13307 Kercheval Avenue
Contemporary Interiors
This structure has been a mystery to me since I photographed it a few weeks ago.
13307 Kercheval Avenue was, I believe, constructed in the 1920s. At that time, Kercheval was lined with businesses, restaurants, churches, and light manufacturing facilities.
I assume this structure was built to house a small business with a significant shipping and receiving department because of the loading dock on the backside.
In 1946 the structure was for sale and listed as ‘professional offices.’ That isn’t terribly descriptive, so it wasn’t much help figuring out its original use.
By 1958, it was being utilized by a business called Contemporary Interiors. They sold Pittsburgh Paints and, I assume, dealt with interior design work.
To date, that’s all I’ve found out about this structure. Today, it sits alone on its slice of Kercheval.
A structure across the street on the corner next to the church looked eerily similar to this one, but it was demolished around 2010. The building next door, labeled ‘The Redyns Co.,’ burnt around 2012 and was subsequently demolished.
The exterior of this structure appears to be in fine shape, but the roof doesn’t look great, at least from satellite view. There’s a lot of vacant land in the Riverbend neighborhood. Hopefully, this one will survive and won’t become another plot of land.
I apologize that this wasn’t as interesting as some of the buildings I review on this page. There isn’t a ton of information out there, but come on, look at the ornament on that doorway!
