57th Street

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57th Street
Neighborhoods Stanton Heights, Upper Lawrenceville
Origin of name Sequential numbering up the Allegheny River

A road between Butler Street and Stanton Avenue, roughly the route followed by modern 57th Street, Christopher Street, Camelia Street, and Woodbine Street, appears in the 1862 map of S. N. and F. W. Beers and the 1872 Hopkins atlas.[1][2] The name 57th Street was established by a city ordinance in 1881[3] and appears in the 1882 Hopkins atlas.[4]

Franklin Toker, in his book Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait, speculates that the H. J. Heinz Company's famous slogan "57 Varieties" may have been subconsciously inspired by 57th Street, the highest-numbered street in Pittsburgh at the time. Henry John Heinz passed the street six days a week for eighteen years (1872–1890) on his commute between his home in Sharpsburg and his office and plant on Second Avenue downtown.[5]

References

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. "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
  4. Atlas of the Cities Pittsburgh and Allegheny. 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
  5. Franklin Toker. Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait, pp. 180–182. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Penna., 1986, ISBN 0-271-00415-0. LCCN 85-71786. [view source]toker