The Pittsburgh City-County Building is the seat of government the City of Pittsburgh and houses both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County offices. It is located in Downtown Pittsburgh at 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Built from 1915-17 it is the third seat of government of Pittsburgh. Today the building is occupied mostly by Pittsburgh offices with Allegheny County located in adjacent county facilities.HistoryIn 1914, a competition was held for a new Pittsburgh City Hall. The 16-entry competition led to the commissioning of Edward B. Lee, a respected Pittsburgh architect, with Palmer, Hornbostel, & Jones as associated architects. The completed design was done by Hornbostel. The building was commissioned by former Pittsburgh Mayor Joseph G. Armstrong to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Pittsburgh's 1816 incorporation as a city.The Grand Lobby is a naturally lit atrium with a 47-foot high barrel-vaulted ceiling. The ceiling is held up by bronze columns crafted by Louis Tiffany Studios. They feature at their bases, the Seals of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, frontiersman Guyasuta, and Pittsburgh's oldest surviving building, the Fort Pitt Blockhouse. The rooms ornate elevator doors feature a series of reliefs detailing the previous homes of municipal government. The reliefs age with the building's they clutch, reaching adulthood with the present City-County Building and Allegheny County Courthouse.The building is also unique in that most of the furniture was designed by the building's architect, Hornbostel. The Office of the Mayor, Council Chamber, and Supreme Court Room all feature 1917 furniture still in use today.
