Beautifully restored home in Pittsburgh's Mexican War Streets hits the market

Barbara and Ed Ivanko went on the Mexican War Streets House & Garden Tour in 2014 and fell in love with the neighborhood. The uniqueness of the homes reminded them of the benefits of living so close to a Downtown area, something they enjoyed while growing up in New York — he is from Manhattan and she is from Queens.

“It is about the community here,” Ed Ivanko said. “You walk the streets and you meet people and they become friends.”

The couple sold their residence in Mt. Lebanon and purchased a home on Palo Alto Street in 2018 in the North Side neighborhood.

They joined the Mexican War Streets Society, researched the home’s history, added personal touches and updated it while preserving its character.

The lot was purchased in 1859 for $400 by Michael Patterson, an Irish immigrant coal merchant. Built in 1861, the first tenant was Orin Stafford Palmer Jr., a railroad clerk. His father, Orin Stafford Palmer Sr., was the engineer who built the original wooden Hand Street Bridge, now the Rachel Carson Bridge.

Sarah Gallinger, a German immigrant and widow, lived there. She was one of the first officers of the Hebrew Ladies’ Aid Society in Pittsburgh. Her husband Nathan, along with other families, helped found Rodef Shalom Congregation, the oldest Jewish congregation in Western Pennsylvania and originally located on the North Side. Michael Gleason was an oil driller and widower whose siblings Mary, a nun, and Catherine, a seamstress, stayed there at times.

Police officer Bart Flaherty and his wife Mary bought the home for $8,000 in 1958. They had three children: Regis, Mary and Sarah.

Sarah and her niece Nora sold the home to Barbara and Ed Ivanko. The couple contacted Nora and invited her and Regis to the home for brunch.

“He was delighted and surprised his old room was now a walk-in shower,” Barbara Ivanko said.

Now, they are preparing for another owner to enjoy the space. They plan to downsize and head back South “after 11 wonderful years in Pittsburgh,” said Barbara Ivanko.

Courtesy of Steel City Visuals

One of the owners stenciled a Victorian design on the steps leading to the second level of this house on Palo Alto Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side that was built in 1861.

The home is on the market for $789,000, listed by Todd Kilgore, real estate advisor for Piatt Sotheby’s International Realty. The furniture can be purchased for an additional cost.

“You don’t know what’s behind each door in the Mexican War Streets and that’s what’s intriguing,” said Barbara Ivanko, a board member of the Mexican War Streets Society. “We moved here because we missed the city life.”

Ed Ivanko is a retired home improvement contractor whose work is meticulous, his wife said. The couple created a book showing the transformation of the home.

Courtesy of Barbara Ivanko

A before photo of the parlor.

Courtesy of Steel City Visuals

The first-floor parlor of this home on Palo Alto Street on Pittsburgh’s North Side.

He restored the wood floors throughout the home, which the couple describes as post-modern industrial. The first floor parlor is “super cozy,” Barbara Ivanko said. It has two of the three original marble fireplaces.

“We hang out in here,” she said on a recent tour. “We tried to keep the historical charm of the house. This house has soul.”

The parlor leads into the formal dining room, which has another fireplace. A half-bathroom is hidden in the hallway.

The nearby kitchen has granite and marble black-and-white floor tiles. There is an oak island, concrete countertops and shelving made from wood porch columns. Some of the walls appear to be exposed brick but are actually tiles.

With the touch of a button, a trap door opens slowly from the kitchen floor, revealing stairs to the basement.

Courtesy of Barbara Ivanko

The before photo of the kitchen.

Courtesy of Steel City Visuals

The kitchen in this Palo Alto Street home has been updated.

It is one of three hidden spaces the owners created — the others are the aforementioned hidden half-bathroom on the first level and a hidden entry to the attic.

That bathroom has heated floors. Nearby is the primary bedroom with a walk-in closet. The second-level guest room has a Mexican War Streets theme, decorated with a hat painted by Randy Gilson of Randyland, a Mexican War Streets Street banner, past house tour posters, scissors from a seamstress who lived here more than 100 years ago, and copies of the old plat maps of the area and a Warhol-esque screen print of Barbara Ivanko.

Ed Ivanko created a custom office on the third level, accessed via a hidden door and step that looks like a drawer. Walking sticks have been transformed into railings leading up a winding staircase.

The fuchsia front door is one of the first defining details. That bold hue adds a “spark of rebelliousness and fire and is attention-seeking,” Barbara Ivanko said. “It represents the neighborhood in which each home is a work of art.”

Outside is a courtyard with a covered patio and a heat source, an al fresco kitchen area, a hot tub and a two-car garage.

Their home has been part of the neighborhood house tour.

“This is such a walkable neighborhood,” Barbara Ivanko said. “There is no place quite like this place. The people who live here say it is not the best neighborhood in Pittsburgh. It is the best neighborhood in the entire country.”

Courtesy of Steel City Visuals

There are sloped ceilings on the top floor of this home utilized as an office by the owners.