Ferguson Street
| Ferguson Street | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood | Strip District |
| Fate | Vacated in 1880 and 1927 |
Ferguson Street formerly ran south of and parallel to Liberty Street (today Liberty Avenue), from Lumber Street (today 22nd Street) to Boundary Street (about the modern site of the Iron City Brewery near the foot of the Herron Avenue Bridge).[1]
In 1848, Pittsburgh City Councils granted the Pennsylvania Railroad the privilege to lay tracks on Ferguson and Liberty Streets to the Point, where a freight depot was constructed.[2][3] The railroad built extensive facilities between Liberty and Ferguson Streets, including machine shops, car and locomotive sheds, and additional tracks and sidings for the storage of rolling stock.[1][4]
In 1853, city councils allowed the railroad to vacate Ferguson Street, which had been covered by the railroad's facilities, on the condition that the railroad lay out a new street to replace it when requested by councils.[4][5] Councils made this request the next year, and required the railroad to complete the street within six months.[6]
In 1872, the city and the railroad agreed to a contract that eliminated most at-grade street crossings, established which city streets would cross over the railroad via bridges and which would cross under it via underpasses, divided responsibility for construction and maintenance of this infrastructure, and vacated certain streets. The contract called for the construction of a bridge crossing the railroad tracks midway between 28th Street and 29th Street, after which the city would vacate a number of streets, including "old and new Ferguson streets" from 22nd Street to 32nd Street.[7] The relevant clauses of the contract were modified in 1879.[8] Work on this bridge, the 28th Street Bridge, began in 1879,[9][10] and it was completed in 1880.[11][12] Presumably Ferguson Street was vacated shortly thereafter. The modern 28th Street Bridge was built in 1930–1931.[13][11]
The last bit of Ferguson Street, between 32nd Street and 33rd Street, was vacated in 1927.[14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 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
- ↑ "Proceedings in Council: Extra meeting." Daily Morning Post (Pittsburgh), June 15, 1848, [p. 2]. Newspapers.com 86639911. [view source] proceedings-in-council
- ↑ "An ordinance granting certain privileges to the Pennsylvania railroad company." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1848. Enacted June 15, 1848; recorded July 10, 1848. Ordinance Book A, p. 406. In A Digest of the Ordinances of the City of Pittsburgh: To Which Is Prefixed a Collection of the Acts of Assembly Relating to the Corporation, pp. 255–256, W. H. Whitney, Pittsburgh, 1849 (Historic Pittsburgh 31735056288487). [view source] ordinance-1848-prr
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Central Railroad and the city." Daily Morning Post (Pittsburgh), July 13, 1853, [p. 2]. Newspapers.com 86645430. [view source] central-railroad-and-city
- ↑ "An ordinance relative to the vacation of certain streets in the Ninth ward." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1853. Enacted July 28, 1853; recorded Aug. 16, 1853. Ordinance Book 2, p. 16. In Alexander W. Foster, A Digest of Acts of Assembly, the Codified Ordinance of the City of Pittsburgh, Adopted October 6, 1859; and a Digest of Other Ordinances Now in Force, p. 171, W. S. Haven, Pittsburgh, 1860 (Google Books qGhIAAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 008432157; Historic Pittsburgh 31735056288461) and J. F. Slagle, A Digest of the Acts of Assembly and a Code of the Ordinances of the City of Pittsburgh: With an Appendix Containing Ordinances and References to Acts and Ordinances Remaining in Force, p. 367, Errett, Anderson & Co., Pittsburgh, 1869 (https://pittsburgharchives.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_1a6d43b0-3daf-49c1-a208-3406734f43a6/). [view source] ordinance-1853-vacation-9th-ward
- ↑ "An ordinance relating to certain streets in the Ninth ward." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1854. Enacted Feb. 7, 1854; recorded Mar. 6, 1854. Ordinance Book 2, p. 28. In Alexander W. Foster, A Digest of Acts of Assembly, the Codified Ordinance of the City of Pittsburgh, Adopted October 6, 1859; and a Digest of Other Ordinances Now in Force, pp. 171–172, W. S. Haven, Pittsburgh, 1860 (Google Books qGhIAAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 008432157; Historic Pittsburgh 31735056288461) and J. F. Slagle, A Digest of the Acts of Assembly and a Code of the Ordinances of the City of Pittsburgh: With an Appendix Containing Ordinances and References to Acts and Ordinances Remaining in Force, p. 368, Errett, Anderson & Co., Pittsburgh, 1869 (https://pittsburgharchives.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_1a6d43b0-3daf-49c1-a208-3406734f43a6/). Reprinted in the Daily Pittsburgh Gazette, Feb. 10, 1854, [p. 2] (Newspapers.com 85639851). [view source] ordinance-1854-ferguson
- ↑ "An ordinance to authorize the Mayor, for and on behalf of the City of Pittsburgh to enter into a contract with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, whereby the public travel on and across the railroad of said Company within the limits of said city, and to and from the Union Passenger Station of said Company, may be made more secure by crossing certain streets above or below the grade of said railroad, and by the removal of certain side tracks crossing the approach to said station, and whereby increased facilities may be afforded for the receipt and shipment of the railroad traffic of said city." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1872, no. 167. Passed Oct. 31, 1872; recorded Nov. 12, 1872. Ordinance Book 3, p. 278. 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. IV, pp. 117–118, Pittsburgh Daily Gazette, Pittsburgh, 1872 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1872). [view source] ordinance-1872-167
- ↑ "An ordinance modifying the contract entered into by and between the City of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, dated 31st day of October, 1872." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1879, no. 4. Passed May 26, 1879; approved May 27, 1879. Ordinance Book 5, p. 199. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Select and Common Councils of the City of Pittsburgh, for the Year 1879, pp. 259–260, Herald Printing Co., Pittsburgh, 1880 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1879). [view source] ordinance-1879-4
- ↑ Local Briefs. Daily Post (Pittsburgh), July 31, 1879, [p. 4]. Newspapers.com 87629447. [view source] local-briefs-1879-07-31
- ↑ Local Briefs. Daily Post (Pittsburgh), Aug. 13, 1879, [p. 4]. Newspapers.com 87629706. [view source] local-briefs-1879-08-13
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Todd Wilson and Helen Wilson. Pittsburgh's Bridges, pp. 116–117. Images of America. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, S. C., 2015, ISBN 978-1-4671-3424-8. LCCN 2015949613. [view source] wilson-wilson
- ↑ Atlas of the Cities Pittsburgh and Allegheny, plate 8. 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
- ↑ Bruce S. Cridlebaugh. "Twenty-Eighth Street Bridge over PRR." Pghbridges.com: Bridges & tunnels of Allegheny County & Pittsburgh, PA, June 18, 2004. http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghE/0587-4478/28thst_prr.htm. [view source] cridlebaugh-28th
- ↑ "An ordinance vacating Ferguson street, in the Sixth Ward of the City of Pittsburgh, from Thirty-second street to Thirty-third street." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1927, no. 251. Passed Mar. 28, 1927; approved Mar. 31, 1927. Ordinance Book 38, p. 454. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh: For the Year 1927, appendix, p. 215, Smith Bros. Co. Inc., Pittsburgh (Google Books cZfgUddPQR0C; HathiTrust uiug.30112109819802; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1927). [view source] ordinance-1927-251
