Arlington Avenue

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Arlington Avenue
Neighborhoods Allentown, Arlington, Arlington Heights, Mount Washington, South Shore, South Side Slopes
Morgantown and Brownsville Turnpike (1830s)
Origin of name Morgantown, Virginia (today West Virginia), and Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville Turnpike (1850s–1870s)
Origin of name Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Brownsville Road (ca. 1860 – 1881)
Origin of name Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Barkhamer Street (1866–1881)
Brownsville Avenue (1881–1927)
Origin of name Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Foley Street (1919–1933)

The lower part of Arlington Avenue, northwest of its modern intersection with Brownsville Road, was originally considered part of that road. This road was known by several variations of the name "Brownsville Road" because it was the main route to Brownsville, Pennsylvania.[1][2][3]

A road in the location of modern Arlington Avenue near its junction with Carson Street appears in the 1830 map of Jean Barbeau and Lewis Keyon, labeled Morgantown & Brownsville Turnpike.[4][a] R. E. McGowin's 1852 map calls this road the Brownsville Turnpike Road.[6][2] The 1862 map of S. N. and F. W. Beers names it simply Brownsville Road.[7] The 1872 Hopkins atlas labels it variously Brownsville Road,[8]:23,100 Brownsville Turnpike,[8]:104 and Pittsburgh and Brownsville Turnpike.[8]:100[2]

The part of Arlington Avenue east of its modern intersection with Brownsville Road was originally named Barkhamer Street, laid out in part by Charles Foerster in 1866.[9][8]:116 This name was occasionally misspelled as Barkhammer.[10][11]

In 1873, the year after the South Side boroughs were annexed into the city of Pittsburgh, an ordinance was proposed to rename streets. This proposal gave the name Arlington Avenue to Barkhamer Street and the segment of Brownsville Road from Washington Avenue (today Warrington Avenue) to the modern intersection of Arlington Avenue and Brownsville Road.[12][13] As far as I can tell, this proposed ordinance was never officially passed (see South First Street for more details), though the wording of several subsequent ordinances seems to assume it was.[14][11]

In any case, an 1881 ordinance establishing the names of all streets in the city of Pittsburgh listed "Arlington avenue, from Washington street, South to Josephine street, formerly Arlington avenue and Barkhammer [sic] street". (It also listed "Brownsville avenue, from Carson street to Washington street, South"; note the change to an avenue.)[11][2]

The part of Brownsville Avenue between Carson Street and Warrington Avenue was made part of Arlington Avenue in 1927.[15][2]

Today Arlington Avenue continues past its intersection with Josephine Street and curves around to the south to join Devlin Street. However, originally it curved the other way: the easternmost part of Josephine Street, past South 27th Street, was part of Arlington Avenue (Barkhamer Street before 1881).[16] Modern Arlington Avenue east of Josephine Street was originally named Foley Street, opened in 1919.[17][18] In 1933 a city ordinance made Foley Street part of Arlington Avenue, and the old end of Arlington Avenue became part of Josephine Street.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. The earlier map of William Darby, published in 1815, also shows a road here, although that road is shown joining the southernmost street of Birmingham rather than continuing south; a different road, labeled "To Elizabethtown & Williamsport," runs southeast off the edge of the map.[5]

