Standard Life Building (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

 office building, dormitory

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This office building of 1902 or 1903 was designed by Alden & Harlow, then the city's leading local architectural firm. The rusticated, intricate streetside facades were inspired by Italian Renaissance palazzos. In marked contrast, the sides of the building not facing the street are just flat brick walls. The upper stories of the building have been converted into student housing for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

Originally this was the Pittsburgh Bank for Savings Building. The eponymous bank failed shortly before Christmas in 1915; lost accounts included those of 41,000 schoolchildren. As a Christmas gift, industrialist Henry Clay Frick donated $170,000 of his own money to cover the children's losses.