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Apartments are available in a former rectory at 4738-4740 Friendship Ave. in Bloomfield.
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Living Here: Former rectory has last-century charm in the heart of Bloomfield

Marilyn Chaney

Living Here: Former rectory has last-century charm in the heart of Bloomfield

The Catholic priests are long gone from the rectory of Immaculate Conception Church in Bloomfield, but vestiges of them remain in religious-themed stained-glass windows.

The two connected houses at 4738 and 4740 Friendship Ave. have last-century charm, with large rooms, big windows, pocket doors, arched doorways, and a total of 12 bedrooms and 6½ bathrooms. Tenants can rent an entire house for $2,600 a month, plus utilities, or a room for $750 with shared access to the living room and kitchen.

Short-term leases are available. An international medical student is renting a room for three months while doing an internship at Children’s Hospital, which, like West Penn Hospital, is a short walk from the house.

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Marilyn Chaney and her husband, John Paul, bought the houses in 2001 and did extensive remodeling. They think the buildings were constructed in the 1940s. There were indications that additions were put on over the years, because the colors of the bricks did not match. So they painted both buildings beige.

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The houses have many traditional features, but the flooring was linoleum. Mrs. Chaney said she got a good deal on mahogany floors, so hardwood was installed on the first floor. Some upstairs rooms have oak or pine floors. A third-floor apartment has vinyl plank flooring that looks like wood. Updated bathrooms include one that has a step-in shower. A boiler provides radiator heat. 

The Chaneys have renovated and lived in at least a half-dozen old homes, she said. They lived in Bloomfield for 18 years until they moved to East Liberty three years ago.

In addition to rentals, Mrs. Chaney directs the nonprofit Earthen Vessels Outreach, which is in 1890s church at the corner of South Pacific and Friendship avenues. The nonprofit youth outreach organization raised $1 million to save and renovate the former Fourth United Presbyterian Church.

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Zillow gives the location of the former rectory a “walkers paradise” score of 96 and a 58 score for public transit because it’s near five bus routes that go to Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland. The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University are just over a mile away.

Friendship Circle Park is across the street, where 3½ laps gives you a 1-mile run.

Inquires can be made to marilynchaney@gmail.com or 412-414-2993.

Linda Wilson Fuoco: lfuoco@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1953.

First Published: November 8, 2021, 11:00 a.m.
Updated: November 8, 2021, 3:19 p.m.

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Apartments are available in a former rectory at 4738-4740 Friendship Ave. in Bloomfield.  (Marilyn Chaney)
The dining room and rest of the first floor have mahogany floors at 4738-4740 Friendship Ave in Bloomfield.  (Marilyn Chaney)
An arched doorway, wooden staircase and stained-glass window on the landing inside the former rectory of Immaculate Conception Church in Bloomfield.  (Marilyn Chaney)
An arched doorway with a stained-glass window at 4738-4740 Friendship Ave. in Bloomfield  (Marilyn Chaney)
Religious stained-glass windows remain in the former rectory.  (Marilyn Chaney)
A common living area available to all tenants in two connected houses at 4738 and 4750 Friendship Ave., Bloomfield  (Marilyn Chaney)
A kitchen at 4738-4740 Friendship Ave in Bloomfield.  (Marilyn Chaney)
An upstairs bedroom at 4738-4740 Friendship Ave. Bloomfield.  (Marilyn Chaney)
A common living area available to all tenants.  (Marilyn Chaney)
One of six bedrooms in the two connected houses.  (Marilyn Chaney)
Marilyn Chaney
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