King Estate, Second Empire mansion in Highland Park, Pittsburgh, US
King Estate is a Second Empire mansion on Elgin Street in the Highland Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The building has distinctive towers and over twenty rooms fitted with mahogany woodwork throughout.
Alexander King had the mansion built in 1880, during a period when wealthy Pittsburgh families were constructing large private residences. In 1992, local authorities recognized it as a historic landmark.
King Estate takes its name from the family who built it and reflects the taste of wealthy Pittsburgh families in the late 19th century. The carved woodwork and decorated rooms give visitors a direct sense of how such homes were furnished and used at the time.
The property sits in a residential part of Pittsburgh and is easy to reach on foot or by car from nearby streets. Visitors who take time to walk through the rooms will notice the details in the woodwork more clearly than in a quick pass.
A restoration project uncovered the original surface finishes of the building, which had been hidden under layers of old paint. Period wallpapers were then installed to bring the interior back to how it looked when the house was first completed.
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