PITTSBURGH, May 30, 2019 — TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville has opened its doors and will celebrate its official opening on June 6, 2019. Pittsburgh’s first art hotel features work by over 30 local artists and is located in the former Washington Education Center at the base of the 40th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood. TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville is the first TRYP by Wyndham concept in the state of Pennsylvania and was developed by Century Hospitality, a hospitality group with locations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia.
TRYP Hotel’s concept is unique to each city and each city neighborhood. Each hotel’s design and amenities are an extension of the neighborhood it calls home. TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville was brought to the Pittsburgh market by Century Hospitality and led by Principal, Josh Aderholt. The 108-room hotel is located in the former Washington Education Center, a century-old building with deep neighborhood roots.
The history of the site of TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville is rich, dating back to the Washington District School in 1869, serving elementary aged students. In 1908, the older of the site’s two remaining buildings was constructed as the Washington Industrial School. In 1936, the second of the remaining buildings was constructed by the Pittsburgh Board of Education, in part using funds from the Works Progress Administration. Known at various times as the Washington Trade School, Washington Vocational School, and most recently the Washington Education Center, the school provided local students with the opportunity to learn skills including drafting, bricklaying, masonry, and welding until its closure in 2006. The school building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville team began thoughtful renovations in 2017 to convert the buildings into a neighborhood-focused hotel.
As a long-time Lawrenceville resident, Aderholt’s vision of incorporating neighborhood artists’ works and goods came to life with partnerships with Lawrenceville-based architects Desmone & Associates, Casey Droege Cultural Productions, and MonMade, a Pittsburgh-based craft business accelerator. Taking design cues from the building itself, the trades that were taught there, and the neighborhood, this creative collective of local professionals has brought the building to life with design rooted in both honoring its past as well as the forward-thinking that is propelling the neighborhood’s future.
“The TRYP concept is to allow guests to explore the neighborhood before they even set foot outside of the hotel,” says TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville General Manager Dan Zwirn. “Many of the collaborators that brought this vision to life either live or currently work in Lawrenceville. You have the best of the neighborhood — a taste of its talents and a piece of its history — in one spot. It’s such a special place.”
The five-floor hotel boasts 108 rooms, two restaurants, a wine shop, coffee bar, and a rooftop lounge with city views. The hotel is situated for convenience, located 5 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh in what has been dubbed “America’s Coolest Neighborhood”. TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville is steps from shops, restaurants, and entertainment on Butler Street, Lawrenceville’s bustling main thoroughfare. The property offers valet parking for hotel and restaurant guests, Nip + Fab bath products, and custom in-room blankets and handmade ceramic mugs by Pittsburgh artisans, which are also for sale at the front desk along with several prints from artists featured throughout the hotel.
The restaurant concepts, Brick Shop and Over Eden, are helmed by Executive Chef Brandon Blumenfeld and Director of Food & Beverage, Holly Smith. Brick Shop, located on the ground floor of the hotel, is a seasonal contemporary restaurant, with flavors rooted in Central and Eastern Europe with a worldly wine list, curated by Smith. Over Eden, the rooftop concept, will serve classic and seasonal cocktails and offer an Eastern Mediterranean-influenced menu of shareables, featuring smoky grilled meats, sauces to share, house-baked bread and local vegetables. Both restaurants will open early this summer, with Brick Shop rolling out its breakfast program first and opening for dinner by end of July/ early August 2019.
The hotel houses three distinct event spaces: the Washington Room, Bier’s Landing, and the Reading Room private dining room. Set above the lively main lobby, the spaces can be utilized separately or combined for larger parties. Minimal decor, clean lines, and impressive architecture provide a blank canvas for wedding and event planners and double as a modern professional backdrop for meetings or conferences.
TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville is currently open and welcoming guests. Rooms are city-sized, and guests can choose from Double Full, Queen, Double Queen, and King rooms. The hotel also offers Family Rooms with a King bed and set of bunk beds, and a Fit Guest Room with in-room gym amenities.
The June 6th opening will include a ribbon cutting and hotel tours available to the general public. For more information, guests are encouraged to visit the hotel’s social media pages.
