For immediate release:
July 18, 2011
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| Rose Mansion |
Brownsville Chamber Featuring Rose Mansion
For 29th Year of Limited Edition Collectibles
The 2011 collectible will be available November 1
BROWNSVILLE, Pa. – The Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce has selected the Rose Mansion, built in 1873, as the featured historic property for its 29th consecutive issue of limited edition collectibles of landmark structures in Brownsville Borough.
The Rose Mansion at 320 Market St. is a contributing structure to the North Side Historic District, an eye-catching reminder of Brownsville's rich history visible to roughly 10,000 vehicles per day traveling Route 40, the Old National Pike. The Italianate design was the original Monongahela National Bank, which was relocated about 1900 to the downtown. The structure was transitioned to residential use after Brownsville's prominent Rose family acquired it, sometime between 1903 and 1917.
The 2011 collectible will be available Nov. 1. The ornaments, $8 each, have been issued by the chamber since 1983, with the inaugural piece featuring Nemacolin Castle. In 2010, the featured property was the former Brownsville Hospital's School of Nursing.
"The real value is if you have the entire collection," says Frank Ricco, president of the Greater Brownsville Area Chamber of Commerce. A limited number of collectibles are still available for 1997, 1998 and 2000 through 2010 at the chamber's 325 Market St. office.
Ray Koffler, project chairman, acknowledges the challenge has been to come up with a new property each year. But, it was the Rose Mansion's commanding presence in the oldest intact commercial and residential district west of the Alleghenies – and the current owner's redevelopment plan – that planted the seed to feature the building on the 2011 limited edition ornament.
Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp. is considering a bed-and-breakfast adaptive reuse project for the structure, which was donated in 2010 by the Rose heirs to the non-profit organization. Peter Frederick Rose, the home's sole occupant for decades, died in July 2006.
The in-stock inventory of collectibles from previous years features the Flatiron Building, Brownsville Hospital, Inter-County Bridge, Bridgeport Mine, Riverside Wharf and Park, North and South Side fire halls, the Veterans Memorial, Brashear House, Patsy Hillman Park, the Monongahela Railroad Museum and the nurses' school. In addition to being available at the chamber office, the limited edition ornaments will be sold at the Brownsville Community Festival, slated for Aug. 6 from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
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FOR INTERVIEWS:
Frank Ricco, 724-785-3600
Ray Koffler, 724-785-4978; ray@tru-copy.com
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