New Bethlehem Native Was Renowned Architect

Scott Shindledecker

Scott Shindledecker

Published January 2, 2017 6:00 am
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. (EYT)  – Clare C. Cornelius was born in Clarion County nearly a century ago, but he made his mark in Pittsburgh.

Cornelius was born in New Bethlehem on September 23, 1925, to parents Maxwell and Esther Cornelius. Maxwell was a Presbyterian minister, and when he and the family moved to Pittsburgh, it was the city’s gain and the borough’s loss.

Cornelius died earlier this fall, on September 22, one day short of turning 91.

He attended Perry High School before serving in the Navy, based at Pearl Harbor, from 1944-45. After his service, Cornelius returned home to earn a degree in architecture from then-Carnegie Tech in Oakland.

1950 was a big year for Cornelius. He married his wife, Virginia D. Meyer, of 63 years and joined the architectural firm of Charles M. & Edward Stotz, Jr. in 1950 while he was still a student at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Later, the firm became Stotz, Hess & MacLachlan and one day bore his name.

Cornelius spent 50 years working at MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni and worked on projects that included the bridge that links Point State Park and Downtown Pittsburgh to the paneled basement of a single-story brick house in Shaler.

He and his firm helped design Point State Park, UPMC Mercy Hospital, the renovations of Heinz Hall, and many other projects in the region.

Cornelius didn’t limit his work to outside projects. In his home in Shaler, he rewired the electrical system, built furniture and finished the basement.

When Cornelius joined the architecture firm, it had begun working to transform Pittsburgh’s Point from an industrial area into a state park and museum. He was very involved in designing the Portal Bridge that linked the halves of Point State Park, which earned national design awards.

Cornelius was semi-retired from 1992 to 2000, but still worked two or three days a week.

According to a story on triblive.com, Cornelius took the family camping in New England and Canada on vacations and volunteered with his sons’ Boy Scout troops even after they were no longer scouts.

Cornelius was an active member of the historic First Presbyterian Church, Downtown, acting as an elder for the spiritual direction of the church and a trustee for its day-to-day operations, Pastor Tom Hall said.

“Clare was very, very young and involved at heart. He was very energetic, very positive,” Hall told triblive.com.

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