Future of West Newton’s main street is uncertain

Only memories remain of the G.C. Murphy store that was once housed in a twostory building at East Main and North Second streets that has been reduced to piles of bricks, wood and other debris.

By JOE NAPSHA
TribLive

Maria Greer grew up in West Newton and remembers when the town had a robust downtown business district, featuring a G.C. Murphy store that “sold everything.”

Greer, who owns Maria’s Alterations in West Newton, recalled the days when the G.C. Murphy store was a place to buy everything one needed, including sewing patterns, fabric and thread needed by a seamstress like her.

“All the girls went there. I even bought a pair of go-go boots there,” said Greer, referring to the fashion boot of the mid-1960s.

Now, only memories remain of the store once housed in a two-story building at East Main and North Second streets that has been reduced to piles of bricks, wood and other debris.

Lutterman Excavating Co. of Hempfield demolished the long-vacant building under a $91,500 contract from the Westmoreland County Land Bank, which had acquired the property through a tax claim bureau sale in 2025 for $1,758.

There was no alternative to razing the building because the deterioration was so extensive, said Brian Lawrence, executive director of the Westmoreland County Land Bank. He said sections of the roof had collapsed and water had ruined the interior.

“This property was too far gone,” said Lawrence, noting the cost to renovate the building was $1.5 million more than its value.

“I think it was time for that building to go,” said David Kahley, president of the Progress Fund, who said the building was in bad shape when he toured it in 2014.

By the end of the G.C. Murphy building’s life cycle, Greer said, it had become a hazard.

“Pieces were starting to fall off of it,” she said. “We’re sad to see it go, happy to see it go. It had to go. It’s been a 10-year wait for our turn to have this torn down. It’s better (now) than it was.”

With the building gone, the property has garnered some interest from potential buyers, Lawrence said.

If that initial interest doesn’t result in a sale, then the property would be placed on the market, Lawrence said.

He said it would be a challenge to sell because the site, along with much of downtown West Newton, is in a flood plain.

That makes it more costly to build on, and the state won’t allocate money to help build a structure in a flood plain, Lawrence said.

West Newton Borough Council President Jason Cooper said he understands that’s a big challenge to redeveloping the site.

“While those factors present challenges, they do not make redevelopment impossible,” Cooper said.

In addition, the site doesn’t have any parking and is too small for a business and offstreet parking, said Kahley, whose organization helped to fund several businesses in West Newton.

Cooper views the property as an important opportunity for West Newton’s future.

”We would like to see the property returned to productive use in a way that strengthens our downtown and serves the needs of the community,” he said.

As discussions continue, Cooper said the borough wants to engage residents and business owners to better understand what types of redevelopment they would most like to see. “We believe public input will be an important part of shaping the long-term vision for this prominent location.”

Greer would not speculate about the future of the lot, which lies directly across the street from her storefront.

Whatever the borough wants to do with site, it needs to be something to attract people to town, Kahley said.

“You want the space to bring in people to town,” such as a small business like a pizza shop, an ice cream store, with space for people to gather, Kahley said.

G.C. Murphy

The store was part of the McKeesport-based retail chain that served as a department store for residents not only in West Newton, but in small coal patch villages along the Youghiogheny River and the farming communities that surrounded West Newton on both sides of the river. Three storefronts were combined into one G.C. Murphy building to form the store in 1928.

But, over the decades, shopping patterns changed, malls were built and big box stores became destinations, all of which hurt small towns.

“I saw when the downtown was at its heyday and watched the decline over the last almost 40 years, too,” Greer said.

The store closed in 1985 after G.C. Murphy Co. was acquired by another retail chain.

In its post-G.C. Murphy life, it served for a time as a fitness supply store and fitness center on the first floor, with yoga and exercise classes at what was Peak Performance on the second floor. During the latter stages of the demolition, large mirrors remained intact on the second floor where those in exercise class worked out.

The demolition this past month came after years of failed attempts to save the building.

After it exchanged hands several times, John M. Chain of Scottdale acquired the building in April 2008 for $25,000. But Chain filed for bankruptcy in 2015, opting to liquidate his assets.

Greer said that the Murphy Building isn’t the only structure downtown that has seen better days.

“In the last few years, the buildings have just been deteriorating, going one by one,” Greer said. “There isn’t a building down here that’s suitable to be rented, in my opinion, at this point, even if you wanted to.”

West Newton is a town divided by the Youghiogheny River, separating the more populated east side with the borough offices and emergency services, from the west side.

But it’s the borough’s west side gets the most attention from visitors because it’s along the popular Greater Allegheny Passage trail, which connects Pittsburgh with Cumberland, Md. Getting trail users to cross the West Newton Bridge into the east side has been a challenge.

As for the future of West Newton, Greer said there is work to be done.

“The bike trail’s there, but you can’t depend on the bike trail traffic to support your commerce in your downtown,” Greer said.