The Westinghouse Air Brake Company General Office is another example of a successful historic tax credit project in Pennsylvania. This latest installment of “Historic Tax Credits @ Work” highlights how a historic industrial landmark can be thoughtfully rehabilitated and reused as educational and event space. Today, the well-known Wilmerding landmark once again supports the community while reminding visitors of its important role in the region’s industrial past.
George Westinghouse and the Air Brake Company
The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was the first company founded by George Westinghouse, an influential American inventor, engineer, and industrialist based in Pittsburgh. Westinghouse held 361 patents and was responsible for numerous technological innovations and improvements, most notably for railway signaling, alternating current (AC) for electric lighting and power, and the air brake, which revolutionized railroad safety and efficiency.
George Westinghouse. The Westinghouse Companies in the Railway & Industrial Fields, 1905.
The company was started in Pittsburgh in 1869. Technology improvements drove increasing demand for its products, and the company relocated to the Borough of Wilmerding, Allegheny County in 1890. The company’s relocation represented a major industrial venture. The site was largely undeveloped, so the project involved not only constructing a factory complex but also planning and building an entire company town.
Located at 325 Commerce Street ,the General Office Building (PA-SHARE Resource #1984RE01249) was originally known as Library Hall and, served as a community center for the new town. It was constructed in 1890 and likely designed by Frederick J. Osterling in the Richardsonian Romanesque–Chateauesque style as a wood-framed structure clad in stone and brick. Early amenities included a bowling alley, swimming pool, reading room, restaurant, and bathing rooms.
Soon after construction was completed, however, the Westinghouse Air Brake Company needed executive offices and established space in Library Hall alongside the community library and local YMCA.
The building was largely rebuilt in 1896 after a fire two years before, and an additional floor was added and the prominent corner tower enlarged to six stories. Between 1907 and 1926, the Company renovated the building’s interior and added a large addition, designed by the Pittsburgh firm Janssen & Cocken, to increase the building’s footprint.
These changes converted the building fully into office space for the Westinghouse Company.
Plant of the Westinghouse Air Brake Co., Wilmerding, PA.
Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. Plant of the Westinghouse Air Brake Co., Wilmerding, Pa. Wilmerding United States Pennsylvania, ca. 1905. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016794950/.
At the new site, the company expanded rapidly, diversifying its manufacturing operations and improving product consistency. Over time, the Air Brake Company acquired subsidiaries including the Union Switch and Signal Company and the Westinghouse Pacific Coast Brake Company, along with several related companies.
In 1950, the corporation adopted WABCO as its corporate identity. The company later merged with American Standard Inc. in 1968.
Operations in Wilmerding eventually declined because of financial instability, deindustrialization, and corporate ownership changes. The General Office Building continued to serve corporate purposes until 1985, when American Standard Corporation vacated the property.
Two years later, on March 6, 1987, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A and C for its significance in Industry, Architecture, Social History, and Community Planning and Development, with a period of significance from 1890 to 1926.
This designation later helped make the building eligible for both Federal and Pennsylvania Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits, which became a key component of the project’s financing.
General offices, the Westinghouse Air-Brake Co., Wilmerding, PA
Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. Plant of the Westinghouse Air Brake Co., Wilmerding, Pa. Wilmerding United States Pennsylvania, ca. 1905. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016794950/.
Rehabilitation
Between 2021 and 2024, Westinghouse Castle LP undertook a $10 million rehabilitation project to restore and adapt the partially vacant building.
Exterior work focused on preserving the building’s historic materials and character-defining features. This included:
- retaining, repointing, cleaning, and repairing the existing brick and stone masonry;
- preserving copper decorative capping and flashing;
- repairing and replacing windows and doors in kind;
- constructing a new accessible entrance with a stair and ADA ramp;
- repairing and rebuilding dormers;
- installing a new metal fire escape; and
- repairing and replacing roofing while adding a guardrail to the lower flat roof section.
Interior work retained many historic features while adapting the building for modern use. Preservation efforts included maintaining existing corridors, door openings, the clock tower, and entrance vestibules. Decorative plaster walls and ceilings, marble wainscoting, terrazzo flooring, wood trim, and wood flooring were carefully repaired and preserved.
Additional work included:
- installing new partitions and ceilings where necessary,
- constructing new restrooms and kitchen areas,
- restoring historic stairways,
- modifying circulation openings,
- installing new interior finishes, and
- adding concealed mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.
The rehabilitation was completed successfully and received Part 3 certification from the National Park Service on January 1, 2026, confirming that the project met the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
The project also received $250,000 in Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Tax Credits from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) for Fiscal Year 2023–2024.
Pre Rehabilitation, William P. Malloy, ROAM Investments
Post-Rehabilitation
Today, the historic General Office Building is being used as educational and event space. Once again, the building serves the community that grew around it more than a century ago.
Projects like this demonstrate how the Federal and Pennsylvania Historic Tax Credit programs help make the preservation and reuse of historic buildings financially feasible. Through these partnerships, historic properties can continue telling the stories of Pennsylvania’s past while supporting new uses that benefit communities today.
The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office is grateful to the property owners, partners, and supporters who make projects like this possible.
Westinghouse Air Brake General Offices Facing South, William P. Malloy, ROAM Investments
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