Rudy Brothers Company

founded 1894

BiographyWell-known in Western and Central Pennsylvania in the early 20th century for their stained glass, the Rudy Brothers originally came to Pittsburgh in 1893 at the behest of H. J. Heinz, who commissioned stained glass windows for his factory and Point Breeze neighborhood residence. In 1894, the brothers, Frank, J. Horace, Jesse and Isaiah opened a shop in the city's East Liberty section. Their first location on Penn Avenue operated under a partnership between the Rudy's and Valdemar F. Reich. By 1895, Reich left the stained glass business, and the brothers moved their studio to the corner of Centre and Highland Avenues.

The Rudy Brothers experienced substantial success designing windows for churches, mausoleums and private homes. They created windows for Peabody High School, the Sarah Heinz House, Allegheny General Hospital and various churches and mausoleums, the most noteworthy of the latter being the H. J. Heinz and Bishop Canevin. In response to this demand for their work, the Rudy Brothers opened a second prosperous shop in York, Pennsylvania around 1900. The Rudy Brothers Company incorporated in 1904, and continued successfully until the Great Depression of the 1930s. The brothers took an active interest in both Pittsburgh and York's civic lives. They encouraged artists and art clubs, as well as supported concerts and the YMCA. Horace never quite recovered from the shame of bankruptcy, and died in York in 1940. Isaiah, the youngest and only surviving brother, continued the business, which had withered into a small East Liberty repair shop, until his death in 1962. Shortly thereafter, the shop was lost to urban renewal. However, the studio not only created beautiful windows, but trained accomplished apprentices, such as Charles Connick and Lawrence Saint. Using their Pittsburgh training, both went on to work nationally in the medium of ecclesiastical stained glass.