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Hill District (Pittsburgh)
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The Hill District is a collection of neighborhoods that was once considered by many to be the cultural center of African-American life in in the United States. Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay once called the district "the crossroads of the world," referring to the neighborhood's heyday in the 1930s–1950s. It is known to many Pittsburghers as simply "The Hill". It is bordered by the Downtown on the west, the Strip District and Polish Hill on the north, the Bluff (Uptown) on the southwest, and Oakland on the east and southeast.
r to 1930, the Hill District was inhabited by a diverse mix of residents, among them generations of Irish and Jewish immigrants.
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Encyclopedia
The Hill District is a collection of neighborhoods that was once considered by many to be the cultural center of African-American life in in the United States. Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay once called the district "the crossroads of the world," referring to the neighborhood's heyday in the 1930s–1950s. It is known to many Pittsburghers as simply "The Hill". It is bordered by the Downtown on the west, the Strip District and Polish Hill on the north, the Bluff (Uptown) on the southwest, and Oakland on the east and southeast.
History
Prior to 1930, the Hill District was inhabited by a diverse mix of residents, among them generations of Irish and Jewish immigrants. However, conditions in the area not being much better (due to activities by one of the most dedicated units of the Ku Klux Klan), they retreated to the Hill District and established small businesses such as barbershops.
The Hill became a cultural hotspot. The Crawford Grill, still known for its outstanding jazz, has heard the music of greats like Lena Horne and George Benson. Ramsey Lewis, Oscar Peterson, Cannonball Adderley and others often played at a jazz club called the old Hurricane Lounge. According to WQED, "It was thriving, bustling, and safe--a center for music, art and literature." The area housed jazz legends such as Stanley Turrentine and Art Blakey. Writer August Wilson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, grew up there and set many of his plays in the area. The Pittsburgh Courier, an influential newspaper, was printed in the Hill. Its chief photographer, Charles "Teenie" Harris, documented life in the Hill for more than forty years, creating an unusually comprehensive photographic collection now housed at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The Pittsburgh Crawfords baseball team also played here. The team, which played in the Negro National League, featured players such as Satchel Paige, Earl Hord, Josh Gibson, Jimmie Crutchfield and Cool Papa Bell.
One of the reasons for the decline of the Hill was an urban renewal project which tore down homes and businesses to make room for the Civic Arena. Public housing projects in the mid-1950s were intended to improve housing but became the centers of poor populations on welfare. Over 8,000 residents were displaced by the urban renewal project. Shifts in the steel and related industries caused a massive loss of industrial jobs in Pittsburgh. The decline of the steelmaking industry affected the entire region around Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania, and Eastern Ohio. The Hill district is merely a small part of the region; i. e., it followed the pattern that happened across the rust belt.
After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, the resulting race riot made the area even more volatile. The crack epidemic in Pittsburgh in the 1980s adversely affected the Hill District, too. By 1990, the area population had declined to 15,000 from more than 50,000 in 1950. By 1990 most of the residents lived in public housing. In 1994, runoff from the waters of an abandoned mine located beneath the Hill District created flooding problems, which resulted in the temporary relocation of the congregation at John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church, a local landmark.
Recently, a great deal of government money has been used to purchase property from absentee landowners. With the destruction of some of the public housing projects and construction of market-rate housing, though, the Hill is being gentrified.
Neighborhoods
The Hill District comprises five distinct neighborhoods. A recent new development near Downtown is Crawford Square. The neighborhoods are represented on the Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 6 (Downtown neighborhoods), and part of the Upper Hill is also represented under District 7. The 15219 ZIP code covers all five neighborhoods, and the 15213 ZIP code covers part of Terrace Village and the Upper Hill.
- Crawford-Roberts
- Upper Hill
- Middle Hill
- Bedford Dwellings
- Terrace Village
Trivia
The TV Show Hill Street Blues ties its name origin back to the Hill District. Steven Bochco, a series writer for the show, attended college at the nearby Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and based the name of the show on the district.
During the 1960s and 1970s the Pirates' Hall of famer Willie Stargell owned a fried chicken store on the Hill. Patrons would receive free chicken if they were in the store at the time Stargell hit a home run. Pirates' radio announcer Bob Prince coined the phrase "Spread some chicken on the Hill with Will."
Further reading
See also
External links
- - Documents the Hill District's best years through the 1930s-1950s
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