H. Miller & Sons Company

H. Miller & Sons Company was a leading contractor in Pittsburgh in the early 20th century and the most prolific builder for its Jewish community between the wars. Herschel Miller (1861-1930) was trained as a carpenter in his native Russia and continued in that field after immigrating to the United States in the late 1880s. He started a contracting firm around 1890 and eventually brought several sons into the business. They initially built residential properties in the Hill District and undertook more significant projects year by year.^[1]“H. Miller & Sons Company,” Fleming, George T., History of Pittsburgh and Environs: from Prehistoric Days to the Beginning of the American Revolution, Vol. 4, New York and Chicago: American … Continue reading

Their first big commission came in 1913, when they were hired to build the new Concordia Club on Ohara Street in Oakland. The project led to a series of commissions originating from the local Jewish community. H. Miller & Sons oversaw construction of the original Hebrew Institute school building in the Hill District in 1917, Caplan Baking Company factory on the South Side in 1919, an affordable housing development for the United Hebrew Relief Association with 12 two-story quadplexes on Allequippa St. in Oakland in 1921, the original B’nai Israel synagogue in East Liberty in 1923, the new Montefiore Hospital in Oakland in 1928, and the main sanctuary addition of the Beth Shalom synagogue in Squirrel Hill in 1930.^[2]Miller & Sons Photographs [PSS 74], Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center (catalog record). ^[3]“United Housing Corporation,” Jewish Criterion, Jan. 14, 1921, p. 12 (online). ^[4]Miller & Sons advertisement, Jewish Criterion, July 12, 1929, p. 22 (online).

Miller & Sons was building houses in Squirrel Hill as early as 1916. It increased its investment in the neighborhood in late 1919, when it formed the Pittsburgh Housing Corporation. The corporation was created to address a perceived shortage of middle class housing in the city at a time of rapid population growth and mobility into the middle class. The company acquired and subdivided large estates into units of residential housing, seeking economies of scale through the bulk purchase of construction materials.^[5]Pittsburgh Daily Post, Oct. 29, 1916 (online—Newspapers.com).

The first project in this initiative came in December 1919, when the Pittsburgh Housing Corporation purchased the Harry Darlington Estate for $51,500. A few months later, in late March 2020, it awarded a $250,000 contract to its affiliate H. Miller & Sons to construct 10 single-family residences. The estate had filled most of the southern side of Northumberland Street on the block between Wightman and Murdoch streets. The company built at least five of the 10 houses—5506, 5512, 5516, 5532 and 5536. Some of the remaining vacant plots were sold to people who pursued construction independently.^[6]Miller & Sons advertisement, Jewish Criterion, Feb. 11, 1921, p. 21 (online).

The Pittsburgh Housing Corporation replicated this process in January 1922. It acquired much of the north side of Phillips Avenue between Murray and Shady avenues from Sylvester L. Teemer. A month later, it awarded a contract to H. Miller & Sons to build 10 single-family residences “of distinctive English design.” The company built houses at 5901, 5903, 5907, 5911, 5915, 5919, 5923, 5925, 5929, and 5933 Phillips. The last of those properties was acquired by William Miller, one of the “sons” in H. Miller & Sons.^[7]Miller & Sons advertisement, Jewish Criterion, Sept. 20, 1922, p. 52 (online).

That spring, in late May 1922, H. Miller & Sons also received a contract to build five houses on the southern side of Hobart Street in the block between Murdoch Street and what is now Leith Way. A local architect named Thomas Hannah designed the houses.^[8] “Dwelling Contracts Let,” Pittsburgh-Post-Gazette, May 28, 1922 (online—Newspapers.com).

These projects utilized a systemized approach to residential construction. In an article in the Daily Post in 1922, the housing project engineer of the Pittsburgh Housing Corporation said that the formula could be replicated on any scale, even an entire town.^[9]“Man Who Builds 2500 Houses at Once Says It Is Not Hard Job,” Pittsburgh Daily Post, Sept. 16, 1922 (online—Newspapers.com).

The Pittsburgh Housing Corporation receded from the public record starting in 1924, but H. Miller & Sons continued its involvement in Squirrel Hill through several large construction projects. The first was the Terrace Court Apartments (now The Square at Squirrel Hill) on Shady Avenue near its intersection with Douglas Street, also constructed from a design by Hannah. Construction on the apartment building began in late 1923.^[10]“Work Begins on Terrace Court Apartments,” Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 30, 1923 (online—Newspapers.com).

A few years later, in September 1925, H. Miller & Sons received a $1,153,100 contract from the Pittsburgh Board of Education to construct Taylor Allderdice High School from a design by architect Robert Maurice Trimble. The contract came amid a slate of major civic, commercial and religious projects, shifting H. Miller & Sons away from housing.^[11]“School Board Adopts Report on Lengthened Day for Study,” Pittsburgh Daily Post, Sept. 23, 1925 (online—Newspapers.com).

Following Miller’s death, his sons expanded the business. H. Miller & Sons became Steelwood Corp. and implemented its systemized approach at large-scale residential housing projects in Sewickley, Beechview, Stanton Heights and other suburban parts of Allegheny County, building more than 1,500 units in the decade after World War II.^[12]“Steelwood To Observe 75th Year,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, May 23, 1954 (online—Newspapers.com).

Bibliography

• H. Miller & Sons Photographs [PSS 74], Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center (catalog record).

Exhibit history

• Author: Eric Lidji
• Created: December 16, 2021
• Current Version: February 11, 2022