McCrea Way

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McCrea Way
Neighborhood Central Business District
Origin of name Various McCreas who owned property along Sixth Street north of this alley
Patterson Alley (until 1914)
Origin of name Various Pattersons who owned property along Sixth Street south of this alley
McCrea Alley (1914)
Origin of name Various McCreas

This alley, running from Sixth Street to Barkers Place between Fort Duquesne Boulevard and Penn Avenue, appears, unlabeled, in R. E. McGowin's 1852 map of Pittsburgh.[1]

It was originally named Patterson Alley, according to a 1914 city ordinance that officially changed its name to McCrea Alley,[2] though the name McCrea Alley had been in use as early as 1890.[3] It became McCrea Way later that year, when another ordinance changed all alleys in Pittsburgh to ways.[4]

McCrea and Patterson were the names of owners of property near this alley in the nineteenth century. The 1872 Hopkins atlas shows three properties north of this alley on the east side of Sixth Street, labeled "C. McCrea," "F. McCrea," and "McCrea."[5] In the 1882 edition, all the lots on the east side of Sixth Street between this alley and Penn Avenue are part of the Patterson Block.[6] And the 1889 edition has "Cath. McCrea," "P. McCrea," and "Jas. McCrea" on the east side of Sixth Street to the north of this alley; "J. N. Patterson," "T. H. Patterson," and "R. W. Patterson" to the south; and "J. H. B. Patterson" on the south side of the alley itself.[7]

References

  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
  2. "An ordinance changing the names of certain avenues, streets and alleys in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1914, no. 77. Passed Mar. 10, 1914; approved Mar. 14, 1914. Ordinance Book 26, p. 13. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the Year 1914, appendix, pp. 65–66, McClung Printing Co., Pittsburgh (HathiTrust uiug.30112108223899; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1914). [view source]ordinance-1914-77
  3. "A theater drops in: Chas. L. Davis secures a location with a Sixth street entrance: Full details of the new deal: The theatrical kaleidoscope evolves another combination: This site long a circus ground." Pittsburgh Dispatch, Apr. 4, 1890, p. 2. Newspapers.com 76220077. [view source]theater-drops-in
  4. "An ordinance changing the name 'alley' on every thoroughfare in the City of Pittsburgh to 'way.'" Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1914, no. 402. Passed Nov. 10, 1914; approved Nov. 16, 1914. Ordinance Book 26, p. 360. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the Year 1914, appendix, p. 226, McClung Printing Co., Pittsburgh (HathiTrust uiug.30112108223899; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1914). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Nov. 23, 1914, p. 11 (Newspapers.com 86505785), and Nov. 24, p. 12 (Newspapers.com 86505809). [view source]ordinance-1914-402
  5. Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs, pp. 22–23. 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
  6. Atlas of the Cities Pittsburgh and Allegheny, plate 1. 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
  7. Atlas of the City of Pittsburgh, vol. 1, plate 5. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1889. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1889-volume-1-atlas-pittsburgh; included in the 1890 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]hopkins-1889-vol-1