Benedum–Trees Building
building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Benedum–Trees Building, which is located at 223 Fourth Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built in 1905. It was commissioned by Caroline Jones Machesney, the daughter and sole heir of a Pittsburgh banker, making it the first skyscraper in the city ordered by and built for a woman.
History and architectural features
The Benedum–Trees Building was originally called the Machesney Building until 1913, when Machesney sold it for $10 million to Joe Trees and Michael Late Benedum, two local men who had made their fortunes by drilling for oil. For the next forty years, the fifteenth floor was home to their offices.
The building, designed by Thomas H. Scott, was added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 1973. The building is 19 stories tall.
Benedum Trees Oil Company was founded in 1904, by Michael Late Benedum and Joe Trees in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 1929, Benedum Trees opened a subsidiary Republic Oil Refining Company in Texas City, Texas.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Benedum–Trees Building” as building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4887396. Authority coordinates are 40.440, -80.002. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1905, 1913, 1973 and 1904.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Benedum–Trees Building”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Benedum–Trees Building primary sources, Benedum–Trees Building archive and Benedum research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Benedum–Trees Building”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Benedum–Trees Building” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.