Newlyweds Chris and Heather Smith are in love with something besides each other — their new “old” house in Aspinwall.

The couple bought a historic stone home in the Sauer Buildings Historic District on Center Avenue in the borough.

The Smiths were so enthralled with their residence, they chose the grounds dubbed by many as “the mansion” to hold their wedding.

“There’s a cool stone arch and we got married there,” Heather Smith said.

The Sauer Buildings Historic District occupies homes between 607 and 717 Center Ave., all designed and built by the late German-American architect Frederick C. Sauer.

Sauer hailed from Heidelberg, Germany, and immigrated to America in 1880, settling in Aspinwall, where he designed and built a private residence that the Smiths now call home.

Courtesy of Heather Smith Chris and Heather Smith married at their residence in the Sauer Buildings Historic District in Aspinwall.  

The Smiths’ house is the largest of the bunch, surrounded by the other stone dwellings clustered closely together, resembling a little slice of a typical, European German village.

The unique community occupying 607-717 Center Ave. provides a close-knit vibe for its residents, something homeowners said encourages a supportive and positive living environment.

The unique residences are a departure from Sauer’s professional architectural designs.

He was known for designing many Pittsburgh Catholic churches, including St. Mary of the Mount on Mt. Washington, St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in the Strip District and St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale.

Restoration realized

The couple bought the home three years ago and are living amid ongoing renovations with their Chihuahua named Chica (she loves to hang out on any radiator in the home) as Chris Smith, a master carpenter, works to restore the home featuring original woodwork, pocket doors, plaster ceilings, wood floors, windows, stained glass, closets and interior stone details like gargoyles — historically used in homes, churches and buildings to ward off evil spirits.

The Smiths paid $385,000 for the Sauer home, well below the original asking price of $550,000.

The “mansion” has four fireplaces, five bedrooms, an upstairs, former servants’ quarters and three bathrooms.

The rooms are oversized with tall ceilings and the home housed multiple apartments for decades.

Chris Smith said living among other Sauer-home owners is his favorite part of home ownership.

The Smiths are both juggling full-time careers in the medical device industry, and Chris Smith also owns and operates Period Adornments, a contracting business.

He expects to spend the next seven years completing work on the home during the evenings and on weekends.

“They say 9 to 5 pays the bills and 5 to 9 is your dream work,” Heather Smith said.

Current restoration work in the dining room shows a recently hand-painted nature-themed mural by Nicole Beckett of Oakmont.

“We love the outdoors and she put a little off-road path in there,” Heather Smith said. “And I love that our entryway is pretty much exactly how it was.”

The Smiths have collected items that the house has “given” them and keeps them on display in a separate room with a few items displayed just outside the kitchen, which features original Delft tile and an oversized marble double sink.

“I feel blessed to be able to take on this project,” Chris Smith said. “This is what I love — this kind of work — period detail construction.”

The Smiths have limited information on their home but believe it to be built on the oldest foundation in Aspinwall.

Sauer lived in the home with his family and died in 1942, according to information from the Cooper-Siegel Community Library.

Playfully nicknamed by Sauer residents as “the cult-a-sac,” (instead of cul-de-sac) the homes are referred to by many Aspinwall residents as the “castles.”

Chris Smith, 44, was raised in Sewickley and graduated from Quaker Valley High School in 1999 and Heather, 49, (maiden name Hernandez) grew up in New Kensington and graduated from a home school program.

“I think (the Noro family) is very fortunate that he sold these homes to people that are 100 percent like-minded and they all want to restore and bring back some of the former glory to these homes. We all get along and are on the same page,” Heather Smith said.

The couple pondered what Sauer himself would say about their ongoing restoration efforts.

“I would have questions for him — there have been talks of tunnels. I would definitely I think he would be very proud of this and hopefully I’m doing him justice,” Chris Smith said.

Residents embrace restoration efforts

Sauer-home owner Chris Brenner has lived in what’s referred to as the Honeymoon Cottage.

“My foundation was originally a chicken coop and at some point, Sauer built on top of my house. I just call it my little castle,” Brenner said.

Brenner spoke enthusiastically about living in the historic structures.

“It’s awesome. A lot of the materials were leftover from the churches he built,” said Brenner, formerly of Lawrenceville. “My first visit, I was just amazed. It was like something you would see in a movie.”

Brenner, a guitar player for the band Dream The Heavy, first rented his Sauer space and later bought it.

Living in a historic district among others who share his admiration of Sauer’s work is something Brenner appreciates and he welcomes the Smiths’ efforts to bring life back to the “mansion.”

“I love it because I lived here (renting) for a long time and it was a dark property, but now the Smiths are fixing it up. I used to walk around and some of the buildings were falling into disrepair and over the last few years, the new blood that came through here, it’s been a lot of fun,” Brenner said. “My biggest fear was who our neighbors would be, but we all are blessed and we call it our little mountain community.”

Brenner praised Sauer’s use of Pennsylvania field stone and the natural aesthetic of all the homes.

“My place has exposed stone, a wood-burning fireplace, concrete floors. It’s almost like a rustic cabin and makes me feel like I’m in the woods,” Brenner said.

Sauer District residents are hopeful the residences can help to generate income for future repairs and upkeep.

“I’m very happy the places are coming back and as a community, we are brainstorming on how we can use them — just a lot of cool plans coming up. It’s a new lease on life with young blood,” Brenner said.

Kelly Carter lives in a Sauer duplex with a garage that was formerly horse stables.

She bought the home in 2022 and has since then found more than new digs living in the district.

Carter is dating neighbor Chris Brenner.

“And people would ask me if I was worried about living so close to my neighbor. It’s working out great,” Carter said.

Carter grew up in Pittsburgh’s West End. She resides in a Sauer duplex featuring stone pillars and stone flooring inside a garage that once served as stables for Sauer’s horses.

All of the residents stay on the lookout for artifacts from the 1800s.

Brenner has scoured the grounds with a metal detector and so far, he’s unearthed Civil War-era bullets, lead bars, old jewelry, coins, old toys and an old World War I medal.

All of the original brick roads are owned and shared by the residents and not maintained by the borough.

Carter noted the residents pitch in with salting duties.

The owners of the Heidelberg recently hosted a Sauer-neighbor Halloween soiree on the grounds.

Carter said she and her neighbors are hopeful they’ll figure out a way to earn some funds that they can use to put back into the district.

“Everyone here is amazing and we all get along,” Carter said. “I’m happy to be here and I’m excited to work on other projects.”

Aspinwall resident and historian Terry Nelson Taylor has explored the life of Sauer in depth and includes the homes in her historical walking tours of the borough.

“Fred Sauer had 58 new buildings under construction, with 37 of them on East End’s Boulevard Place,” said Taylor of Sauer’s late 1880s business pursuits.

According to Taylor, Sauer used salvaged materials from construction sites around Pittsburgh to provide a bit of whimsy to the buildings.

“Sauer was a scavenger and a lot of the things he acquired were from the demolition of other buildings,” Taylor said.

Walking the grounds reveals a sculpture of an eagle or the bas-relief of Benjamin Franklin.

Taylor said the homes are always a hit with guests on her walking tours.

“It’s so unique and it’s so whimsical that people on my tours are mesmerized by how much there is to look at,” Taylor said. “Pittsburgh is built on hills like Rome and that steep grade of Center Avenue reflects some of the areas where Sauer grew up in Germany. He was creating a village in his mind, I think. And when architects of that era came to America, they were free to do what they wanted. Sauer did what he dreamed and he was free to do so without fear of repercussions from the government.”

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