Mellon Institute

Although Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning peeks above it, the Mellon Institute dominates the corner of Fifth and Bellefield avenues  in Oakland.

Pittsburgh millionaires Richard B. and Andrew W. Mellon founded the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in 1911 as the world's first research and development center for industry.

At first a part of the University of Pittsburgh and now under the Carnegie Mellon University banner, the institute was a problem-solver for industry. Firms would bring their technical difficulties to the institute, then professors would be assigned to develop a solution.

After outgrowing two other buildings, R.B. wanted one that would last for centuries. That's what architect Benno Janssen gave him in spades.

Janssen created a hollow square with a five-story colonnade on all four sides -- even though one side faces an alley. The Fifth Avenue side is as long as the Parthenon in Greece. The columns were quarried as 125-ton blocks of limestone that weighed 60 tons each after being carved.

While Janssen's design was meant to represent the serious work the institute performed -- as well as the egos of the two moneyed Mellons -- the result was  a massive Classical Revival structure that appears to overwhelm its Beaux Arts and Gothic Revival neighbors.

Like the Rockefellers, who funded the construction of the office complex bearing their name in New York, the Mellons didn’t let the Great Depression stop their building plans. They also helped build the Cathedral of Learning, the Gulf Tower, the Koppers Building and East Liberty Presbyterian Church during that time.

The Mellon Institute received a Pittsburgh History and Landmark Foundation plaque and is a contributor to the Schenley Farms National Historic District.

Source: “Pittsburgh: A New Portrait” by Franklin Toker