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Old 05-22-2017, 08:00 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,361 posts, read 16,901,494 times
Reputation: 12390

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Knoxville is a neighborhood in the southern hilltop region of the City of Pittsburgh. It borders Beltzhoover, Allentown, Bon Air, and independent enclave of Mount Oliver borough.

Knoxville was first incorporated as a borough in 1877 out of part of the now defunct Lower Saint Clair township. Its name comes from Jerimiah Knox, a local landowner who established a fruit farm on the site before its later development. Most of the street names come from the Knox family - either directly from family members (Wilbur, Amanda, Knox, Charles), or recalling fruit they grew (Rochelle Street - from their blackberries, or Arabella and Zara - from their grapes).

Once the Mount Oliver Incline opened in the 1870s, and especially after the opening of the Knoxville & St. Clair Electric Railroad in 1888, the local population boomed. At the time it was one of the most desirable portions of what is now the Southern Hilltop for one big reason - wind patterns. Knoxville was two hills back from the South Side, and thus largely shaded from smog. Because of this, it became the "streetcar suburb" of choice for middle managers who lived in the South Side, resulting in much grander housing stock than much of the rest of the region. It was annexed by the city comparably late - in 1927 - long after most of Brookline and Beechview further to the south (although before Carrick to the south).

Knoxville went into decline during the late 20th century, although historical accounts are sketchy about how and when this happened. Knoxville's decline happened later than nearby Beltzhoover - possibly as spillover as black residents in Beltzhoover initially looked for a comparably safer nearby area to live. Today around 58% of the population of Knoxville is black - with the black population more heavily concentrated in the northern part of the neighborhood.

Knoxville as it stands has essentially two portions:

Northern Knoxville (everything above Bausman Street) was the older portion of the neighborhood, mostly built out prior to 1900 in a grand brick foursquare style similar to Highland Park in the East End. Unfortunately it is also the portion of Knoxville which has been most heavily affected by white flight, disinvestment, and blight.

Southern Knoxville, in contrast, is more modest housing of a slightly more modern vintage, as these areas were at the time further from transit and less desirable. This area is not blighted, has not yet seen significant white flight, and is in good overall shape. However, due to the Knoxville name being essentially mud in local real estate, housing values continue to decline, as does the prospects for this area. Block by block it is getting worse, at least for the moment.

Knoxville is the most heavily residential neighborhood within the city - containing no parkland of any sort, along with no industry or major job concentrations. However, the west side of Brownsville Avenue south of Bausman is in Knoxville and zoned commercial. That said, compared to the densest portion of Mount Oliver's business district to the north, this area is pretty chopped up and blighted. There are a few amenities - a Boost Mobile site, a Carnegie Library, a bar, pizza place, a few mini-marts, a McDonalds, and an auto-parts store - a typical mix of lower-income stores that no one outside the area will seek to venture into.

Knoxville's only real hope of revival is if nearby Mount Oliver's business district sees an upswing similar to what's happening in Allentown. If this happens people may begin to show some interest in the fine but tarnished housing stock slowly falling apart only blocks away. But otherwise, sadly a steady path downward is the most likely trajectory for Knoxville.
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Old 05-23-2017, 08:24 PM
 
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I didn't realize until now that Lawrenceville is not the only Pittsburgh neighborhood that shares a name with a borough in northern Tioga County's Cowanesque Valley. Strange.
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Old 05-24-2017, 04:52 AM
 
6,357 posts, read 5,016,973 times
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Originally Posted by ki0eh View Post
I didn't realize until now that Lawrenceville is not the only Pittsburgh neighborhood that shares a name with a borough in northern Tioga County's Cowanesque Valley. Strange.
lol...i wonder if there IS some connection, maybe stemming from the old industrial days of coal/oil and steel?

Pittsburg, CA actually is named after our very own.

Pittsburgh, KS, not sure....

Knoxville - a neighborhood that is easy to dislike and not feel guilty about it.
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Old 05-24-2017, 07:20 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,361 posts, read 16,901,494 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by szug-bot View Post
Knoxville - a neighborhood that is easy to dislike and not feel guilty about it.
I dunno if I'd say I dislike Knoxville as much as feel sorry for it. It's a neighborhood with great bones which is going nowhere but down - probably faster than any city neighborhood except maybe Sheraden.

In some ways it's the most extreme of the southern hilltop neighborhoods. I just get a creepy vibe when I'm up there from people - worse than even neighborhoods which technically are higher crime, like Homewood. I think it's because more of the crime is from random drug addicts and not gang related.
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Old 05-24-2017, 06:10 PM
 
4,277 posts, read 11,727,814 times
Reputation: 3931
Quote:
Originally Posted by szug-bot View Post
lol...i wonder if there IS some connection, maybe stemming from the old industrial days of coal/oil and steel?

Pittsburg, CA actually is named after our very own.

Pittsburgh, KS, not sure....
Wikipedia says so https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburg,_Kansas

There is just a bit of repetition across PA though, but it's strange that it focuses on Pittsburgh neighborhood names as well. Remembering another example, I worked on the design of the new water treatment plant in Bloomfield.
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Old 05-24-2017, 09:12 PM
 
6,598 posts, read 8,925,472 times
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I've always liked the sound of Pittsburgh, Atlanta.
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Old 05-26-2017, 03:43 PM
 
2,269 posts, read 3,781,085 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
Knoxville went into decline during the late 20th century, although historical accounts are sketchy about how and when this happened. Knoxville's decline happened later than nearby Beltzhoover - possibly as spillover as black residents in Beltzhoover initially looked for a comparably safer nearby area to live. Today around 58% of the population of Knoxville is black - with the black population more heavily concentrated in the northern part of the neighborhood.
Knoxville's decline had little to do with people fleeing Beltzhoover. Beltzhoover didn't really become dangerous until crack hit at the end of the 80s, and few people from Beltzhoover saw Knoxville as anything special. People moving from St. Clair Village, and Arlington Heights are what really set the wheels of decline in motion. As the city began to demolish buildings in those projects back in the mid 80s, residents of those two projects began to spill over into Knoxville. The collapse of steel reduced the demand for housing in Knoxville as families left town looking for work, and there weren't new ones to replace them. As vacancy rates rose, the underclass began to move in. Knoxville also suffered when two large buildings, the former St. Canice Elementary School, and the Hilltop YMCA, closed, and were turned into apartment buildings. As crack hit, these buildings became cesspools of disorder, with the YMCA being nicknamed "The Carter", after the drug filled apartment building in New Jack City. This badly destabilized the neighborhood. As none of these people coming into Knoxville had much history there, the neighborhood was seen as wide open for bad actors from around the city to come and do dirt. People who would be met with violence if they tried to enter St. Clair, Arlington, or Beltzhoover, were comfortable in Knoxville. Even today, none of the gangs really have a Knoxville identity. They either are offshoots of Beltzhoover cliques, or cliques whose roots lie in the demolished St. Clair Village.

I'm from the Hilltop, and know the area, and it's history very well, including many of the gangstas, and other cut-ups.
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