The Flatiron Building

The historical Flatiron Building was built circa 1830 directly on the National Road as a commercial structure. In addition to the age of the building being historical, the shape takes the form of an old-fashioned clothing iron; it is a significant structure in the community. The building is the oldest structure on lower Market Street and is a contemporary of the early nineteenth century buildings on Brownsville's North Side (upper Market Street). These nineteenth century buildings are believed to be the oldest, most intact commercial buildings west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Thomas Brown, the founder of Brownsville, once owned the land of the Flatiron Building. Some of the former occupants of this commercial building include the United States Post Office until 1920, the town's first library, a trolley stop, Simon Brown's tailor shop, Dee's Diner, J.C. Majerchak's Bank, George Mulyar's Meat Market, Adam Jacobs' Insurance, and T. H. Patton's Office of Dentistry, among many others.

The Flatiron Building, like the town of Brownsville itself, has experienced ups and downs over its lifetime. In the summer of 1990, several Brownsville residents made inquiries concerning the fate of the Flatiron Building, which was standing vacant. Having heard rumors that the building was about to be demolished due to its deteriorated condition, the group approached Frank Ricco, who then owned the building. The group met with Mr. Ricco and left the meeting with a commitment from him to donate the building to a non-profit organization that would undertake restoration of the building. Mr. Ricco's only stipulation was that a plaque be placed in honor of his parents, Joseph and Elizabeth Ricco.

Inspired by Mr. Ricco's commitment, these few interested citizens approached the Historical Society and held the first of several public meetings to discuss the future of the Flatiron Building. As a result of these meetings and an informational booth, which was housed at Nemacolin Castle during the Brownsville Heritage Festival, nearly fifty interested citizens were identified.

This newly enlarged group began the task of identifying a non-profit organization to take on the project of restoring the Flatiron Building. The initial approach was made to the Brownsville Historical Society. Unfortunately, the Historical Society was unable to take on the project due to their heavy involvement in maintaining and operating Nemacolin Castle, another local historical site on the National Register. The group then approached the Brownsville Area Revitalization Committee (BARC) for sponsorship of the project. At their December 1990 meeting, the BARC Board of Directors voted to undertake the Flatiron Project. BARC requested and received a six-month option on the property from Frank Ricco and received a $2,000 pre-development grant from the Mon Valley Initiative (a 17-member coalition of communities striving to revitalize) to secure the building for the winter. A blue tarp was placed on the building to protect the damaged roof and broken windows from the rain and snow of the approaching winter season.

The Heritage Center, opened in May of 1997, has been stressing the story of road, river, and rail in this region and it relation to the "Making of America." A grant from the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation is currently being used to design and construct the needed furnishings to tell the stories of ROAD, RIVER, AND RAIL as it relates to the community and region. Our goal is to educate and attract visitors to enhance the tourism industry to create economic development.

Artifacts are treasured by the committee of the Flatiron Building Heritage Center to provide the museum story told in the museum for research. Volunteers are registering all the artifacts, and when funds are available, the artifacts will be given an accession number, computerized and be made available for public research.

There is no fee to visit the museum, but donations are graciously accepted to help sustain the operation of the building.

Funds have been provided by a variety of public and private sources to renovate the $600,000 Flatiron renovation project, including the following: Allegheny Foundation, America's Industrial Heritage Project, National Road Heritage Corridor, Steel Industry Heritage Corporation, PA State Capital Redevelopment Assistance Program, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, local banks, legislative grants, local fund raising efforts including "Club 29" (asking 1000 people to donate $29.00).