal officials have their offices in this building. Chief among the many handsome office buildings for which Pittsburg is noted is the Frick Building, at Fifth Avenue and Grant Street. It is of granite, 20 stories high, and finished throughout in marble and mahormny It is one of the most luxurious pub lic office buildings in the world. The Farmers' Deposit National Bank Building, 24 stories high, is little inferior. Among other handsome edifices of the 'skyscraper' type arc the Carnegie, Park, Tradesmen's, Peoples' Bank for Savings, Arrott, and Empire. The Bank of Pittsburg and the Pittsburg Stock Exchange have artistic homes. Among the notable ecclesiastical structures are the new Saint Paul's Cathedral in Bellefield, Trinity Church (Protestant Episcopal), First and Third Presbyterian churches, Church of the Ascension (Protestant Episcopal), East Liberty Presbyterian, Christ Methodist Episcopal, Saint Augustine's (Boman Catholic), Sixth United Presbyterian, and Calvary (Protestant Epis copal). The finest hotels are the Schenley, Lin coln, and Henry.
PARKs. Pittsburg's system of parks originated in 1890, when Mrs Mary E. Schenley deeded to the city more than 400 acres of land in the heart of the residential distriet. This was named in her honor. Since that time the city has acquired several other tracts of land for park purposes, and the system now includes 1000 acres, all within the city limits. Additions to Schenley Park have increased its size to 440 acres. It contains the Phipps Conservatory and the Hall of Botany, both gifts from Henry Phipps: a music pavilion, several fine bridges, a bronze statue of E. M. Bigelow, the 'Father of the Parks,' a notable pair of panthers in bronze, anal three shelter-houses. Highland Park, one of the most picturesque parks in the has an area of 441 acres. It contains city res ervoirs Nos. 1 and 2, zoiilogieal gardens, the gift of the late C. L. Magee, two shelter-houses, and several statues. The principal entrances at Highland and Stanton avenues are graced by handsome sculptures. The other parks, all small, are: Herron Hill, Central, Friendship, Holliday, West End, Grandview, McKinley. and Second Avenue. Connecting Schenley and Highland parks with the downtown district are Grant and Beechwood boulevards, miles long, and forming, with the roadways in the parks, a con tinuous drive of more than 20 miles in length.
Pumic INSTITUTIONS. Chief among the public
institutions of the city are the Carnegie Free Library and the Carnegie institute, situated at the Forbes Street entrance to Schenley Park. They were presented to the city by Andrew Car negie. The first tender was made in 1831. but it was not until 1886 that Councils accepted the offer. The building, for which Air. Carnegie gave $1,100,000, was completed in 1895. It con tains the Central Free Library and the Carnegie Institute, the latter comprising a museum, gal lery of fine arts, and music hall. The library and institute are affiliated, but not identical, the former being maintained by the city, while the latter has an endowment of $2.000,000 from Mr. Carnegie. The city appropriates $131,000 an nually for the maintenance of the central and branch libraries. The central library contains 104,500 volumes, and five branches, in various parts of the city, have an aggregate of 55,500 volumes, In the gallery of fine arts are a per manent collection of 50 paintings, many of which were bought at the animal exhibitions given there, 19 plaster casts of famous sculptures, and 170 reproductions of antique bronzes. The mu seum has a large collection of wide scope. In the music hall is a fine pipe organ, and here are given every week two free recitals. The hall is also the home of the Pittsburg Orchestra, which gives a course of concerts each winter. The music hall is self-supporting. The library and institute arc to he much enlarged. The city has just acquired the necessary ground. and Mr. Carnegie has placed $5.001000 at the disposal of the trustees. The building will cover three and one-half acres. .
The Pittsburg Exposition Society lies its headquarters between Duquesne Way and the Allegheny River. at the Point. Ilere a general ex position is held each autumn, lasting for several weeks. The largest general hospital in the city is the West Penn, on Twenty-eighth Street, which has a department for the insane at Dix mont. Other large hospitals are the Mercy, Homeopathic, Saint Margaret's Memorial, I'assa vant, Charity, Smith Side, and Eye, Ear, and Throat. All these, save the last named and Saint Margaret's, receive State aid. Among the chari table institutions are the Church Home (Protest ant Episcopal), Saint Joseph's Protectory for Boys (Roman Catholic), Home for Incurables, Florence Crittenton Home, Home for the Aged (Roman Catholic), Free Dispensary. House of the Merciful Saviour, Saint Paul's Orphan Asylum (Roman Catholic), now located at Idlewood: Old Ladies' Dome (United Presbyterian), at Wil kinsburg; Odd Fellows' Home for Widows and Orphans, at Ben Avon. The principal cemeteries are Allegheny. Homewood, and Suuthside (Prot estant), and Saint Mary's and Calvary (Roman Catholic). The smaller burying-grounds are numerous, perhaps the most interesting being that surrounding Trinity Church, Sixth Avenue, where many of the prominent pioneers of the community repose.