McKees Rocks: Historic Tenements and Row Homes of "The Bottoms" (Photo Tour) (Pittsburgh: 2013, rentals)

[PreservationPioneer]

In the shadow of the McKees Rocks Bridge and the Adena Indian Mound is a neighborhood called "The Bottoms," a surviving urban relic of the industrial age. Here many immigrants came to work in the P&LE Railroad, Pressed Steel factories, and associated industries during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The work was laborious and dangerous. Many workers died due to poor safety regulations, leading to the bloody McKees Rocks Strike of 1909.

Here are some of the surviving tenements and row homes that once housed workers in these factories. It is important to document and preserve these homes, which represent the heritage and the blood, sweat, and tears of the immigrants who moved here so long ago to build better lives for themselves.

For more historic photo tours, visit my blog, Discovering Historic Pittsburgh.

[Hopes]

Thanks for sharing. That one story yellow house is interesting. I wonder if it was always a house.

[John Buettner]

Thanks again for sharing. My hometown back in the 50's & 60's. A very different place back then. We played on that indian mound, and swam in the Ohio river.

[Copanut]

The Bottoms was a cool place back in the day.

[PreservationPioneer]

All of my McKees Rocks photos are now in one place, if anyone is interested:

Discovering Historic Pittsburgh: McKees Rocks and Stowe Township

[ferraris]

Wow, usually your photo tours manage to find some sign of life or progress. This truly looks like it's in the dumps worse than any of your other photo tours I can remember. What's your long term outlook on the Bottoms? Seems like an area that the wrecking ball might get too before a wave of gentrifiers does. It reminds me of Uptown, but without most of the advantages.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

What's your long term outlook on the Bottoms? Seems like an area that the wrecking ball might get too before a wave of gentrifiers does. It reminds me of Uptown, but without most of the advantages.

The Bottoms actually seems like a somewhat stable area. Most of the homes are rentals and occupied or owner-occupied. It's a pretty clean and intact neighborhood - not too many overgrown lots or litter or weird people walking around, like Uptown has, although there is some of that. Just not in the same dose! Just my take on it. I would rather the gentrifiers not come to McKees Rocks - I want the neighborhood to stay affordable for Social Workers. Home restorers are welcome, though! I just don't want the kind of people who flip homes and put them on the market for six digits. I like my $10k houses.

Keep in mind, this is not a tour of the neighborhood, but of the tenement houses within the neighborhood.

[Herodotus]

Where are the tenements? All I see are rowhouses.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Herodotus

Where are the tenements? All I see are rowhouses.

Agreed.

This is a really fascinating area regardless.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

I would rather the gentrifiers not come to McKees Rocks - I want the neighborhood to stay affordable for Social Workers. Home restorers are welcome, though! I just don't want the kind of people who flip homes and put them on the market for six digits. I like my $10k houses.

^ This. Pittsburgh's "safe" and "walkable" neighborhoods are largely appreciating in value beyond the grasp of many lower-income working professionals, such as you and me. I'm now even priced out of buying in Upper Lawrenceville (the "non-trendy" part) and my own Polish Hill, which lacks a business district. As such I'm now looking into areas not unlike "The Bottoms", Esplen, Marshall-Shadeland, and similar neighborhoods to buy a dirt cheap home, rehab it, and live in it long-term. The greedy "flippers" have all but ruined the chances of entry-level homeowners buying into places like Lawrenceville and most of the rest of the East End as they purchase tiny brick rowhomes, put in cheap finishes, and then list them for $299,900. We need to still have some neighborhoods around where people like us can afford to buy into and LIVE in for years to come. I'm tiring of overpaying for rent in the East End and am now committed to buying outside of it and helping to make a struggling, aging, decaying neighborhood a better place for others!