Surprise! It's Stone!

The George A. Macbeth House:

Shingle Style in Red Slate

c. 1884 George A. Macbeth House

Located in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood, the George A. Macbeth house embodies E. G. W. Dietrich's dynamic and inventive shingle style design ideas. Dietrich's use of asymmetrical massing, staggered forms, dynamic roofline, and variety of materials make this lively house stand out among its neighbors. The second and third stories are clad with red slate shingles in a variety of decorative shapes. This early commission for the newly formed partnership of Bartberger and Dietrich was published in the American Architect and Building News in September 1884.

George A. Macbeth (1845-1916) was born in Urbana, Ohio. He married Katherine Vogdes Duff in 1880.  The couple had three children Anna, Helen, and George.  Macbeth was the president of the Macbeth-Evans Glass Company in Pittsburgh.

From the American Architect and Building News

Comparison of corbels as drawn and built with sunburst decoration