Despite homeowners' objection, Lawrenceville house likely gets historic designation without council action

A 180-year-old Greek revival house in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood is set to be designated a historic landmark, despite opposition from its present owners, Eric and Beth Rupert.

Known as the Ewalt House, the property at 186 Home St. was inherited by Eric Rupert when his father died in 2016.

Late last year the Ruperts, who live in Hampton, were in the process of securing permits to demolish the house and sell the property to a developer. But Keith Cochran, an architect based in Lawrenceville, nominated the house for designation as a landmark. He acted on behalf of the neighborhood preservation group Lawrenceville Stakeholders.

“The house goes back to before the Industrial Revolution in Pittsburgh,” Cochran said, citing its worth for preservation. “The interior of the house in unbelievable. I think there are people in Pittsburgh who would welcome an opportunity to restore this house.”

If there are, they haven’t made an offer to buy the house, which is “falling down,” Beth Rupert said. Further, she said, the original owner, Samuel Ewalt, was a slaveowner. To emphasize that point, she has festooned the front porch of the house with a “Black Lives Matter” banner.

The building was damaged by a wind burst last August. While the Ruperts have taken temporary measures to keep it standing, they lack the resources or desire to restore it. On the Allegheny County Real Estate website, the property (listed at 4611 Eden Way) is $186,500.

“It should be our right to sell it and to demolish it if it’s falling down,” Beth Rupert said.

Instead, Beth Rupert said, she and her husband are pawns in a political issue between those who support new development in the fast-growing neighborhood and those who want to preserve its character.

The designation was recommended this year by the city’s Historic Review Commission and Planning Commission. But because the Ruperts opposed it, six City Council members are required to approve the designation.

Instead, last week Councilwoman Deborah Gross, who represents the neighborhood, was joined by her colleagues Bruce Kraus, Corey O’Connor, Erika Strassburger and Bobby Wilson in voting to delay a vote on the measure for three weeks.

Council President Theresa Kail-Smith and members Anthony Coghill and R. Daniel Lavelle voted against the delay. Councilman Ricky Burgess was absent but he opposes historic designations when the property owner disputes them.

Delaying a vote effectively means the designation is approved. The ordinance governing historic designations says that if council fails to act, the designation is deemed approved if other city agencies recommend the designation.

Council members didn’t address the issue at the meeting.

“We lost by default,” Beth Rupert said.

Beyond the work that needs to be done to restore the house — “we’re talking a money pit” is how Beth Rupert puts it – she also questions the reasoning to preserve the home of a man who warrants scant mention in history books.

Samuel Ewalt was a sheriff, assemblyman and landowner in the area. Beth Rupert cites a University of Pittsburgh database of slaveholders in the region indicating that he owned two slaves. “We should not have that house stay up to glorify a corrupt slave owner,” she said.

There are 12 people named Ewalt registered to vote in Allegheny County. Among them is Henry Ewalt, 80, of Mt. Lebanon.

Henry Ewalt doesn’t know his specific relation to Samuel Ewalt, but said the house in Lawrenceville is likely the last of the Ewalt properties since the family moved from Bedford County to Pittsburgh.

He acknowledged the controversial nature of the historic designation but said the house does have historical value.

“If the city council want to designate it as historic, as I think they have, I’m all in favor of it,” Henry Ewalt said.

Preserving the house is also issue that’s distinct from Ewalt’s historical standing, Cochran said.

“I think it’s irrelevant to what we’re talking about here,” he said.

Although council didn’t take action, the designation was recommended by commissions that require input from residents, Gross said.

“This isn’t an easy situation,” Gross said. “I certainly am sympathetic to the owners’ desire to make a sale.”

But she also has to weigh the people who want to protect and preserve Lawrenceville’s character as the neighborhood continues to explode with development, she said.

Beth Rupert said there’s little recourse for her family to take. “This is going to financially destroy my family,” she said.