(republished)
Long time researcher and friend of this blog, Bernhard Brabenec, has
produced a complete book on The Bible
House of Allegheny, the first custom built headquarters of the Bible
Students. It is over 130 pages in length and profusely illustrated with
diagrams and photographs. Below is a graphic of the cover along with a facsimile
from part the foreword.
The foreword gives good reasons for owning this volume. The history of
the first custom built headquarters for the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
has a lot of interest for anyone who is ever likely to read history blogs. Who worked at Bible House? A comprehensive
list is provided taken from city directories over its 20 year history. What
were the various offices like and how did they work? Familiar photographs are
provided with a clarity many will not have seen before. Some are colorized, and
others provide names of the specific workers. There are photos of the first
Watch Tower directors and the personal histories of C T Russell’s private
secretaries. The building was so large that initially some space was rented out
to businesses, some connnected with the Bible Students, some not. These are
described. Gradually the work expanded to take over the whole building and
prompt a move to Brooklyn. The building survived until the 1960s and its
post-1909 history has Bible Student links. So the book contains all of this,
and more.
I can sincerely recommend it to all. Links are notoriously unstable, but
if you go to Amazon for your particular country, use the search terms <The
Bible House in Allegheny, Pittsburgh, PA> or <Bernhard J. Brabenec>. The
Amazon site will allow you preview some of the pages, which will give a better
idea of the book than this review can.
Bernhard has produced several other history books of interest. Another recent
one is The Photo Album of Charles Taze
Russell. This is nearly all photographs, the best copies available and that
is reflected in the price of this volume. There is also the comprehensive Who’s Who in the History of (the Bible
Student) Movement before 1920. Additionally, Bernhard has written a very
detailed history of Bible Students in
Austria. Unfortunately, the latter is only available in the German language
at present. But if you follow the trail to Amazon for the Bible House book you
will also find links to these other works and more.
So which year is this building from? I am asking when it was owned by Bible Students, not when it was built.
ReplyDeleteThe building was custom-built, so from its construction in 1889 it was owned by C T Russell and later donated to the Watch Tower Society. It was used for around 20 years until they moved to Brooklyn.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information. I will try to write something about this building based on the Society's publication.
ReplyDeleteHere are two descriptions of this building:
ReplyDelete*** yb75 p. 42 Part 1—United States of America ***
THE BIBLE HOUSE
The Bible Students had headquarters offices first at 101 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, and thereafter at 44 Federal Street, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. By the late 1880’s, however, the accelerating work of publishing the good news and gathering sheeplike ones made expansion a necessity. So, Jehovah’s people built their own structure. Completed in 1889 at a cost of $34,000, this four-story brick building situated at 56-60 (later renumbered 610-614) Arch Street, Allegheny, was known as the “Bible House.” Originally it was held in title by the Tower Publishing Company, a private concern managed by C. T. Russell that for some years published literature for the Watch Tower Society at an agreed price. In April 1898, ownership of this plant and real estate was transferred by donation to the Watch Tower Society, its board of directors evaluating the structure and equipment at $164,033.65.
*** w55 2/1 p. 77 ***
Arch Street, Allegheny (North Side, Pittsburgh), containing quarters for a small “Bible House family,” printing works, shipping rooms, an assembly place for about 200, an office, an editorial department and a store front. They named it “Bible House.”* Years later, the Society’s board of directors accepted the donation of title to this plant, the board valuing the building’s net equity and all of its equipment at $164,033.65.* (...)
* W Jan. 1890, p. 1; Sept. 1, 1900, pp. 260, 272 (picture).
* Originally this property was legally held by the Tower Publishing Company, a private concern personally managed by C. T. Russell. In April, 1898, the ownership of this plant and real estate was transferred to the legal corporation, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. W Apr. 15, 1898, p. 114; W Dec. 15, 1898, p. 369.