Ribbon cutting reveals progress in adaptive reuse of Westinghouse Castle

It was a cause for celebration Thursday night in Wilmerding.

The significant progress being made in the adaptive reuse of the Westinghouse Air Brake Co. (WABCO) general offices inside the majestic “Castle” was enough to inspire a big reveal.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony heralded a moment those behind the project have long been looking forward to.

The public was invited to tour the first two floors of the stately Romanesque/Renaissance Revival building that the Turtle Creek Valley Arts and Westinghouse Arts Academy will soon be using. Turtle Creek Valley Arts is subletting most of the property to the Westinghouse Arts Academy, but is retaining use of the building during non-school hours.

Much needed headway has been made in the restoration effort, a need that was obvious to anyone who attended the ceremony just under a year ago to celebrate the beginning of the Castle’s refurbishing. There were ceilings and walls down, and only a major effort to secure the building prevented rain from pouring in.

A lot has changed since last November — floors have been cleaned and new carpeting laid — new lights and ceilings are also in place.

The ground floor has become a cafeteria and classrooms, and there are plans for a small art gallery.

One floor above, disrepair has given way to dance studios. There are also areas for digital arts and esports, and classrooms where ceramics, culinary arts and other skills will be taught.

“It’s almost miraculous what has happened in the last year,” said Bill Pricener, president of the Westinghouse Arts Academy board of trustees. “Even when I went downstairs into the cafeteria just a few minutes ago, the last time I was here three months ago it was like a war zone. It is miraculous what they’ve done to transform this place.”

Developer Joe Lawrence, who has led the project to preserve and repurpose the Castle, said there was more work to do than was expected.

“It was very emotional and heartwarming for me to see so many people here from the community, so many people enthusiastic about the building and its history, telling me stories of people who used to work here,” Lawrence said.

One of the former Westinghouse employees taking advantage of the opportunity to tour the place where she worked for many years was Elaine Henigan, who was employed by the company from 1966 to 1981. She was the first woman to work in the company’s foundry and said it was good to see the Castle coming back to life after years of neglect and deterioration.

“I’m delighted. I guess I always felt bad that the air brake company abandoned this building some years ago,” Henigan said. “I thought it was really sad. I know the history of George Westinghouse, and it just broke my heart that this castle, which used to be his home, was going to fall apart.”

That is no longer a concern as plans call for restoration work to expand to all four floors over the next few years.

“Oh my god, this building is not just important to this community, but it’s important to the world as a whole,” said Richard Fosbrink, Westinghouse Arts Academy CEO. “Important historical events happened here so this is a structure that could not be replaced if it had been allowed to fall apart. So, it being saved is a huge event for us.”

Fosbrink told a gathering of at least a couple hundred people that the structure “has stood here through good times and bad times, just like this community. To me it is a testament to the resilience of the community as a whole that we are reopening this building.”