St. Agnes Church (Pittsburgh)
Due to population loss in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, St. Agnes closed in 1993. The church and rectory were sold in 1996 to neighboring Carlow College (now Carlow University). St. Agnes was named a Pittsburgh Landmark by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) in 2000, and in 2013 a Pennsylvania state historical marker was placed at the site honoring the architect, Comès. In 2020, the university announced plans to demolish the church in order to build a new 10-story health science facility. The university removed the historical marker in front of the church shortly afterward. The church was one of three sites placed on Preservation Pennsylvania's 2021 At Risk list, which highlights threats to historic buildings in Pennsylvania.
St. Agnes is constructed from brown brick and concrete with stone and terra cotta ornamentation including a large, stylized rose window which incorporates a relief depicting the Crucifixion. The design of the church was described by PHLF architectural historian Walter C. Kidney as "acknowledging no one historic style—Byzantine and Romanesque are both suggested—and original in its rose window and Crucifixion." The plan of the building is cruciform with side aisles and a higher nave which includes a clerestory. The columns are gray New Hampshire granite with concrete capitals. The interior is also decorated with a series of murals painted in 1931 by Felix Lieftuchter with the assistance of two Carlow art students.