Suburb of the week: East Pittsburgh (Ardmore, Forest Hills: apartment, townhouse, neighborhood)

[eschaton]

East Pittsburgh is a small mill town located to the east of Pittsburgh (appropriately enough). It incorporated as a borough in 1894 - the same year that Westinghouse Electric began to build their major plant in the borough. Population growth was strong through to 1920, when it peaked at over 6,500 people. Since then it has declined every single decade, with the most recently reported population just under 1,800. In recent years East Pittsburgh has also underwent a demographic transition, changing from a working-class white community to a majority black one - but it would perhaps be more accurate to say that it has been racially mixed for some time, and the white population continues to fall while the black population is pretty stable.

There are several distinct areas of East Pittsburgh. The largest is the residential neighborhood on the hill above Braddock Avenue. The housing stock is mixed, but better than average for a mill town of its era, with the majority of the houses brick - usually detached on very narrow lots, but with some rowhouses mixed in. Few houses appear to have been lost to blight. It doesn't appear East Pittsburgh ever had a true business district, but there are scattered storefronts on main Street and Bessemer Avenue. A handful of these are still occupied, but really there's not much commercial activity here except for a few auto body places.

The area between Braddock Avenue and Turtle Creek (the creek, not the borough) is an industrial area mostly occupied by the old Westinghouse factory. Heading up Electric Avenue (part of which is in the borough) there is more of a mixed-use corridor, with some apartment buildings, offices, a few old Victorian commercial structures, and even a handful of surviving bars and restaurants. Way too many parking lots however for the area to be pedestrian friendly. On the hill on the other side of Electric Avenue there is a little pocket neighborhood also within East Pittsburgh. This includes both Prospect Street (a historic street) and Lookout Street - a mid 20th century townhouse development which seems to be in the process of being totally refurbished.

The future for East Pittsburgh is probably not bright, but it could be worse as well. It certainly has no near term hope of gentrification, but population decline has fallen considerably since the 1980s (the borough might lose only around 3% of its population this decade) I see it maintaining relatively high levels of occupancy for some time, as lower-income people from the city (particularly African Americans) are gentrified out and pushed into largely intact communities where bus service is available like East Pittsburgh. Quite honestly, this is a fine future for the community - provided a little more could be done to provide amenities within walking distance for a lower-income community where many residents undoubtedly don't have regular access to a car.

[Geeo]

It's an interesting little town (part of "Electric Valley") with a lot of history, but the moving of the original Lincoln Highway (Rte. 30) out of the borough, the demise of Westinghouse and some terrible 1960s urban "redevelopment" have left their mark.

Before the Westinghouse Bridge was built to carry the Lincoln Highway over the valley to Forest Hills, the highway went right through East Pittsburgh. That's why there is that weird merge onto Ardmore Blvd. coming out of East Pittsburgh on Electric Avenue.

I've seen some old pictures of the business district, and it looked decent before WWII, and even had a GC Murphy variety store, which I think is still standing (abandoned) and you can still see the outline of the Murphy's letters. Sometime in the 1960s, they razed most of the little business district and built some really terrible "modern" buildings with a pedestrian mall that killed whatever businesses were still left.

The giant Westinghouse factory was the mother ship of the corporation and employed 20,000 at its peak in WWII, declined in the 70s and shut down altogether in 1986, I believe. I know there are other businesses in there now that probably employ a few hundred people.

There is a Greek Orthodox Church on Electric Avenue whose congregation is still active, even though most parishioners live elsewhere now. It's a little domed church built by Greek immigrants in 1916 and they still hold a very nice food festival in the summer.

[BMan_152]

The view of the Westinghouse Bridge from below is quite breathtaking.. One of my favorite views in the county!

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3940...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3924...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3933...7i13312!8i6656

Google maps really doesn't do the bridge/view justice.. Its just sooooo imposing & huge! By far one of the most beautiful bridges ever built!

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by BMan_152

The view of the Westinghouse Bridge from below is quite breathtaking.. One of my favorite views in the county!

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3940...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3924...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3933...7i13312!8i6656

Google maps really doesn't do the bridge/view justice.. Its just sooooo imposing & huge! By far one of the most beautiful bridges ever built!

I agree.