Mamaux Building
Mamaux Building is located at 123 First Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built circa 1865. The Italianate style building was added to the List of [City of Pittsburgh historic designations] on July 27, 1995. In 2013, the building was listed as a contributing property in the Firstside Historic District.
History
The building originally housed the Fulton & Sons brass foundry, which specialized in bells "of all sizes, from the tiny little tea bell, weighing a few ounces, up to the monster church bell weighing 20,000 pounds." The company was established in 1832 by Andrew Fulton and was doing business at the present location—70 Second Avenue, later renumbered to 120—by 1836. The foundry was damaged or destroyed in the Great Fire of 1845, but was rebuilt.According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Firstside Historic District, the present building was constructed in 1858, while the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation gave a date of 1865. In 1879, the foundry was described as consisting of "two large brick buildings three-stories high, and respectively 35×80 and 70×80 feet with frontages on First and Second avenues."
In 1892 the city of Pittsburgh leased the foundry property, which by then was no longer in use, with plans to turn the buildings into a fire station. Architect Charles Bickel took on the remodeling project. As the Pittsburgh Post reported,
The completed station was put into service by the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire in November, 1892.