Origins

The narrow lot on which the building stands originated in 1903, when Diamond Street (now Forbes Avenue) was widened in order to ease downtown traffic congestion. This required the demolition of several buildings on the north side of the street between Smithfield Street and Market Square, one of which was a two-story brick store owned by Hugh McKee.^[2][3] After the widening, only a 6-foot (1.8 m) by 80-foot (24 m) strip remained from McKee's formerly standard-sized lot. Other inconveniently sized parcels were consolidated into neighboring properties, but Greek-American entrepreneur D. J. Demas saw a business opportunity and secured a ten-year lease on McKee's lot. The Pittsburgh Gazette reported that "A frame building of 'shack' proportions is now being erected on the site. In this narrow stand will be a shoe shining emporium, an ice cream and soda dispensary, a peanut market, and a fruit stand."^[4]

In 1907, Andrew Mellon bought the property from McKee for $40,000.^[5] Mellon sold the building in 1918 to one of its tenants, fruit vendor Louis Hendel, who paid $95,000. At the time of the sale, The Gazette Times reported "The property has an obsolete improvement consisting of a one-story building. Mr. Hendel's place of business is in the rear, a cigar stand occupies the front, while a small restaurant is conducted in the intervening space."^[6] Hendel continued to run his business for the next eight years, but had frequent run-ins with authorities and other business owners over sidewalk obstruction issues, as there was no room for customers inside the store.^[7][8] He earned particular enmity from the Diamond Street Sidewalks Association, which placed ads in local papers asking "Is this man higher than the law?"^[9]

Hendel Building

Despite the bad press, Hendel decided in 1926 to double down on his investment by building a new three-story building on the site. According to family members, he was motivated at least partly by spite for his hostile neighbors.^[10] Work started on July 29,^[8] and the first tenants, a cigar store and a restaurant, signed their leases in early December.^[11] In 1928, the Lincoln Restaurant opened on the top two floors, catering to African-American customers who had few places to eat in the area. The Pittsburgh Courier reported that Hendel, a Jew, was sympathetic to the black community: "Mr. Hendel owns the building in which the restaurant is located. Through his friendship with [restaurant proprietor] Mr. Jefferson and the desire to help the colored race, he has leased this property, disregarding the bitter comments of the nearby white business men, in order that we might have a decent place to eat in the downtown section."^[12] Advertising "cozy booths for two" in the "world's narrowest building",^[13] the restaurant was said to have a row of narrow tables along one wall like a dining car, and "drew a patronage composed chiefly of the curious." Evidently it was not a successful venture as it was already out of business by 1931.^[14]

While the upper levels of the building did not see much use, the ground floor housed a number of tenants over the years, including Hendel's original fruit store. Although it eventually outgrew the space, the company survived until the 1980s. (Hendel himself died in 1945 in Miami Beach.)^[15] Another successful tenant was a lunch counter called Raywell's, which operated from 1938 to 1979. Patrons of the restaurant sat on stools with their backs to the street, facing a narrow counter with about 18 inches (46 cm) of space behind for the employees—too narrow for the two waitresses to pass each other. A grill was installed in the corner. The building has housed various businesses since Raywell's closed and as of 2015 was occupied by a clothing store.^[10]

In 2000, the Hendel Building was proposed for demolition as part of the Market Place redevelopment project,^[16] though this ultimately did not come to fruition. However, the debate brought attention to the unusual building. In 2001, community activists turned the upstairs windows into an outward-facing art gallery displaying "images of, variously, graffiti art, vintage strippers and the late sportscaster Myron Cope".^[17][18] It was listed as a contributing property in the Fourth Avenue Historic District when the boundaries of the district were increased in 2013.^[19] That same year, the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) bought the building, along with the neighboring Roberts Jewelers building, for $1.3 million. The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation used leftover money from a state grant to renovate the exteriors of both buildings in 2014.^[10][18]

In 2021, the URA approved the sale of the Skinny Building and Roberts Building to PNC for $1.3 million. As part of the sale, PNC agreed to preserve the exteriors of both buildings and work with preservationists to make sure any changes are historically sensitive. PNC plans to convert the Roberts Building to office space, while the upper floors of the Skinny Building will be used to display art.^[20]