page_title: Energy Innovation Center
section_title: Construction and opening
hierarchical_section_title: Energy Innovation Center / Connelley Trade School history / Construction and opening
caption_attribution_description: English: Picture of Clifford B. Connelly Trade School located at 1501 Bedford Avenue in the Crawford–Roberts neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 4, 2009. The school was built in 1930, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Architects: Edward B. Lee, J.G. Fullman Co. Architectural style: Classical Revival.
context_page_description: The Energy Innovation Center is a multi-disciplinary institution in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, that integrates workforce development programs, green technology research laboratories, a business incubator and collaborative university-industry projects. It is housed in the former Clifford B. Connelley Trade School, which was renovated both to accommodate diverse uses and to serve as a case study for green adaptive reuse. In 2014 the renovated building received the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania Project of the Year Award for Sustainability. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks, making it perhaps the only LEED Platinum structure to qualify for Historic Tax Credits.
context_section_description: The Connelley Trade School sits on a 3.56 acre site in the Hill District/Crawford–Roberts neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 172,152 square foot Classical Revival and Art Deco structure was designed by architect Edward B. Lee with builder J.G. Fullman  and  realized in steel, and clad in brownstone, with brick throughout and an asphalt roof.  The academic block housed a cafeteria, gymnasium, auditorium and swimming pool (below ground) - features shared by countless other educational institutions built or added to during the 1920s. By contrast, the shop building, which sits behind the academic block and faces the downtown business district to the north-west, is marked by a distinctive saw-toothed roof. According to a brief history of the school, compiled by an instructor in the Mathematics and Physics department and published in 1960, the total cost came to $1,754,096.38.
  The laying of the cornerstone took place on February 11, 1929, accompanied by an address by James J. Davis, United States Secretary of Labor. In his address Davis argued for an elevated view of skilled labor, comparing the skill of the tradesman to the abilities required of an artist or military leader: "Let us not seek to despise the human hand. It is not so humble as we think. We do not despise the great writers and artists of our race, and these people have been compelled to use their hands in writing their books or painting their pictures. In the old days when a king went out at the head of his army to fight, he carried a sword and did his share of the fighting."
  The school's official opening ceremony took place on Friday afternoon, May 1, 1931, presided over by Marcus Aaron, the President of the Board of Public Education and a dedication by Gerald D. Whitney of the University of Pittsburgh.
caption: Connelley Trade School in 2009
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