Every November as the holiday season approaches, one house on Pittsburgh\u2019s Fifth Avenue becomes wrapped in a giant red bow. Kenneth Lehn, a finance professor in the Katz Graduate School of Business, has spent years decorating his house on Millionaire\u2019s Row like a present.<\/p>\n
Recognized for the large, lit-up twinkling red bow that adorns it every holiday season, the historic Negely-Gwinner-Harter House<\/a> is the star of the neighborhood. Lehn has been decorating the 19th century house like this for approximately 15 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, it\u2019s funny because I\u2019ve worked pretty hard at my profession,\u201d Lehn said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of my professional accomplishments, but it seems like the only thing I\u2019m really known for in Pittsburgh is the bow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Lehn first installed the bow after a trip to New York City with his then-wife. While walking near Rockefeller Center, they noticed a display in a jewelry store\u2019s window.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought the bow in the Cartier store looked really beautiful,\u201d Lehn said. \u201cSo we decided then that that might be a nice look at our house. Our bow is different than their bow, but nonetheless, we were inspired by Cartier.\u201d<\/p>\n A professional design company, Vast Made Studios<\/a> \u2014 which designs high-end sets, installations, furniture and props \u2014 maintains and installs the same bow every year. The studio repaired the bow in 2023 using the original design by Susie Perelman from the company Party Mosaic<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dan Callery, co-owner of Vast Made Studios, said the bow needed revamping two years ago since it was in bad repair.<\/p>\n \u201cWe figured out what it was going to look like through sketches with help from [Perelman],\u201d Callery said. \u201cWe got all of the pieces, parts and fabric made after the original design and got the bow structure up pretty fast.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2023 redesign marked the beginning of Vast Made Studio\u2019s ongoing work on the project. Callery said the company now handles the full installation each year, securing the bow\u2019s internal structure and fabric attachments.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Callery, the bow\u2019s bright red exterior is made from poly stain fabric, a material chosen because it can withstand Pittsburgh weather. The internal structure is built from PVC and uses cables to anchor it to Lehn\u2019s house.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s breathable so the wind doesn\u2019t destroy it too much, and it\u2019s pretty nice looking,\u201d Callery said. \u201c[Lehn] has anchor points put in that get cabling run all around the house and up to the roof. The fabric is sleeved on over top of the cables.\u201d<\/p>\n The bow had fallen into disrepair because it was in storage for two years due to personal issues. Lehn said the neighbors were unhappy without the large decoration.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually did receive some letters accusing me of being a Grinch,\u201d Lehn said.<\/p>\n