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VIBRANT. DIVERSE. THRIVING. VIOLATED. Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System Library of Pittsburgh University & Special Collections, Archives 5865_TXT.indd 4 12/15/18 12:54 AM JusJuust as this cornernrnerro offC Cenententrer Avenueue ini Pittstttsburbu gh’g s Hili l Districrict has chaangeged overr the decaadesess, so is thee neine ghbghborhrhoodo d being transa sforfo med by crcreatattiveivvev annd comcommitmittedt inndivvidualss ana d orgagag nizationss. AMBITIOUS. CHANGING. BY LACRETIA WIMBLEY Annie O’Neill 5865_TXT_C1.indd 5 12/19/18 8:20 AM 6 he Hill District of Pittsburgh neighborhood engagement at the Hill House Association, is more than just a place to a social services agency in the Hill District. which Terri Baltimore has “I’ve worked at Hill House since 2007 as an employee, dedicated the last two-and- but from 1992 until 2007, I ran a program here to serve a-half decades of her life. It is women in recovery. From 1985 to 1989, I worked for a place that has always drawn another organization that was based at the Hill House, her, a place that always felt and as a high school student, I came here to participate like home. in other programs.” She can describe the A neighborhood of rolling slopes overlooking Pitts- ground breaking history of burgh’s Downtown, the Hill, as it is informally known, is the neighborhood’s Freedom still a beacon attracting interest locally for its historic legacy 1914 House Ambulance Service and current social and cultural activities, Ms. Baltimore Before public housing was of the 1960s — the city’s fi rst said. built in the Hill District, many lower-income and working-class mobile emergency medicine “I probably do anywhere between 30 and 40 tours residents lived in tenement program, which became a a year for visitors, which consist mostly of people in buildings divided by common national model for emer- Pittsburgh who have never been to the Hill,” she noted. areas. gency medical transport and But it is the Hill District’s future, potentially fore- care. She can share stories about actor Vin shadowed by its prime real estate location and slowly 1932 Based in the Hill District, the Diesel’s grandfather who played for the changing demographics, that has community leaders Pittsburgh Crawfords baseball Pittsburgh Crawfords Negro League base- and philanthropies like The Heinz Endowments and the team was highly regarded in the ball team in the 1930s. Ms. Baltimore recalls McAuley Ministries Foundation partnering to ensure that Negro League and eventually had several National Baseball so much detail about the Hill District it’s as longtime residents are able to participate in and benefi t Hall of Fame inductees, including if she transcended time and lived through from revitalization efforts. Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige and much of its history. “There are 28 acres situated between Downtown and James “Cool Papa” Bell. “I’ve spent half my life here, and for the the Hill District, and depending upon your orientation, last 26 years, I’ve been rooted in this place,” CEOs who see the site from their executive suites see it as 1946 The nightlife in the Hill District said Ms. Baltimore, a native of Pitts burgh’s an opportunity to expand the reach of Downtown,” said was legendary in the middle of East Liberty community and director of Rob Stephany, the Endowments’ director of Community the last century. Several venues, & Economic Development. “Residents vividly including the Roosevelt Theatre, showcased performances by jazz remember the site as an important and inte- artists such as Duke Ellington, gral part of their neighborhood. As parking while restaurants like Stanley’s lots transform into new things, like parks, Tavern provided food late into the evening. offi ce buildings and new housing, people are questioning, ‘Is it built for us, or is it not built 1955 for us?’ ” Wylie Avenue was a bustling Like many Pittsburgh neighborhoods, the thoroughfare in the Hill District that had thriving businesses l l i Hill District is steeped in a rich cultural history e N and often served as the site for ’ O that provided a foundation for later genera- e i neighborhood parades. n n A tions to build on. In the 18th century, people of Chinese, Lebanese, Russian, German, Italian, “I’VE SPENT HALF MY LIFE Jewish and Syrian backgrounds populated the Hill with African Americans migrating from HERE, AND FOR THE the South to the area in the early 19th century. LAST 26 YEARS, I’VE BEEN The resulting ethnic hodgepodge would be a defi ning neighborhood characteristic for over ROOTED IN THIS PLACE.” a century. Terri Baltimore Director of Neighbor Engagement, Hill House Association Lacretia Wimbley is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer. This is her first story for h. 5865_TXT_C1.indd 6 12/19/18 2:28 AM 5 8 6 5 _ T X T . i n 1 d d © Carnegie Museum of Art, 9 7 Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive 4 6 1 9 1 4 © Carnegie Museum of Art, Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System 1 9 1 9 5 3 5 2 1 2 / 1 Allegheny Conference for Community Development, 5 / Detre Library & Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center 1 8 Pittsburgh, PA Harrison Studio/public domain 7 1 2 : 5 4 A M 1960 5865_TXT.indd 8 12/15/18 12:54 AM . n o i s s i m r e p h t i w d e t n i r p e R . d e v r e s e r s t h g i r l l a , 8 1 0 2 , e t 1960 t e z a Construction of the Civic G - t s Arena wiped out much of the o P h Lower Hill in the late 1950s and g r u b early 1960s, displacing hundreds s t t i P of businesses and 8,000 , © t residents. The arena would later h g i r be demolished, in 2010. y p o C : t i d e r c o 1968 t o h Like many communities across P the country, the Hill District experienced major rebellions after the assassination of the s e t a i Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. c o s 1968 s The civil unrest devastated the A i c neighborhood’s business district. n o B a r t a u Q a 1969 L While still recovering from deep community losses created by Civic Arena construction and the unrest following the murder of Dr. King, e v i Hill District residents took a stand h 1993 c r A against further demolition in the s i r r neighborhood, erecting a billboard a H ” to make their point. e i n e e T “ s e l r a 1993 h C , t The Crawford Square residential r A f o development was built in the Hill m u District in the 1990s, beginning a e s u wave of new home construction in M e i g the neighborhood. e n r a C 1969 2010 © As the Civic Arena was being torn down, a new sports and entertainment venue was under construction across the street. 2010 Originally the CONSOL Energy Center, it opened in 2010 and was renamed PPG Paints Arena in 2016. The arena hosts a variety of events but is primarily known as home to the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. e t t e z a G - t s o P h g r u b s t t i P e h t f o y s e t r u o C 5865_TXT_C2indd.indd 9 12/20/18 1:04 AM 10 The Hill District’s transition into a base ball team, the Hill also was home to But the Civic Arena’s emergence on predominantly African American com- The Pittsburgh Courier, for a time the the city’s landscape also marked the begin- munity began with the Great Migration nation’s largest black-owned newspaper ning of the Hill District’s decline — and in the early 20th century, when somewhere with a peak circulation of more than the intensifying of community efforts to between 1 million and 6 million African 350,000 copies; the city’s NAACP and Urban protect residents and their interests that Americans fl ed the racial oppression and League chapters; and many black churches. continues today. poor economic conditions in southern The neighborhood’s heyday ended “[The Civic Arena construction] states. The Hill District saw an infl ux of in the 1960s. Like a number of African represented all of what is negative in how thousands. Upon their arrival, many sought American communities across the country, you destroy a community,” said Pittsburgh and obtained jobs in iron and steel mills in the Hill District experienced the impact of Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, who was the city, and during the ensuing decades, civil unrest, such as major rebellions after raised in the Hill District and now repre- the Hill District became the city’s center for the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin sents the community on City Council. Black Nationalism and political advocacy. Luther King Jr. But the event identifi ed “It’s a lesson on what not to do that By 1950, the population in the Hill as more profoundly devastating by many lingers today. You still have people who District became increasingly African neighborhood residents was an extensive, remember living on that site, people who American, with other ethnic groups moving yet short-sighted, redevelopment project. could tell you where on the Lower Hill to different sections of the city and region.

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