Dallas Avenue

From Pittsburgh Streets
Dallas Avenue
Neighborhoods Homewood South, Homewood West, Point Breeze, Point Breeze North, Squirrel Hill North, Squirrel Hill South
Origin of name Trevanion Barlow Dallas or Matilda Dallas
Dallas Street (until 1915)
Origin of name Trevanion Barlow Dallas or Matilda Dallas
Steelers Avenue (1996)
Origin of name Pittsburgh Steelers

Several sources include Dallas Avenue in lists of streets named after judges,[1][2][3] which points to Trevanion Barlow Dallas (1801–1841), fifth president judge of the Court of Common Pleas (1835–1839) and associate judge of the district court of Allegheny County (1839–1841). As president judge of the Court of Common Pleas, he succeeded Charles Shaler, eponym of Shaler Street, who later followed him as associate judge of the district court.[4][5]:105–106,119[6] Trevanion Barlow Dallas is also the eponym of Trevanion Street in Regent Square.[7]

On the other hand, some sources say Dallas Avenue is named after Matilda Dallas, second wife of the judge William Wilkins (for whom Wilkins Avenue is named), whose estate, Homewood, was nearby.[8][9] Matilda was the sister of Trevanion and also of George M. Dallas, Vice President of the United States in the Polk administration.[5]:104

The street name was officially established as Dallas Street by a city ordinance in 1881.[10] It became Dallas Avenue by another ordinance in 1915, which actually split it into two streets, North Dallas Avenue and South Dallas Avenue, on either side of Penn Avenue.[11]

On January 25, 1996, three days before the Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, Dallas Avenue was facetiously renamed Steelers Avenue "until further notice."[12][13] Ralph Kraszewski, the director of public works, explained, "The change is being made for obvious reasons."[12] The sign with the new name was stolen almost as soon as it was put up.[13]

See also

References

  1. Annie Clark Miller. Early Land Marks and Names of Old Pittsburgh: An Address Delivered Before the Pittsburgh Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution at Carnegie Institute, Nov. 30, 1923, p. 34. Pittsburgh Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, 1924. Historic Pittsburgh 00awn8211m; Internet Archive earlylandmarksna00mill. [view source]miller
  2. Margaret Carlin. "How our streets got their names." Pittsburgh Press, Feb. 6, 1966, Pittsburgh's Family Magazine, p. 10. Newspapers.com 149098376. [view source]carlin
  3. Joe Browne. "Streets are index of local history." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 28, 1983, p. 37. Newspapers.com 89790718. [view source]browne-streets
  4. History of Pittsburgh and Environs, vol. 2. American Historical Society, New York and Chicago, 1922. Google Books 3staAAAAYAAJ, TPUMAAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 011262563; Internet Archive historypittsbur00yorkgoog, historypittsbur02socigoog. [view source]history-pgh-environs-2
  5. 5.0 5.1 A. A. Lambing and J. W. F. White. Allegheny County: Its Early History and Subsequent Development. Snowden & Peterson, Pittsburgh, 1888. Google Books 6bY-AAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 008957728, 100693049; Historic Pittsburgh 00aee8946m; Internet Archive centennialhistor00lamb; LCCN 18008828. [view source]lambing
  6. Erasmus Wilson, ed. Standard History of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. H. R. Cornell & Co., Chicago, 1898. Google Books 1dcwAQAAMAAJ; Historic Pittsburgh 00hc03974m; Internet Archive standardhistoryo00wils. [view source]wilson-erasmus
  7. Sue Maloney. "Past is present in Regent Square." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 14, 1982, pp. 17, 20. Newspapers.com 89838180, 89838205. [view source]maloney
  8. Bob Regan. The Names of Pittsburgh: How the City, Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks and More Got Their Names, p. 66. The Local History Company, Pittsburgh, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9770429-7-5. [view source]regan
  9. Lillian Thomas. "City plays the name game." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mar. 26, 2001, pp. C-5, C-8. Newspapers.com 90410524, 90410540. [view source]thomas-city
  10. "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
  11. "An ordinance changing the names of certain avenues, streets and ways in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1915, no. 117. Passed Apr. 28, 1915; approved Apr. 29, 1915. Ordinance Book 26, p. 615. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the Year 1915, appendix, pp. 99–103, Arlington Printing Co., Pittsburgh, 1915 (Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1915). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, May 7, 1915, sporting section, p. 4 (Newspapers.com 88028157), May 8, p. 15 (Newspapers.com 88028802), and May 10, p. 11 (Newspapers.com 88030672). [view source]ordinance-1915-117
  12. 12.0 12.1 Mark S. Warnick and Adrian McCoy. "Super Bowl scenes." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jan. 26, 1996, p. B-3. Newspapers.com 89678251. [view source]super-bowl
  13. 13.0 13.1 Dennis B. Roddy. "City paves the way for Mario's place in history." Close Encounters. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 14, 1997, pp. A-1, A-6. Newspapers.com 91754606, 91754641. [view source]marios-place