East Street

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East Street
Neighborhoods Northview Heights, Perry North, Spring Hill-City View, Summer Hill
Origin of name Its location in a subdivision
North Street (1850s–1860s)

In 1783, the Pennsylvania General Assembly created the "Reserve Tract" on the north side of the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers opposite Pittsburgh. This land was reserved to be sold by the state, the proceeds of which would help to defray the state's Revolutionary War debt. The town of Allegheny and the surrounding land were surveyed by David Redick in 1787 and the lots were sold at auction in 1788.[1][2][3]:2–3

The rectangle that is today bounded by East North Avenue, Madison Avenue, East Ohio Street, and Cedar Avenue was surveyed as "out lots" numbered 141 and 144 and half of out lots 140 and 145; each of these out lots was a square 40 perches (660 feet) on a side, containing 10 acres. James O'Hara was the original purchaser of out lot 141 and later acquired the others. After his death, this land was inherited by his daughter Mary O'Hara Croghan, along with other property, including the Point (see Fort Street). Not long after, it was inherited by her daughter, Mary Elizabeth Croghan, who later married an English captain named Edward W. Schenley. Mary Schenley was one of the largest landowners in Pittsburgh, and kept ownership of this parcel of land at least into the 1880s.[4][5][6][7][8]

At some point between 1835 and 1852, this rectangle was subdivided into lots and streets were laid out.[9][10] The east–west streets, north from Ohio Street, were named First, Second, and Third Streets (today Foreland, Suismon, and Tripoli Streets). The north–south streets, east from the East Common (the east edge of which is Cedar Avenue today), were named West, Main, and East Streets[11][12] or West, Middle, and North Streets;[13][10] today they are James, Middle, and East Streets. The name East Street, therefore, refers to its relative location in the interior of this subdivision. (The alternative name North Street is a bit more puzzling; perhaps this name refers to the fact that this street extended further to the north than the others.)

To the north of this subdivision, East Street was extended along a stream called Saw Mill Run, the current route of the Parkway North (Interstate 279). See Spring Garden Avenue for more about Saw Mill Run (not to be confused with the Saw Mill Run on the south side of the Ohio, for which see Saw Mill Run Boulevard). McClure Township was annexed by Allegheny City in stages from 1867 to 1873, forming the Tenth and Eleventh Wards, after which the felicitously named East Street formed much of the eastern boundary of the city.[14][5][15][16][3]:62

See also

References

  1. Allegheny City Society. Allegheny City, 1840–1907, pp. 10–11. Images of America. Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, S. C., 2007, ISBN 978-0-7385-5500-3. LCCN 2007927944. [view source]allegheny-city
  2. "Old state body laid out town of Allegheny: Executive council in 1788 fixed lot prices and furnished names for streets and alleys: Origin of the present parks." Pittsburg Press, Dec. 1, 1907, p. 32. Newspapers.com 142120163. [view source]old-state-body
  3. 3.0 3.1 Dan Rooney and Carol Peterson. Allegheny City: A History of Pittsburgh's North Side. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 2013, ISBN 978-0-8229-4422-5. LCCN 2012047727. [view source]rooney-peterson
  4. 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
  5. 5.0 5.1 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
  6. Reserve Tract of Land Opposite Pittsburgh. L. J. Richards & Co., 1863. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0084. Reproduced in Dan Rooney and Carol Peterson, Allegheny City: A History of Pittsburgh's North Side, pp. 2–3, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 2013, ISBN 978-0-8229-4422-5 (LCCN 2012047727). A variation entitled City of Allegheny 100 Years Ago is reproduced in Walter C. Kidney and Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr., Allegheny, p. 2, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 1975 (LCCN 75-43276), and in Allegheny City Society, Allegheny City, 1840–1907, pp. 10–11, Images of America, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, S. C., 2007, ISBN 978-0-7385-5500-3 (LCCN 2007927944). [view source]reserve-tract
  7. Charles Shetler. "James O'Hara's landholdings in Allegheny County." Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, vol. 34, no. 1, Mar. 1951, pp. 23–33. https://journals.psu.edu/wph/article/view/2365. [view source]shetler
  8. Emily M. Weaver. The Fort Pitt Block House, pp. 46–47, 66. History Press, Charleston, S. C., 2013, ISBN 978-1-60949-933-4. [view source]weaver-block-house
  9. Lewis Keyon. Map of Pittsburgh and Its Environs. Johnston & Stockton, Pittsburgh, 1835. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0577; 1835 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]keyon
  10. 10.0 10.1 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
  11. The Cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, with Parts of Adjacent Boroughs, Pennsylvania. 1855. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0089; https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~1688~130047; https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/32240; 1855 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). In George W. Colton, Colton's Atlas of the World: Illustrating physical and political geography, J. H. Colton & Co., New York, 1856 (https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Pub_List_No%3D0149.000). [view source]colton
  12. R. E. McGowin. Pittsburgh: Engraved from R. E. McGowin's map for Geo. H. Thurston. Wm. Schuchman & Bro., Pittsburgh, 1856. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0091. [view source]mcgowin-1856
  13. 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
  14. Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs. 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
  15. Atlas of the Vicinity of the Cities Pittsburgh and Allegheny, Pennsylvania. 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
  16. Real Estate Plat-Book of the City of Allegheny, vol. 2. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1890. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1890-volume-2-plat-book-allegheny; included in the 1890 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]hopkins-1890-allegheny-vol-2