An Inside Look at The Frick Children's Playhouse
Once a center of activity for the Frick children, the charming, late-19th-century Playhouse has intrigued and delighted visitors to the Frick Pittsburgh for decades.
Centrally located on the Frick’s nearly six-acre campus adjacent to the Greenhouse, the former Frick children’s playhouse currently functions as office, meeting and event space for administrative staff. The Director’s Office and Marketing Department are both located here—and the Playhouse’s modest kitchen is employed by The Café at the Frick chefs for baking and food preparation.
Until 2014, the Playhouse served as the Frick’s visitor center and housed a small museum store, however access to it has been restricted to Frick staff members in recent years. Following recent renovations, the Frick is delighted to offer an inside look at this historic structure by providing a special public tour.
Click Here To Book A Tour
Henry Clay Frick commissioned noted architects Alden & Harlow to make a number of improvements to the estate surrounding Clayton in 1897, including constructing a playhouse for the Frick children, Childs and Helen. Construction began in June 1897 and was substantially complete by the fall, right about the time Helen turned nine and her older brother Childs was 14. The finished Playhouse with its gambrel roof, shed dormers, and covered porch, evokes the emerging style of the American Arts and Crafts movement as well as the architects’ New England roots. While entirely different in scale and style to Clayton, the charming, homey building was expressly designed to match the interests of the Frick children.
Childs and Helen used the Playhouse for entertaining, playing games, and, of course, bowling—in the long wing that extends off the back of the building. A section of the bowling lane is preserved in the floor. Bowling was a sport rising in popularity in the United States from the 1890s into the 20th century, and bowling lanes became a popular inclusion in Gilded Age mansions. The Fricks also included a bowling alley in their New York residence when it was constructed 17 years later.
The second floor featured a darkroom for photography buff Childs Frick. The first-floor parlor, outfitted with scaled-down furnishings, was a place where Helen could play with friends and host parties. Family photographs show many children gathered around the playhouse for parties and events. Childs also organized a group of local boys into a drill team called the Clayton Cadets, who used The Playhouse for meetings and practice. The playhouse was also used for dancing lessons.
In the 1950s, Helen Clay Frick commissioned architect Edward B. Lee to reconfigure some of the spaces in Playhouse to convert it to a residence for live-in staff. The exterior of the Playhouse, however, has remained largely unchanged and the interior still features the vertical tongue-in-groove paneling of Alden & Harlow’s design. Architectural historian Margaret Henderson Floyd wrote, “The paneled interiors, bowling alley, and staircase form a miniature version of full-scale Longfellow, Alden & Harlow houses.”
Until 2014, the Playhouse served as the Frick’s visitor center and housed a small museum store, however access to it has been restricted to Frick staff members in recent years. Following recent renovations, the Frick is delighted to offer an inside look at this historic structure by providing a special public tour.
Click Here To Book A Tour
HISTORY OF THE PLAYHOUSE
Henry Clay Frick commissioned noted architects Alden & Harlow to make a number of improvements to the estate surrounding Clayton in 1897, including constructing a playhouse for the Frick children, Childs and Helen. Construction began in June 1897 and was substantially complete by the fall, right about the time Helen turned nine and her older brother Childs was 14. The finished Playhouse with its gambrel roof, shed dormers, and covered porch, evokes the emerging style of the American Arts and Crafts movement as well as the architects’ New England roots. While entirely different in scale and style to Clayton, the charming, homey building was expressly designed to match the interests of the Frick children.Childs and Helen used the Playhouse for entertaining, playing games, and, of course, bowling—in the long wing that extends off the back of the building. A section of the bowling lane is preserved in the floor. Bowling was a sport rising in popularity in the United States from the 1890s into the 20th century, and bowling lanes became a popular inclusion in Gilded Age mansions. The Fricks also included a bowling alley in their New York residence when it was constructed 17 years later.
The second floor featured a darkroom for photography buff Childs Frick. The first-floor parlor, outfitted with scaled-down furnishings, was a place where Helen could play with friends and host parties. Family photographs show many children gathered around the playhouse for parties and events. Childs also organized a group of local boys into a drill team called the Clayton Cadets, who used The Playhouse for meetings and practice. The playhouse was also used for dancing lessons.
In the 1950s, Helen Clay Frick commissioned architect Edward B. Lee to reconfigure some of the spaces in Playhouse to convert it to a residence for live-in staff. The exterior of the Playhouse, however, has remained largely unchanged and the interior still features the vertical tongue-in-groove paneling of Alden & Harlow’s design. Architectural historian Margaret Henderson Floyd wrote, “The paneled interiors, bowling alley, and staircase form a miniature version of full-scale Longfellow, Alden & Harlow houses.”
