McMasters Way
| McMasters Way | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood | Central Business District |
| Market Alley (until 1881) | |
| Origin of name | Market Square |
| Masters Alley (1881–1910) | |
| Drummond Street (1910–1914) | |
| Origin of name | James Drummond, character in "The Head of Iron" |
This alley was originally named Market Alley, named for Market Square. It was probably created in the first half of the 1830s: it does not appear in the 1830 map of Jean Barbeau and Lewis Keyon,[1] but it certainly existed by 1835, for a statement of the account of the city treasurer as of December 31, 1835, includes a refund of $288.00 for the amount overpaid when Market Alley was paved.[2]
In 1881, Market Alley was renamed Masters Alley to avoid confusion with nearby Market Street.[3]
In 1910, three years after the annexation of Allegheny, the streets around Market Square were renamed to fix the duplication with the streets around the Allegheny Diamond. Masters Alley and East Diamond were together renamed Drummond Street.[4] The other streets around the Diamond were renamed Byng, Graeme, and Marjorie: these are all characters in an obscure 1908 historical novel, "The Head of Iron," written by Pittsburgh journalist Burd Shippen Patterson for the sesquicentennial celebration of John Forbes' 1758 founding of Pittsburgh (see Market Place).[5] Drummond Street was named for Colonel James Drummond (possibly inspired by James Drummond, 3rd Duke of Perth), who fights alongside the main character, Graeme Stewart, in the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland; after the Stuart defeat, he flees with his family to Pennsylvania.[5] Patterson was the secretary of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society and was consulted by Robert Clark, the Pittsburgh deputy city clerk, in the process of choosing the new street names.[6]
Just four years later, in 1914, the portion of Drummond Street from the northeast corner of Market Square to Fifth Avenue was renamed McMasters Way.[7] (The rest of Drummond Street, along with the other streets around the perimeter of Market Square, was renamed Market Place a few months later.)[8]
References
- ↑ 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
- ↑ "City accounts." Daily Pittsburgh Gazette, Jan. 5, 1836, [p. 2]. Newspapers.com 96046161. [view source] city-accounts
- ↑ "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
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the names of certain avenues, streets, lanes and alleys in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1910, no. 715. Passed Mar. 31, 1910; approved Apr. 5, 1910. Ordinance Book 21, p. 342. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the [Select and Common Councils] of the City of Pittsburgh for the Years 1909–1910, appendix, pp. 312–328, Devine & Co., Pittsburgh, 1910 (Google Books doQzAQAAMAAJ; HathiTrust uiug.30112108223832; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1909). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Apr. 19, 1910, pp. 10–11 (Newspapers.com 86611990, 86612022), Apr. 20, pp. 10–11 (Newspapers.com 86612278, 86612297), and Apr. 21, pp. 10–11 (Newspapers.com 86612601, 86612625). [view source] ordinance-1910-715
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Burd Shippen Patterson. "The Head of Iron": A Romance of Colonial Pennsylvania. T. M. Walker, Pittsburgh, 1908. Google Books rw8ZAAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 008612936; Historic Pittsburgh 00awk9111m. [view source] patterson
- ↑ "'Ridiculous' and 'silly,' a 'huge joke': Changes of street names bring criticism on Clerk Clark; telephones ring—sharp queries keep wires hot: Historical Society indorses the work." Pittsburg Press, July 28, 1909, pp. 1–2. Newspapers.com 141334964, 141334983. [view source] ridiculous
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the name of Drummond street, between Fifth avenue and Byng street, to 'McMasters way.'" Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1914, no. 245. Passed July 7, 1914; approved July 8, 1914. Ordinance Book 26, p. 187. Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, July 15, 1914, p. 13 (Newspapers.com 86510040). [view source] ordinance-1914-245
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the names of certain streets in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1914, no. 372. Passed Oct. 20, 1914; approved Oct. 22, 1914. Ordinance Book 26, p. 319. Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Oct. 31, 1914, p. 10 (Newspapers.com 88654234). [view source] ordinance-1914-372
