Transformation of Willis McCook Mansions Complete

Willis McCook Mansion on Fifth Avenue in Shadyside.

Tuesday's public reception marked the completion of an 8-year restoration which transformed Shadyside's Willis McCook Mansion from a fire damaged property in 2004 to the first-class historic hotel that it is today.  Mansions on Fifth, as it is now called, offers 22 spacious suites in a venue complete with world-class art, stained glass windows, an historic chapel, century old wine cellar and a comfortable library.

An industrialist and one of the nation’s first corporate lawyers, Willis Fisher McCook was Henry Clay Frick’s attorney, representing him in Frick’s celebrated fight with Andrew Carnegie. McCook built his Fifth Ave manor in 1906 for he, his wife and 9 of his 10 children.  His oldest 10th child, daughter Bessie, was engaged at the time and so McCook simultaneously built an adjacent mansion next door, the McCook-Reed Mansion, as a wedding gift to the couple. Together, the Willis McCook Mansion (20,000 sq ft) and the McCook-Reed Mansion (9,000 sq ft), comprise what is now the Mansions on Fifth, a luxury hotel.

Both properties have been meticulously and painstakingly restored keeping their historic character and architectural details intact.  Even so, new mechanicals, wiring, plumbing, sprinklers, heating, cable and wi-fi were integrated seamlessly into both manors. 

Brunch is served on the 1st Sunday of each month ($38 per person).  There is a Tuesday concert series in the Grand Hall of the main mansion from 6:30 to 9:30.  The evening includes light fare, dessert and valet parking for $30 per person.  Also on Tuesdays, a musical duo entertains in the Oak Room, a large bar off the Grand Hall.  There is no cover charge for that entertainment.



Mansions on Fifth
Metro Pittsburgh Real Estate
Restoration Video
Shadyside