The Hitzrot House – A Once Incredible Mansion In Pennsylvania
In 2014, one of the final downtown mansions of McKeesport was demolished – the historic Hitzrot House
The Hitzrot House was built in 1892 for Dr. Henry Hitzrot. The home was designed by German-American architect Frederick C. Sauer. Frederick Sauer was a stonemason, bricklayer and carpenter who had moved to Pittsburgh from Germany in 1880, later establishing an office in 1884. He later went on to establish the Aspinwall-Delafield Land Company in 1904. Sauer built about a dozen Catholic churches in the area, with some notable works including St. Stanislaus Kostka Church and St. Mary of the Mount Church in Pittsburgh.
Hitzrot was born and raised by his parents in the ancient city of Cassel, capital of the province of Hesse Nassau, Prussia on March 18, 1847. His mother was from France, and his father from Germany. He was the third child of his parents. In 1859, when Henry was just 12 years old, he had lost his father to an accidental death. His mother had never remarried. She instead devoted her life to making sure her children had the best education that they could get, making certain that a bright future lie ahead for them all. Thanks to the great love and care of his mother, Henry and his younger brother Carl had both gone on in life to become highly educated and skilled physicians. His two sisters, Margaret and Christina both married and died in Germany.
Hitzrot attended schools in Cassel, as well as the University of Berlin. Before finishing his university course, he had come over to the United States, moving to Western Pennsylvania. For a short time after his arrival, he was employed by the Cambria Iron Company in Johnstown as an office man. Working at the iron company, he was able to save enough to be financially able to carry out plans of entering the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore. From there, he pursued a full course of medical study, eventually receiving the degree of M.D. He then went on to take special courses as Johns Hopkins Hospital and the university in Baltimore, which would eventually bring him into the practice of medicine and surgery.
After obtaining his degrees, he returned to McKeesport and began practicing in his profession. He rose to be known publicly as a phenomenal doctor, and as the years passed became very lucrative in his career. Heavily devoted to his profession, he was held in the highest of esteem by his colleagues.
Henry had commissioned the construction of his home in 1892. Most of the construction on the home was done by locals to the McKeesport area, with most of the stone and other supplies locally sourced from other skilled tradespeople. The home had cost around $50,000 to build, which today would be equal to well over $1 million. Most of his time outside of his medical work was spent here inside of his home office.
He had married twice; first to Priscilla Morley, whom he had 5 children with, and second to Agnes Haler on September 15, 1896. Only ten years after marrying Agnes, Henry died in McKeesport, Pennsylvania on June 23, 1906 at the age of 59.
Five years following his death, his home was purchased by the McKeesport Fraternal Order of Eagles. The Eagles had attached at auditorium to the home in the 1920s, and operated the Aerie 285 lodge at the former home into the mid-1980s before abandoning the building. It would not be until 1991 that the building was obtained by Museum Hair Institute and then used for a short time as a salon and beauty school. Remnants of the hair dryers could be seen in the collapsed basement when I visited, but my photos were not all that great as I couldn’t find enough leverage to climb for a better view. Honestly though, I’m still kind of kicking myself for that one; it may have been a possibility.
A fire had caused damage to the building in 2001. By this time, there had been such a lack of upkeep, and an accumulation of junk spread throughout the building that it looked like a hoarder’s home. The McKeesport Fire Department was able to put out the fire before it caused significant damage, but a lack of upkeep eventually led to heavy dilapidation.
After years of abandonment, the home was demolished on July 21, 2014 with no artifacts from the building being saved.
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