Have Fallen in love with Mexican War Streets!

[BrianTH]

Pre-WWII brick Foursquares like those in Pittsburgh aren't all THAT common nationally. To begin with, in many cities most of those houses would have been wood, not brick. They were also less customized in many cities--lots of the wood ones in particular were mail-ordered/rail-shipped kits, but in Pittsburgh you had a lot of builders using the same basic plan, but then also using local skilled labor and materials. So, you can see all sorts of atypical details, basically as some work crew fresh off the boat from Italy or Germany or so on put their own spin on the basic design.

Further, a lot of newer U.S. cities now as large or larger than Pittsburgh had most of their residential population gains after that era, so the relevant neighborhoods in particular were much smaller at the time. Finally, lots of older cities bulldozed a lot of their neighborhoods from that era in the post-WWII period (Pittsburgh did some of that too, but not as much for various reasons). So because of all these factors, there actually isn't really an abundance of this specific kind of Pittsburgh housing (the well-done brick Foursquare).

To be sure, the North Side in particular has some pretty spectacular versions of architecture from its prime era, because that was the "hot" area to build during a period of relative prosperity in Pittsburgh. And in general the farther back you go, naturally the rarer the urban architecture, both because urban populations in the U.S. have been constantly growing, and because with more time, more structures are lost. Still, having looked around quite a bit at similar neighborhoods elsewhere, I wouldn't discount the relative rarity of Pittsburgh's early-20th Century brick Foursquares, taking into account their quality, variety, and sheer quantity.

[Geeo]

First time house hunting in the early 80s, I looked at places on both the North Side and South Side. I was struck by the size and opulence of the North Side houses as opposed to the South Side houses. The realtor told me that South Side was working class in the 19th century (hence the 6-inch deep closets - they only had two sets of clothes - work and Sunday) and the North Side was the prosperous city of Allegheny. The South Side house on Sarah Street that I looked at was $40,000, probably $200,000 today. I opted to buy on the North Side for a much larger house that was definitely more middle-to-upper middle class in the 19th century. It was built like a tank and could not be duplicated today. Had many great years over there.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by Jrn14

Have you ever thought of Marrying the Mexican War Streets?

I am considering.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Those North Side neighborhoods (War Streets, Manchester, Allegheny West, Deutschtown) really have the edge when it comes to architecture. While the South Side Flats and Lawrenceville have houses from the same era (mid 19th century), the architecture on the North Side just seems more impressive and ornate. Some of the best examples of Italianate architecture can be found in the War Streets and Manchester, especially.

While I love the East End neighborhoods, they were built up about forty years later, and have much less of the Italianate style that I love. Brick four squares are nice, but you can find them in abundance in most any American city. That's definitely not the case with the housing on the North Side, the style of which is limited to only the older American cities. The housing in Regent Square or Shadyside could be from almost any city. But the housing in the War Streets is Pittsburgh vernacular.

I really enjoy all of your pictures, by the way.

[Benzman66]

Originally Posted by alise007

Not sure if it is still there but there used to be a "homeless" shelter for drug addicts a few doors down from AGH. I know at some point people were getting mugged/assualted in the park if you crossed from the CCAC side over towards AGH.

Yep, still there, and in fact, they just bought two more "houses". One on each side of the original. I believe it is the "light of life mission".

[rhondee]

and one of my favorite Mex War St pics by ainulindale's Essence of Pittsburgh on CD: