The Neighborhoods of Pgh

            The Neighborhoods of Pittsburgh are one if the city’s most beloved characteristics.  Ask a Pittsburgher where they are from and you are just as likely to get Polish Hill, Brighton Heights, Lawrenceville, Squirrel Hill, Observatory Hill, (we do like our hills here) as you are to get Pittsburgh.  If you are physically in the city in fact you are almost guaranteed to get a neighborhood.  Each neighborhood is unique and has its own characteristics and feel.  This mostly comes from the early period of immigration when these neighborhoods were towns in their own right.  As Pittsburgh grew in population it expanded by annexing its neighboring towns with an unstoppable appetite.  Originally Pittsburgh existed solely on the land between the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers but as it grew the borders spread across both rivers.  Some of these neighboring towns accepted their fate while others fought for their rights to exist all the way to the US Supreme Court as Allegheny City did finally loosing its case and being absorbed into Pittsburgh in 1907. 

            As one might expect the neighborhoods have changed to varying degrees over time. Perhaps none so much as the area known as The Point which today forms the tip of the Golden Triangle as the Downtown area is commonly called.  This area is traditionally the very tip where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River.  It was the location for the first settlement in Pittsburgh.  The French Fort Duquesne then when it was captured by the English it became Fort Pitt.  Over time as the city grew it became one of the most crowded slum areas.  Eventually it was so bad the city counsel brought in Frank Lloyd Wright to give reconditions on how the city could change and begin the process of beautification for the Golden Triangle.  His recommendation was to tear down the entire area and start over.  Since this wasn’t a very practical suggestion, as one can’t simply destroy the entire center of an established city, the city counsel released Wright and moved on.  What eventually was created was the demolition of the point and the creation of Point State Park.  This is perhaps one of the most well know areas of Pittsburgh even if people don’t know its name it is prominent in any picture of the Down town Pittsburgh skyline.

            Other neighborhoods haven’t experienced quite the range of blighted area to beautiful state park.  The area of Shadyside began as a single farm out side of Pittsburgh that was broken up and pieces sold creating a very trendy suburb of Pittsburgh for its wealthy industrial leaders to be able to get out of the grit of Pittsburgh and into a beautiful rural feeling area.  Shadyside still maintains its suburban feeling with its large houses on beautifully manicured lawns despite the fact that it is only a few minutes away from the Golden Triangle. 

            While Shadyside was able to maintain its upper class neighborhood status some areas like the South Side are just beginning to experience this type of growth in the last 15ish years.  The South Side began as an area for the workers of the mills to live.  Situated side by side with these mills this area was often crowded, extremely hot in the summer and thanks to the soot produced by the mills extremely dirty.  When water pipes were laid in the area the residents shared these lines with those same mills and it was quite usual for here to be absolutely no water available during the hours the mills were running.  Women used to fill tubs, buckets and even pans with the water they needed for the day very early in the morning before the mills began their work day.  The South Side struggled through the rust belt years and has come out now as one of the trendiest hot spots in the city.

            The area of East Liberty is perhaps 10 years behind the South Side in terms of rebirth and development.  This neighborhood is located in the area originally set aside as a free liberty where the residents of Pittsburgh could let their animals out to graze on the communal land.  Like much of Pittsburgh it too eventually supported its own mills and working class neighborhood.  It to has struggled through the rust belt years and now because of the low rents is quickly becoming a great place for new restaurants and art galleries to open, which will of course raise property values in the area.

            These are just a very few of the neighborhoods Pittsburgh has to offer.  Entire books can and have been written about Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods.  I would encourage everyone to come and experience them for your self.  Next week etiquette in the 1890’s.  What exactly does it mean to “give the Lady the wall” anyway?