About 1239 Resaca Place
1239 Resaca Place is one of the oldest houses in the Mexican War Streets, and one of the oldest in Pittsburgh. A Greek Revival built in the 1850s by a German-born carpenter, gutted by fire in 1982, and rebuilt from the inside out with an open floor plan. What that left behind is rare on an historic street: a modern interior standing behind an original brick facade. The stair runs open through all three floors under skylights, so the light falls from above and reaches the ground floor.
The first floor runs living room to dining room to kitchen with nothing in the way. That kitchen won the Post-Gazette Renovation Inspiration Contest: custom maple cabinets, Absolute Black granite, a stainless apron-front sink set in the island, and cork floors, all worked into eighteen feet of width. A brick fireplace anchors the far end, and glass doors open to a courtyard under a full canopy of trees. The neighborhood put the house on its House and Garden Tour the year before the award.
The second floor holds the primary bedroom, with a fireplace of its own and French doors onto a balcony in the treetops, plus a walk-in closet, a separate office, and a full bath with a double vanity and a walk-in shower. Across the landing is the library, the largest room in the house and the easiest third bedroom anyone will ever add. The third floor is a second bedroom, with two skylights and a bath of its own.
One family kept it for thirty-four years. The current owners spent the last two on everything that does not show. Roof, siding, and gutters replaced in 2024. Electrical brought to code. Basement French drain, sump pump, and dehumidifier. A new building drain, and a cured-in-place sewer liner run to the municipal tap in 2026. Every invoice is on file.
The detached garage holds two cars. On a twenty-foot lot in the Mexican War Streets Historic District, that is the rarest thing here.
Walk Score 96. Allegheny Commons sits at the end of the neighborhood with Lake Elizabeth, a dog park, the farmers market, tennis and pickleball, playgrounds, and the National Aviary inside it. Commonplace Coffee, Wise County Biscuits, Monterey Pub, the Mattress Factory, and Randyland are all a walk from the front step. Western Avenue and East Ohio Street handle dinner, the North Shore handles the stadiums, and downtown is minutes across the bridge.
