Information and history on reverse side of plaque:
   Located on a square at 12th and Bingham streets,  this Pittsburgh landmark was built in 1893 and completely rebuilt in 1915 following a fire.   It served as a food store and meeting place for the immigrant residents of the South Side when the community was known as Birmingham.   It was the fifth market house built on the site since 1811.
The design of the current building is the work of Pittsburgh architect Charles Bickel.   Construction of the market house was contracted to Ferdinand Benz of $33,700.   Accessible by incline and horse-drawn trollies,  shoppers could visit fruit stands,  butcher shops,  grocery stores and bakeries both inside and outside the building.   The nearly 24 indoor stalls included stationary refrigerators,  found in only a few market houses at the turn of the century.   A second-floor community meeting hall was reached by stairways on both sides of the main entrance facing Carson Street.   Another stairway in the rear of the building led to the offices of the city Public Works Department.
Closed as a market house in the late 1940's and remodeled in 1978,  the building now houses a senior citizens center and provides for preshchool programs,  athletic events,  community get togethers,  historical displays,  crafts projects and a variety of other activities.   Alas,  its days as a commercial shopping center are "gone,  but not forgotten".