Harry Summers Estep
Harry Summers Estep had a long career in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area, but old Pa Pitt has been able to identify only three buildings associated with him. His Masonic Temple at McKeesport is a major architectural achievement, and his frustratingly vague entry in The Book of Prominent Pennsylvanians (1913) suggests that other major achievements may be waiting for us to discover:
Harry Summers Estep, son of Thomas S. and Jessie S. Estep, was born in Pittsburgh on November 18, 1872. He was educated in the public schools of the city and by private tutors. At an early age Mr. Estep entered the office of a prominent Pittsburgh architect and from then on devoted himself exclusively to the study of architecture. For twenty-five years he studied the practical side of his profession, working with the best architects of the city. In this time he has designed theaters, school houses and other public buildings, apartment houses, houses for fraternal organizations and other work of a similar nature. His work has distinctive and original features and his buildings have a reputation for art. Mr. Estep is familiar with the full range of his profession, making him a thoroughly practical architect. He is not limited to a specialty, but engages in the general practice of architecture.
By 1923, according to Western Pennsylvanians, he was one of the firm of Estep & Estep, a partnership with his younger brother Erle Edgar Estep. Both were members of the American Institute of Architects. The photograph of Harry Summers Estep above comes from that 1923 book.
Masonic Temple, McKeesport
These are the buildings Father Pitt has been able to attribute to Harry Summers Estep:
Rhododendron Shelter, Highland Park, 1902–1903
Masonic Temple, Walnut Street at Sixth Street, McKeesport, after 1905
Wayside Manor (Thomas H. Thompson House), 815 Water Street, Brownsville, 19061
Source: https://www.archinform.net/projekte/59860.htm. Sebastian P. Ramella is also credited; he may have been architect of the carriage house, built in 1917–1918. ↩︎