Brookline Boulevard
| Brookline Boulevard | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood | Brookline |
| Origin of name | Neighborhood of Brookline, named for Brookline, Massachusetts |
| Knowlson Avenue (until 1905) | |
| Origin of name | Knowlson family |
An unlabeled road in the location of the western part of modern Brookline Boulevard appears in maps of Allegheny County from 1851 and 1862.[1][2] In the 1905 Hopkins atlas, it is labeled Knowlson Avenue.[3] The Knowlson family was long established along this road; their land and houses appear in maps from 1851 into the 20th century.[1][2][4][5][6][7][3]
Brookline Boulevard appears in the 1905 Brookline plan, laid out by the West Liberty Improvement Company.[8]
The neighborhood of Brookline was named for Brookline, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. A 1905 advertisement offering lots for sale proclaimed:[9]
Just 15 minutes by the watch from the Pittsburg Postoffice, with a suburb that deserves its name, because its beauty will match up with the beauty of the Brookline of Boston, its namesake, after which it was patterned.
The South Pittsburgh Development Corporation claims that many of the early settlers here after the Revolutionary War came from the area near the Massachusetts town, and they gave the name to the region because, with its abundance of small streams, it reminded them of their former home.[10] But most other sources say that Brookline was named by the developer who laid out the lots.[11][12][13][14] This is supported by the lack of references to "Brookline" before 1905. Several sources attribute the name specifically to A. P. Haaz of the Freehold Real Estate Company,[12][13][14] an agent for the West Liberty Improvement Company.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sidney & Neff and S. McRea. Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with the Names of Property-Holders. Philadelphia, 1851. LCCN 2012592150. [view source] sidney-neff
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 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
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Real Estate Plat-Book of the Southern Vicinity of Pittsburgh, plates 10, 16. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1905. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1905-plat-book-southern-pittsburgh; included in the 1903–1906 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source] hopkins-1905
- ↑ Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs, p. 45. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1876. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1876-atlas-pittsburgh-allegheny; included in the 1872 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source] hopkins-1876
- ↑ Atlas of the Vicinity of the Cities Pittsburgh and Allegheny, Pennsylvania, plate 22. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1886. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1886-atlas-pittsburgh-allegheny; included in the 1882 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source] hopkins-1886
- ↑ Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: With adjoining parts of Westmoreland, Washington & Beaver Counties. Otto Krebs, Pittsburgh, 1890. LCCN 2012592153. [view source] krebs
- ↑ Real Estate Plat-Book of the Southern Vicinity of Pittsburgh, Penna., plate 3. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1896. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1896%E2%80%93plat-book-southern-pittsburgh; included in the 1890 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source] hopkins-1896
- ↑ "Brookline plan of lots: West Liberty Boro. Ally Co. Pa: Laid out by West Liberty Improvement Co." Laid out May 1905; recorded June 2, 1905, Plan Book 23, pp. 4–5. Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds 3782296. [view source] brookline-1905-plan
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Brookline: The 15-minute suburb." Pittsburg Press, June 22, 1905, pp. 6–7. Newspapers.com 141851771, 141851782. [view source] 15-minute-suburb
- ↑ South Pittsburgh Development Corporation. Brookline, p. 7. Images of America. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, S. C., 2005, ISBN 978-0-7385-3724-5. LCCN 2004113373. [view source] spdc
- ↑ Pittsburgh Neighborhood Alliance. An Atlas of the Brookline Neighborhood of Pittsburgh 1977, p. 2. 1977. Historic Pittsburgh 31735070288760; https://ucsur.pitt.edu/files/center/1977/brookline%20PNA%201977.pdf. [view source] pna-brookline
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Franklin Toker. Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait, p. 141. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Penna., 1986, ISBN 0-271-00415-0. LCCN 85-71786. [view source] toker
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Bob Regan. The Names of Pittsburgh: How the City, Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks and More Got Their Names, p. 37. The Local History Company, Pittsburgh, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9770429-7-5. [view source] regan
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Franklin Toker. Pittsburgh: A New Portrait, p. 186. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8229-4371-6. LCCN 2009022903. [view source] toker-new
