Penn & Liberty Avenues (Commercial Buildings), King Building, 639 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA

Written data includes sketches & photocopies of maps & photographs.
Significance: The King Building's primary significance dated to the latter half of the 19th century when it housed a procession of commission merchants, the earliest documented one being J.A. Graff in 1873. Although Robert H. King, the owner does not appear to have occupied the building, he and his neighbor at 641 Liberty, the Whittens, built both warehouses in a Victorian commercial stylistic vocabulary that characterized Pittsburgh's downtown before Henry Hobson Richardson's design for the Allegheny Courthouse revolutionized the city's taste in materials, massing, and style. In keeping with the organic nature of a downtown commercial district, the King Building underwent its changes, too. In 1908, the King heirs commissioned W.D. Beatty, a Pittsburgh builder, to construct a more fashionable free-classical facade that better suited the early 20th century retail shopping district. It was this facade that weathered the alterations by commercial tenants until 1984.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-202
Survey number: HABS PA-5152-B
Building/structure dates: ca. 1860- ca. 1873 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1908 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after. 1950- before. 1960 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after. 1960- before. 1970