You Can’t Build That Here — Carson Towers
January 17, 2024
Our seventh entry in the You Can’t Build That Here series takes us to an early 20th century hospital that is now senior apartments in the South Side Flats .
For our seventh entry in our “You Can’t Build That Here!” series, we take the incline down from Mt Washington and head down Carson Street into the South Side Flats.
Each entry in this series highlights a currently existing building that would be illegal to build under the existing zoning code. The purpose is to highlight how flawed our zoning code is.
Today, we’re looking at 2117 E Carson St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203 - the former St. Joseph’s Hospital turned into a senior living apartment building named Carson Towers.
The historical record isn’t quite clear if this building was built in 1907 or 1911.
For example, this article says the hospital was founded in 1902, the new building was constructed in 1907, and that it’s 6 stories tall. But this article says it was founded in 1904, built in 1911, and that it’s 5 stories tall. Looking at it from the street, I count 6 and a half stories, including the half basement and the attic. Certainly by 1910, St. Joseph’s Hospital existed on the city maps, but we don’t see the current footprint of the building until the next set of maps in 1923.
From the 1910 map. A St. Joseph’s Hospital exists in the current site of Carson Towers, but it’s not the same footprint as the current building. That might just be an error by the map creator, though.
From the 1923 map of Pittsburgh. Notice the trolley lines in both this map and the 1910 map - density is a prerequisite for supporting a good mass transit system.
Carson Towers is a former hospital complex. The lot it sits on is made of two parcels, 12-F-372 and (you can see on the Zoning map below how that works), a total of 42,240 square feet. The initial St. Joseph’s Hospital building, the central structure that you can see in the facade today, is shown on the 1923 map as being on a lot that is 80 ft by 120 ft - 9,600 square feet, and almost completely fills the lot - no front or rear setbacks, and minimal side setbacks (though with some inner courtyard space carved out on the sides for ventilation purposes).
