Suburb of the week: Whitehall (Pittsburgh, Bethel Park: real estate, apartment complexes, townhouse)

[eschaton]

Whitehall is a suburban borough located in the South Hills region of Allegheny County. It is a first-ring suburb, having a small land boundary with the city via Overbrook. It also borders the boroughs of Castle Shannon, Bethel Park, Baldwin, and Brentwood. It is exactly 3.33 square miles in land area, and has a rather irregular shape.

Much like neighboring Baldwin Borough, Brentwood, Castle Shannon, and the hilltop region of Hays, Whitehall was originally part of Baldwin Township, which was much geographically larger at its founding. In 1946 residents of what was then the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th wards of Baldwin voted to secede and form their own borough in order to have access to better services and have more control over zoning. The origin of the name is unknown, but thought to have been from a tavern on Brownsville Road (ironically now in Brentwood). As a result of this secession, the larger, eastern portion of Baldwin Township incorporated as a borough, leaving the rump of Baldwin Township in its current state.

The population of Whitehall more than doubled from 1950 to 1960, climing to over 16,000. After this postwar boom, the borough entered a long period of stagnation. Growth over the 1960s was only 2.3%. In every decade since then, the borough has either declined slightly or broke even at best (during the 1990s).

Although Whitehall shares a school district with both Baldwins, it has always been a little different from either - or nearby municipalities like Brentwood and Castle Shannon - being a bit wealthier and more conservative. The retention of wealth may have something to do with the central location of South Hills Country Club in the middle of the borough. In terms of land area, almost all of the balance of the borough is filled with curved streets tightly lined with postwar homes. There are a handful of apartment complexes as well, such as Whitehall Place (which has a large Asian population - mostly refugees IIRC) and Maiden Bridge/Cannongate Apartments. There is a new townhouse development at the far northern fringe of the borough. There's no office parks or industrial parks in Whitehall. However, there is some commercial activity along Route 51, along with a small shopping center off Baptist Road.

For Whitehall, the future is likely more of the same. The small amount of new construction in the northern portions of the borough means population loss this decade will be limited to a few percent, but aside from perhaps improving the Route 51 corridor there is little in the way of developable land left in the borough. Although relatively close to the city, it's also somewhat inconveniently placed for downtown commutes, with traffic snarls frequent, and lacking the T access that areas just to its west have. At the same time it's a very safe area that has maintained desirability despite Baldwin-Whitehall having somewhat of a "meh" reputation as a school district.

[Copanut]

It's a white flight community, aptly named. (PP)

[svband76]

Nice older stately homes in Whitehall. Just up the hill from Caste Village (home to Pittsburgh's best Chinese food joint hands down, Silk Road)...

[xdv8]

Are there any residential streets with pre-war homes and sidewalks in Whitehall? I've never fully explored, but I mostly saw split levels and other small post war homes on winding serpentine streets.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Are there any residential streets with pre-war homes and sidewalks in Whitehall? I've never fully explored, but I mostly saw split levels and other small post war homes on winding serpentine streets.

There are some older homes, such as these bungalows and many along the main corridors through the borough, like Brownsville Road. The area around the country club in particular has some nice ones.

AFAIK, there are no streets with unbroken sidewalks however. Not even in the new subdivision. It basically went from sparsely populated and rural to totally built out during the 20 or so years that sidewalks were very unfashionable in Pittsburgh.

[JoeP]

Like many communities, it was built out within its small boundaries long ago.

There isn't much chance for population change.

[robrobrob]

For those of you that crave a Frank Lloyd Wright house.



https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...11391616_zpid/

[xdv8]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

For those of you that crave a Frank Lloyd Wright house.



https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...11391616_zpid/

He'd probably be rolling in his grave at all of the bad examples of architecture that were marketed using his name.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by xdv8

He'd probably be rolling in his grave at all of the bad examples of architecture that were marketed using his name.

Proof that real estate agents will say anything to make a buck.