Fourth and Market; PPG Center

For the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Brian Shure painted three large-scale murals, each of which is installed in one of the building’s courtrooms behind the judge’s bench. Gateway Center from Ninth Street Bridge, Fourth and Market; PPG Center and South Side; East Carson and Twelfth all depict well-known Pittsburgh scenes and illustrate the ways in which the old and the new have been integrated into the urban landscape of the city.

Fourth and Market; PPG Center presents a close-up view of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) Center. Designed by Phillip Johnson and John Burgee and completed in 1981–84, this immense building complex, entirely enclosed in glass, is composed of a forty-story tower and five satellite buildings. Shure captures the flickering play of light and shadow of the urban environment on the highly mirrored surface of the PPG building. In the painting, the viewer is able to catch glimpses of the historic buildings across the street, such as the old Mellon Bank Building and various churches. Adjacent to the towering PPG Center stands the diminutive Burke Building. Built in 1836, this modestly-designed example of Greek revival architecture is Pittsburgh’s oldest office building and a rare survivor of the Great Fire of 1845. The historic building was almost demolished during the planning of the PPG Center in the 1980s, but a preservation movement was established and the building was saved. Shure states, “It is a testament to the fairness of our system of government and justice that the Burke Building remains standing next to it [the PPG Center], in partnership with it in fact, through the [Western Pennsylvania] Conservancy’s corporate programs.”

Unlike the 1930s murals elsewhere in the federal courthouse, Fourth and Market; PPG Center does not depict industrial activities and very few people are pictured. The creation of the city’s underground subway system, with many of its entrances contained within the confines of large office towers such as the PPG Center, has eliminated the need for office workers to venture out into the street. The industrial workers of yesterday have been replaced by the countless office workers of today. Nevertheless, industry and manufacturing, as well as their relation to the city of Pittsburgh, are still important elements of this painting. Throughout the city’s history, glass manufacturing has been important in establishing Pittsburgh as an industrial center. The PPG Center houses the world headquarters for Pittsburgh Plate Glass Industries which, founded in 1883, was the first commercially successful plate glass manufacturer in the United States. The grand PPG Center is not only a symbol of the continued economic might of the corporation, but also of the city of Pittsburgh itself.