One couple’s dream to bring an eco-science center to Downtown
Greensburg is inching closer to realty.
After falling in love with a historic property located at the corner of Main and Pittsburgh Sts., Mari-Pat and Doug Lingsch embarked on an ambitious plan. Via a late-night vision that came to Mari-Pat, the couple is transforming the 11,000-square-foot property —which they purchased for $285,000 from Citizen’s Bank—into the Discovery & Interactive Science Center.
Working with architect
Lee Calisti, the Greensburg natives are putting finishing touches on a feasibility study and designs for the $2.3 million center, which will feature interactive exhibitions, educational labs, solar panels, and a roof garden. Built in 1928, the two-story property— which once housed Barclay Westmoreland and Mellon Bank—features an 1800s-era vault, eagle-topped columns and a copper ceiling. “It’s an amazing fortress, and so well built. We have renovations to do, but structurally, the building is very sound,” says Mari-Pat Lingsch, who is launching DISC’s capital campaign. “We’re going to add an atrium and create a modern place that floats inside the original historic building.”
The center will host ecology classes, community and overnight programs and rental events. “There’s nothing like a charming downtown. There’s no reason why Greensburg can’t be an arts center. It’s a good community partnership. Everyone wants to see Greensburg do well,” adds Lingsch, 43, who previously lived in San Francisco. “It’s not just for
Westmoreland County and Greensburg. People from far away will have a new place to go.”
Lingsch hopes to see construction begin in the fall, and the center open in 2010.
Writer:
Jennifer BaronSource: Mari-Pat Lingsch, DISC
Image courtesy Lee Calisti Architecture and Design