References

  1. C. A. Weslager. "Reminiscences of Beltzhoover and Allentown: Two old-time Western Pennsylvania boroughs." Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, vol. 49, no. 3, July 1966, pp. 251–262. https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/2808. [view source]weslager
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Allentown Civic Association. Robert N. Kress, ed. Allentown: The Story of a Pittsburgh Neighborhood, p. 27. Allentown Civic Association, Pittsburgh, 1990, ISBN 978-1-105-70647-9. LCCN 2012460322. [view source]allentown
  3. Jean M. Goldstrom, ed. Knoxville Borough; a History: The Story of a Pittsburgh Community, 3rd ed., p. 25. Whortleberry Press, Pittsburgh, 2009. [view source]goldstrom
  4. Jean Barbeau and Lewis Keyon. Map of Pittsburgh and Its Environs. N. B. Molineux, Pittsburgh, 1830. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0576; https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/36c3ab00-57aa-0136-8f4f-08990f217bc9. [view source]barbeau
  5. Wm. Darby. Plan of Pittsburg and Adjacent Country. R. Patterson and W. Darby, Philadelphia, 1815. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0197, DARMAP0198. Reproduced in John W. Reps, The Making of Urban America: A History of City Planning in the United States, p. 207, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N. J., 1965 (LCCN 63023414); and in Bruce J. Buvinger, The Origin, Development and Persistence of Street Patterns in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, p. 24. Also reproduced as "Plan von Pittsburg und Umgebungen" in Bernhard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Heinrich Luden, ed.), Reise Sr. Hoheit des Herzogs Bernhard zu Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach durch Nord-Amerika in den Jahren 1825 und 1826, vol. II, following p. 200, Wilhelm Hoffmann, Weimar, 1828 (Internet Archive reisesrhoheitdes00bern, reisesrhoheitdes00inbern). [view source]darby
  6. R. E. McGowin. Map of the Cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny and of the Boroughs of South-Pittsburgh, Birmingham, East-Birmingham, Lawrenceville, Duquesne & Manchester etc. Schuchman & Haunlein, Pittsburgh, 1852. https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/32269. [view source]mcgowin-1852
  7. S. N. & F. W. Beers. Map of Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Smith, Gallup & Hewitt, Philadelphia, 1862. LCCN 2012592151; https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/31783; 1862 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]beers
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1872. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1872-atlas-pittsburgh-allegheny; 1872 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]hopkins-1872
  9. "Plan of lots laid out for C. Foerster, March 2, 1866, situate in Mt. Oliver, Lower St. Clair Twp., Allegheny County, Pa." Laid out Mar. 2, 1866; recorded June 4, 1866, Plan Book 3, p. 125. Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds 3778552. [view source]foerster-plan
  10. George H. Thurston and J. F. Diffenbacher. Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny for 1876–7: Embracing a general directory of the residences of citizens, full classified business directory, register of public institutions, benevolent societies and city governments, directory of the streets, secret societies, schools and churches. Thurston & Diffenbacher, Pittsburgh, 1876, p. 6. Google Books 8dkCAAAAYAAJ; Historic Pittsburgh 31735038288480. [view source]thurston-diffenbacher-1876
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 "An ordinance establishing the names of avenues, streets, lanes and alleys of the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1881, no. 33. Passed Feb. 28, 1881; approved Mar. 4, 1881. Ordinance Book 5, p. 212. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Select and Common Councils of the City of Pittsburgh, for the Year 1880, pp. 213–234 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1880). [view source]ordinance-1881-33
  12. "Street nomenclature: The changes proposed by the committee." Pittsburgh Commercial, Dec. 30, 1873, [p. 4]. Newspapers.com 85549642. [view source]street-nomenclature
  13. "Notice—the following ordinances relative to Street Improvements is [sic] published for information, in accordance with the provisions of Section 6 of an Act of Assembly, entitled 'a further Supplement to an act entitled an act concerning Streets and Sewers in the City of Pittsburgh,' approved March 20th, 1873." Pittsburgh Gazette, Jan. 5, 1874, [p. 4]. Newspapers.com 86344686. [view source]ordinances-relative-to-street-improvements
  14. "An ordinance locating Plane avenue." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1874, no. 142. Passed May 1, 1874. Ordinance Book 3, p. 492. In The Municipal Record: Containing the Proceedings of the Select and Common Councils of the City of Pittsburgh, Together with the Ordinances, &c.: With an Index, vol. VII, p. 52, Pittsburgh Daily Gazette, Pittsburgh, 1874 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1874, pghmunicipalrecord1872). [view source]ordinance-1874-142
  15. "An ordinance changing the names of certain streets and ways in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1927, no. 392. Passed May 9, 1927; approved May 12, 1927. Ordinance Book 38, p. 619. Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, May 19, 1927, p. 23 (Newspapers.com 88715306), and May 20, p. 19 (Newspapers.com 88715326). [view source]ordinance-1927-392
  16. Atlas of the Cities Pittsburgh and Allegheny, plate 25. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1882. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1882-atlas-pittsburgh-allegheny; 1882 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]hopkins-1882
  17. "An ordinance approving the 'Arlington Park Terrace' Plan of Lots, in the Sixteenth ward of the City of Pittsburgh, laid out by Pittsburgh–St. Clair Realty Company, accepting the dedication of Arlington avenue, Foley street, Kozell street, Piave street, Pluso street, Zaruba street Kordecki way and Krakow way, as shown thereon, for public use for highway purposes, opening and naming the same and establishing the grades thereon." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1919, no. 343. Passed Oct. 20, 1919; approved Oct. 25, 1919. Ordinance Book 30, p. 563. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the Year 1919, appendix, pp. 258–259, Eureka Printing Company, Pittsburgh (Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1919). [view source]ordinance-1919-343
  18. Plat-Book of the City of Pittsburgh, vol. 6, plate 9. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1916, revised 1922 and 1928. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1916-volume-6-plat-book-pittsburgh-south-side-southern; included in the 1923 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]hopkins-1916-vol-6
  19. "An ordinance changing the names of certain avenues, streets, roads and ways in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1933, no. 121. Passed May 29, 1933; approved May 31, 1933. Ordinance Book 45, p. 241. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh: For the Year 1933, appendix, p. 72, City Printing Co., Pittsburgh (Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1933). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 3, 1933, p. 13 (Newspapers.com 523406708); and in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 5, 1933, p. 25 (Newspapers.com 89887815), and June 6, p. 23 (Newspapers.com 89888832). [view source]ordinance-1933-121