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Boundaries

The Allegheny West neighborhood is located on the North Side of the city of Pittsburgh, near Allegheny Center and Heinz Field.  The neighborhood extends from Brighton Road on the east to Allegheny Avenue on the west, and from Ridge Avenue on the south to West North Avenue on the north.  In 1990, the Pittsburgh City Council designated the surviving residential sections of the neighborhood as a City historic district, encompassing about 210 buildings.  (top)

Major Streets, such as North Avenue, Brighton Road, and Western Avenue, border or run through Allegheny West.  Public transportation routes on all of these streets provide convenient access to downtown and the rest of the north side.  (top)

Among the community organizations active in Allegheny West are the Allegheny West Civic Council, the Allegheny West Merchants Association, and the Allegheny Historic Preservation Society (which has focused its attention on Calvary Methodist Church).  (top)

Allegheny West is a residential district bisected by a commercial street, Western Avenue.  Nearby commercial areas include Allegheny Center and stores along Brighton Road, Federal Street, and East Ohio Street.  Two churches are located within the historic district, along Allegheny Avenue, while other churches are nearby.  Across Brighton Road lies the expanse of West Park, with its playgrounds and aviary.  The Children's Museum and Carnegie Library can be found in Allegheny Center, and Three Rivers Stadium, the Community College of Allegheny County, and the Carnegie Science Center are located just to the south.  (top)

The Allegheny West neighborhood was originally (in 1788) laid out as part of the "outlots", or farming area, that lay outside the Commons land that ringed the town of Allegheny (the "in-lots").  (top)

The population of Allegheny grew rapidly after 1830, spilling out across the Commons into new residential neighborhoods built on the old outlots.  In 1867-76, in response to public demands, town officials developed the Commons into a public park (which is now a City Historic Site).  This amenity, together with the location of the neighborhood next to Monument Hill and west (upwind) of the new railroad lines through Allegheny, would later act to make the Allegheny West area the most prestigious residential section in the city.  (top)

However, initial development of the neighborhood proceeded slowly.  The first structure built in Allegheny West was a rope factory (or "rope walk") that was constructed in 1813 at Brighton and N. Lincoln, and extended all the way to Allegheny Avenue.  It was the property of John Irwin, a Revolutionary War veteran.  Irwin's sons became two of the first permanent residents of the area when they built houses alongside the factory.  (top)

By the time the rope factory was removed in 1858, the first building lots had been platted along Western Avenue and the first new houses built.  By 1872, Allegheny West had become an exclusive residential district, with large houses lining Brighton Road and Ridge Avenue, and much of the section south of Western Avenue built up.  Construction continued rapidly through the 1870s, with Beech Avenue being largely developed by 1884.  Brighton Road and Ridge Avenue continued to be the streets of choice for the rich and socially prominent, with North Lincoln Avenue only a little lower on the scale.  Church and school - Emmanuel Episcopal Church (1886), Calvary Methodist Church (1895), and the Allegheny Preparatory School - helped to anchor the prestigious residential area.  (top)

The first decade of the twentieth century was the high point of Allegheny West's prestige and social desirability.  The largest and finest of the millionaires' mansions were built then.  However, the effects of the wartime industrial boom, with its pollution and encroaching physical plants, along with increased population density began to make the area less desirable for its rich residents, at the same time that the income tax began to make it difficult to maintain multiple mansions and the automobile made it easier to get into and out of the city.  The prominent families began to abandon their townhouses in favor of suburban or country homes by the 1930s.  The large houses were taken over by rooming-house operators, businesses, clubs, and other less prestigious users.  The effects of the Great Depression and the Second World War discouraged maintenance of properties and encouraged higher-density uses, including businesses and apartments, and the neighborhood became increasingly congested and run-down through the 1950s and 1960s.  (top)

Major physical changes took place in Allegheny West during the 1960s and 1970s.  Much of the south side of Ridge Avenue was demolished and rebuilt as the campus of the Community College of Allegheny County.  The construction of the college and of Three Rivers Stadium increased the pressure for parking - pressure that resulted in the clearing of much of the 900 blocks of Ridge and N. Lincoln Avenues for parking lots.  However, a countervailing interest in the preservation of the remaining residential structures began in the 1970s, and has led to the renovation and restoration of much of the solid but much-abused housing stock to its nineteenth-century elegance.  (top)

Allegheny West is a Victorian and Edwardian neighborhood.  The terms "Victorian" and "Edwardian", however, do not refer to a specific architectural style, but instead to the era of Queen Victoria and King Edward of Great Britain (from 1837 to 1911).  During that time, many different architectural styles were popular, including the Greek Revival (ca. 1825-1860); the Italianate (ca. 1860-1885) and its contemporary, the French Second Empire; and Richardsonian Romanesque and Queen Anne (ca. 1880-1900), which were superseded by the Classical Revival at the turn of the century.  Examples of all of these styles can be found in Allegheny West, and their identifying characteristics are described in the walking tour narrative.  (top)

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