When Jonnet Solomon-Nowlin bought Homewood's Harris House with a friend eight years ago, all she knew about the property came from an outside historical marker noting its past use as the home of the nation's first black opera company.
A musician herself, she wanted to preserve that history. But those efforts have encountered many setbacks.
Ms. Solomon-Nowlin, 32, of Mount Washington, said the three-story, Queen Anne-style house on Apple Street has been burglarized more than a dozen times. Thieves have stolen chandeliers, door knobs, hand-carved wooden panels and copper pipes. Someone even took the historical marker, which has since been replaced.
Several months ago, vandals pulled white pillars from the front of the house, causing the porch's roof to partially collapse.
The city gave the house, built in 1894, historic status this year. But its deteriorating condition pushed the Bureau of Building Inspection to condemn the house two weeks ago, Ms. Solomon-Nowlin said.
Now she and local activists are taking emergency steps to save the property from further decline. Ms. Solomon-Nowlin said she spoke to a city inspector last week and received a building permit. The condemnation order has been removed, she said.
Yesterday and Friday, volunteers from the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh, Renew Pittsburgh and Operation Better Block boarded up the house's windows and gathered debris from inside and outside. They raked up huge piles of leaves and removed fallen ceiling tiles.
"We see this as a first step in stabilizing the house until we can raise some money for its restoration," said Dan Holland, president of the Young Preservationists. "Unless we start to stabilize now, there won't be anything to stabilize."
The house at 7101 Apple St., with a third-floor turret and a gray stuccoed facade, is an architectural rarity in the neighborhood, Mr. Holland said. Seated on a hill, it offers sweeping views of the city, including the tops of Downtown skyscrapers.
The house was the base for the National Negro Opera Company, founded by Mary Cardwell Dawson in 1941. It was also owned for many years by William A. "Woogie" Harris, whose brother, photojournalist Charles "Teenie" Harris, chronicled the history of Pittsburgh's black community in the Pittsburgh Courier.
William Harris rented rooms to blacks, who were not permitted to stay in hotels in other parts of the city. His guests included Pirates' Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente and jazz great Lena Horne.
The Harris House had been empty for about seven years when Ms. Solomon-Nowlin and Miriam White bought it from the Bank of New York in 2000. They paid $18,000 -- the same amount William Harris paid when he bought the house in 1930, Ms. Solomon-Nowlin said.
Ms. Solomon-Nowlin, who was born in Guyana and plays the steel drums, has spent several years researching the house's history. She hopes to turn it into a performance space for the community, and she and Ms. White have created a nonprofit corporation to raise money to renovate it.
"Right now, we need money," Ms. Solomon-Nowlin said. "We can't fix the house without donations."
Mr. Holland estimates that a full restoration could cost as much as $2 million. Information on how to contribute is posted on his organization's Web site: youngpreservationists.org.
Renew Pittsburgh and the Young Preservationists are planning a big repair effort next spring.
First Published: November 30, 2008, 10:00 a.m.
