Henry Buhl, Jr. died June 11, 1927. By his will he created, as a memorial to "my beloved wife, Louise C. Buhl" the Buhl Foundation, to which he gave the residue of his estate after bequests to relatives, friends, and a number of charitable organizations. He hoped the Foundation would be free in vision and purpose and structurally capable of adaptability and usefulness. This wise foresight of the funder caused the then president of the Carnegie Corporation to refer to the Foundation as "a model for an endowment broadly conceived as to purpose, but with special reference to the needs of a given locality."
Henry Buhl, Jr. built his fortune in the retail industry with his partner, Russell Boggs. In its day, the Boggs and Buhl Department Store on the North Side of Pittsburgh served the carriage trade of the western Pennsylvania region.
The Foundation strove from inception, as Henry Buhl, Jr. requested it should, to be especially concerned with the "well-being of the citizens of the City of Pittsburgh, and the County of Allegheny."
Buhl, the first multipurpose foundation in Pittsburgh, was endowed with $11 million, which made it then one of the ten largest such foundations in the country.
The Foundation's grant program was just beginning at the onset of the Great Depression. It was then that its interest in data collection and planning to justify its grantmaking initiatives first became apparent. A multi-year landmark study was undertaken, resulting in the publication by Columbia University Press of "A Social Study of Pittsburgh." It documented "community problems and social services of Allegheny County." The Foundation was to draw upon this document for many of its initiatives in ensuing years. It was a fruitful period as the research had pointed out significant needs of the community, some of which the Foundation sought to address.
In the belief that carefully collected data should inform public policy and private philanthropy, grants were made to build up social sciences in Pittsburgh. The Foundation supported social research by establishing the Bureau of Social Research. It initiated a program of economic research at the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Pittsburgh. It supported historical research by funding the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society, and government research in the Western Pennsylvania Economy League. Most of these organizations continue to serve the community under original or evolved forms.
Foundation grants established Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western Pennsylvania; the School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh; the Pittsburgh Foundation; the University of Pittsburgh Press; Western Pennsylvania Conservancy; Pittsburgh Child Guidance Center; Psychological Services of Pittsburgh (now PSP Human Resource Development); and the Economy League of Western Pennsylvania. In 1937, the Foundation provided an initial grant to the Pittsburgh Symphony Society toward the establishment of a symphony orchestra. While at Psychological Services of Pittsburgh, Frederick Hertzberg published his management classic Motivation to Work, with support from the Foundation.
Among its earliest grants was one to the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh to preserve and record the early history of western Pennsylvania with special reference to its role in what became known as the French and Indian War. Other books followed, notably on wildflowers of the region and its early architecture. These books secured a place for the University of Pittsburgh Press among publishers of books of lasting merit. In the 1990's, this historical interest evolved into the funding of the WQED History Series of videos about areas and characteristics of the region.
An early grant went to Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to encourage adult continuing education. Another was for the study of the social needs of the Hill District by the National Urban League.
With the Depression came the needs for model projects, which could also put people to work, and so Chatham Village was conceived. This became a project renowned in the annals of architecture, studied and visited to this day by planners and architects from all over the world. In 2005, it was designated a National Historical Monument, taking its place alongside Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece.
In 1939, the Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science was opened, another major construction project. It was succeeded in 1991 by a new Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium inside Carnegie Science Center, characterized by advanced production technology. Its programs are translated into 15 different languages and are shown regularly in 20 foreign countries.
To advance science in the region, the Foundation established professional chairs at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University). One chair was in Electrical Engineering (1944) and one in Theoretical Nuclear Physics (1950). In 1998, a chair was established at the University of Pittsburgh in another frontier of science in the School of Library and Information Science. To mark the 75th anniversary of the Foundation, the Foundation endowed a chair at Carnegie Science Center known as the Henry Buhl, Jr. Chair, to be held by the director of the Science Center. Over the years, the Foundation funded several higher education laboratories, including one in which the Salk vaccine was developed.
It would be impossible to capture the range and significance of the Foundation's work over more than 75 years in a brief report. It has been from the outset interested in the well-being of private higher education. In recognition of this, in 1999, the national Council of Independent Colleges gave its Award in Philanthropy to the Buhl Foundation. Henry Buhl, Jr. was himself a board member of Grove City College for twenty-nine years and a recent grant to memorialize Louise Buhl, his wife, recalled that relationship. The Foundation has also consistently sought to strengthen institutions which serve the disabled and disadvantaged, especially the children. New knowledge about the functioning of the brain has led to greater prospects for such children.
Perhaps the most comprehensive program undertaken in recent years was the encouragement of introduction of information technology to libraries. It began with the introduction of automation into college and university libraries followed by leadership of an effort to introduce information technology into the public libraries, thereby giving access to the Internet to all citizens in the region. The Foundation further supported the establishment of the Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA) which has proved an effective advocate for member libraries. The Foundation then addressed the challenge of enhancing the efficiency of the non-profit service sector by enabling the intelligent application of the new technologies to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The difficult question of improving learning through applications of technology was notably addressed through support of the now very successful Cognitive Tutor Mathematics Curricula software development at Carnegie Mellon University.
Civic improvement has been of interest to the Foundation as the Pittsburgh region made the transition from a steel-based economy. The Art Cinema, a pornographic blight within the heart of the Cultural District, was renovated to become the Harris Theatre. The art deco façade of the "Curtain Call" was restored on the Jackson Building, designated for use by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to enhance the Cultural District.
A system of wayfinding signage was developed to make the city more accessible to residents and visitors. The system is being implemented by other towns in the region.
In its 75th year, the Foundation returned to its roots, remembering that Henry Buhl, Jr. lived, worked and is buried in the North Side of Pittsburgh. Particular emphasis has been given to projects emanating from there. Its cultural assets, such as the National Aviary, the Pittsburgh Children's Museum, The Mattress Factory, Carnegie Science Center, have all been of concern. Civic enhancements have been funded as well as certain social agencies serving the area.
In his will, Henry Buhl, Jr. provided that if any person were disposed to make gifts or bequests to the Buhl Foundation, the Board of Directors have the power to receive them and manage them for the purposes of the Foundation. Therefore, the Foundation was willing to incorporate both the McCreery Memorial Fund and the Frick Educational Fund into the work of the Foundation. Each retains its original mission, is separately identified and receives the benefits of efficiencies in overhead and financial management. The Buhl Foundation is honored to serve the community in this way.
In carrying out its mission, the Foundation has sought to find the balance between visibility and self-effacement, and between leadership and enablement. It has had to balance the need to be fiscally prudent and its belief that it must take risks if it is to help fashion new responses to community needs. The Foundation is often the first funder of a new idea, being willing to venture when the possible benefits outweigh the attendant risks. In these cases, it looks for opportunities where a small amount of money strategically invested can lead to continuing changes for the betterment of the region.
Throughout its history, the Foundation has recognized that any success it has is a derived success. It is dependent on the vision and dedication of the many organizations whom it has been privileged to assist. The Foundation has been fortunate indeed that good, and sometimes great, ideas and the leaders to implement them have emerged in timely fashion.
The Foundation looks back with gratitude to the region which it serves and to all those who have worked with it for the well-being of Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania in fulfillment of its founder's hopes.