BUILT IN 1889–90 AS THE GERMAN NATIONAL BANK , The Granite Building provided German immigrants to the Pittsburgh area with a place where they could transact their banking in their native language. The building’s magnificent architecture, by Bickel & Brennan, has been characterized by historians as “Richardsonian Romanesque,” in the style of the famed H.H. Richardson’s Pittsburgh County Courthouse and Jail, a few blocks away. Charles Bickel was a prominent Pittsburgh architect who designed several notable buildings downtown, among them Kaufmann’s department store. The Granite Building’s highly ornamented facade was entirely carved by Italian stonemasons.

The Granite Building anchors one corner of what is indisputably downtown Pittsburgh’s most beautiful block: Sixth Avenue , between Wood and Smithfield Streets. Next door is the Duquesne Club, the stately private sanctum of Pittsburgh’s leading industrialists and business people. Neighbors across the street include two grand nineteenth-century churches: the First Presbyterian Church and the adjoining Trinity Cathedral, flanking a picturesque graveyard from the French and Indian War and built on property bequeathed to the city in 1787 by the Penn family.

After more than a century as an office building, The Granite Building is now being renovated as luxury condominiums. Among the many downtown candidates for residential conversion, the Granite Building is considered ideal, for its spaciousness and ample light. With only one 3,000 square foot unit per floor, the Granite Building provides the comfort and privacy of a single-family home in the heart of the city.

The Granite Building is a short walk from downtown Pittsburgh’s corporate headquarters, and an easy commute, via subway (across the street), bus, or car, to the South Side and Oakland . Located in the Cultural District, opposite the Wood Street Galleries, the Granite Building offers close proximity to downtown theaters, restaurants, and night life. Football, baseball, and hockey games are a brief stroll away.