203 Summit Avenue

William H. and Sarah M. Rowand had 203 Summit Avenue built in 1913. The house was constructed on a lot that Sarah M. Rowand had purchased in 1909 for $1750.

Ben Avon architect S.L.R. Rosseau designed the house in the Prairie style which is shown in its low-hipped roof with wide overhanging cornice, full-width front porch, massive square front porch supports, hipped dormers, paired windows, solid front porch walls, and stone cap of the front porch walls.

The Prairie style, inspired by the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright, became popular in the Pittsburgh area before 1910 and remained in use until about 1925. Allegheny County mortgage records show that the Rowands borrowed $5000 at six percent interest from the German Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh to build the home.

The Rowands named 203 Summit Avenue “Hi-Strung,” likely because of the house’s high elevation and its wide overhanging cornice. Whatever the reason, the name fits—if not for the house itself, then for some of her owners.

The Rowand family lived in the home for less than three years before William was killed in an automobile accident in 1916. Sarah Rowand sold the house for $10,500 in 1919, and left the Pittsburgh area in the early 1920s.

203 Summit Avenue has now had a total of six owners and has been in the West family for 60 years ever since Jim and Pat West purchased it in 1962. They and their nine children moved in and shared the single bathroom. With six bedrooms and a wooded back hill, there was plenty of room for the large family.

Like with any aging beauty, improvements and maintenance have been done over the years to help Hi-Strung retain her good looks. Her bricks and chimneys were pointed in 2016. Her trim was painted, too. The 10 foot driveway wall that was hand built using stacked stone had to be replaced using a façade of stacked stone. While craftsman a hundred years ago could build a stacked wall that would stand for 100+ years, ordinances and lack of skill preclude that being done today. But the wall stands straight and tall now, and will be around for the next hundred years, hopefully.

Other improvements include adding central air conditioning, a powder room, and a basement bath built using recycled and repurposed materials. Currently the upstairs bathroom is being remodeled with period fixtures. This bathroom will be restored to her original look with hexagonal black and white tile, wainscoting, a pedestal sink that means business, and a clawfoot tub. The only change from the original bathroom is that a rain shower will be installed in addition to the tub. Everything done to the home is to honor the home’s architecture and its former owners who lovingly cared for her these first 110 years.