Westinghouse Castle restoration project gets major financial boost

The grand Westinghouse Castle, once home of the general office of the Westinghouse Air Brake Co. before falling into disrepair, appears to be well on its way to recovery.

Turtle Creek Valley Arts in Wilmerding has been awarded $1 million from the Allegheny Foundation to help bring the landmark back to life.

The grand building, which dates back to 1890, is being refurbished to become home to Turtle Creek Valley Arts and part of an expansion of Westinghouse Arts Academy in Wilmerding.

The award comes on the heels of a $475,000 grant from the Westinghouse Electric Corp. in May.

The Allegheny Foundation was founded by newspaperman and banking heir Richard M. Scaife and focuses much of its charitable funding on historic preservation and education.

“Apparently back in the ‘70s, Mr. Scaife was pretty interested in the building and helped to get it put on the National Register (of Historic Places),” said Westinghouse Arts Academy CEO Richard Fosbrink. “But above and beyond that, the Allegheny Foundation supports education in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“So they have supported the school in the past. They helped get the school off the ground, which is wonderful.”

The goal is to have students in the new building by January.

“We’re making huge progress. It’s very different than it was a few months ago,” said Fosbrink. “All the exterior issues like roofs, gutters and downspouts are all repaired and sealed up for the elements. That’s all done.”

When it’s finished, students will use the building for classrooms during the day. It will include a pottery studio, a makerspace with 3-D printers, a screen-printing press, a photography studio, a digital media/film production studio, and culinary arts program and events center on the fourth floor.