Notes:Exchange Way

1784: Not in Source:Woods-plat.

1797-02-25: Source:Town-lots: ". . . a new laid out alley of 20 feet, called Brewery alley, running from Marbury street to Cross alley aforesaid—. . ." Cross Alley seems to correspond to Duquesne Street in Source:Mcgowin-1852 (possibly widened in the meantime), and later Bell's Alley.

1799-04-27: Source:Sheriffs-sales-1799-04-27: "Also, Lots K and L, being portions of Lots No. 132 and 133, in the Borough of Pittsburgh, containing each 60 feet in front upon Liberty street, and extending back 110 feet to Brewery alley, which alley is unknown in the general plan of said Borough, but laid out for the accommodation of the inhabitants."

1799-10-12: Source:Sheriffs-sales-1799-10-12: ". . . No. F. sixty feet in front on Liberty street, and extending to Brewery alley in depth 110 feet, bounded by said street, lot No. G, Brewery alley, &c.—. . ."

1809-03-15: William Woods, "Sheriff's sales," Pittsburgh Gazette, [p. 3] (Newspapers.com 96060886): "Also, lot F, being part of lot No. 137 (agreeably to William Turnbull's plan of the Point lots) in the borough of Pittsburgh, fronting on Liberty street, sixty feet, and extending back one hundred and ten feet to Brewery alley, and bounded by lots E & G, (so marked on the aforesaid plan of Point lots.)"

1819: Source:Riddle-murray, p. 27:

• "Brew-House alley, from Liberty st. to the Alleg'y. river, next above St. Clair st." This was not Exchange Alley.
• "Dravo's Alley, from Hay to Pitt, between Liberty and Penn sts."

1826: Source:Jones, p. 100:

• "Brewery alley, from Marbury to the Monongahela, between Penn and Liberty."
• "Madison alley, from Hand st to Garrison alley, between Penn & Liberty"

1830: Source:Barbeau shows various segments, labeled just "Alley." The map legend says that "P" is the Pittsburgh Exchange, but nothing near Penn and St. Clair is labeled P.

1830-02-23: Source:Pittsburgh-exchange: "THE PITTSBURGH EXCHANGE FOR RENT. ¶ THIS establishment is nearly finished, and will be ready for occupying in April next. It is situated in a central part of the city, at the corner of St. Clair and Penn streets; . . ."

1835: Source:Keyon shows various segments, labeled just "Alley." There is a "P" in the lot on the east side of St. Clair Street, between Penn Street and this alley. This may be the "P" that the legend in Source:Barbeau says is the Pittsburgh Exchange. But Source:Keyon has no legend (it is pasted over with other material).

1837: Source:Harris:

• p. 23: "Brewery alley, width 20 feet, runs from Marbury to the Monongahela between Penn and Liberty."
• p. 23: "Exchange alley, width 15 feet, runs from St. Clair street to Cecil's alley."
• p. 24: "Madison alley, width 25 feet, runs from Hand st. to Garrison alley, between Penn and Liberty."
• Advertisement: "Exchange Office & Saving Fund, at the Merchant's Exchange, Fourth st., Pittsburgh." This was also printed in newspapers.
• Two advertisements use the phrase "Penn street, near the Exchange": one for Freeman & Miller, iron founders, and the other for Smyth, Royer & Co., iron and nail manufacturers. Their listings in the directory are, p. 48, "Freeman & Miller, Iron founders, c Cecil's alley and Penn," and p. 81, "Smith . . . Royer & Co., Iron and nail manufactury [sic], c of Penn and Cecil's alley."

1839-09-11: P. M'Kenna, "Auction: Sale of real estate," Daily Pittsburgh Gazette, [p. 2] (Newspapers.com 96014122): "On Penn street, near Hand street, adjoining Doctor Speer's property, . . . The Lot is 40 feet front on Penn street, by 90 feet back, with four feet of an alley into exchange alley on the rear."

1839-11-16: J. Gemmil, "The Pittsburgh Circulating Reference Library," Daily Pittsburgh Gazette, [p. 2] (Newspapers.com 96007706): "Corner of St. Clair street and Exchange Alley, . . ."

1845: Source:Mcgowin-1845 has various unlabeled segments.

1850: Source:Fahnestock, "Note to the map," before p. 1: "To see this Redoubt, it is necessary to pass from Point street along a nine feet alley, called Brewery alley, leading towards the Monongahela; and when at the distance of forty-six feet from Point street, the Redoubt will be seen about eight feet north of the visiter [sic]. The Redoubt is that square portion of the building, next to Brewery alley. The back portion of the building, which is higher than the Redoubt, was built by Turnbull, Marmie & Co. in 1785, and was occupied as a dwelling by William Turnbull, and afterwards by Major Isaac Craig."

1852: Source:Mcgowin-1852, "Exchange Alley" from Water Street to Marbury Street. Other segments of alley unlabeled. St. Clair Hotel (55) is shown on the east side of St. Clair street, between Penn Street and this alley.

1855: Source:Colton, likewise.

1856: Source:Mcgowin-1856, likewise.

1856: Source:Thurston-1856, p. xxvi: "Exchange alley from Water to Marbury bt Penn & Liberty"

1862: Source:Beers has "Exchange Al." between Water Street and Hay Street, across two disconnected segments; others unlabeled.

1867: Source:Iron-city-map, unlabeled.

1867: Source:Woods-1867: "Exchane [sic] Al." from Water Street to Stanwix Alley.

1872: Source:Hopkins-1872, p. 15: "Exchange Alley" from Water Street to Third Street (edge of map). pp. 22–23: Unlabeled segments from Third Street to Eleventh Street.

1881: Source:Ordinance-1881-33: "Bells alley, from Exchange alley to Penn avenue, First ward." But Exchange Alley itself is not listed. (1890 layer shows "Bell's Alley" opposite First Street.)

1882: Source:Hopkins-1882, plate 1: "Exchange Al." from Water Street to Third Street; other segments unlabeled.

1888: Source:Allegheny-hundred, p. 53: "The year of 1832 is also memorable in the history of the county, as the year of the great flood, when the waters of the Allegheny rose to the height of 35 feet, the water extending up Wood street as far as Second, and being from five to six feet deep in the basement of the Exchange Hotel at the corner of Penn avenue and St. Clair (now Sixth) street."

1889: Source:History-of-allegheny-county, vol. II, p. 585: "In 1849 he [J. N. Anderson] located in Pittsburgh, when he resumed his trade for nine months, and then entered the employ of the Exchange (afterward known as St. Clair) hotel, in which he remained until 1853. From that year until 1858 Mr. Anderson represented the Perry House, then returned to the St. Clair, and in 1874 purchased the property, continuing the business until 1884, in which year he built the Hotel Anderson, in every way conceded to be the most complete house of entertainment in the city."

1900: Source:Chapman, p. 202: "The Pittsburgher who opened his Morning Chronicle, Tuesday morning, March 29, 1842, read there the simple announcement that about half-past nine o'clock of the evening before Charles Dickens and lady had arrived in the city, on their way to St. Louis, and had taken lodgings at the Exchange Hotel." p. 203: "The Exchange Hotel, where Dickens and his wife lodged, was at the corner of Penn and St. Clair Streets, now Penn Avenue and Sixth Street, likely on the site of the present Anderson Hotel."

1901: Source:Saunter: "From Water street and Duquesne way, as one makes the round of the Point, he sees enormous manufacturing wealth, and the beginnings of that were in Brewery alley, which is no longer called by that name, but by the more appropriate and suggestive one of Exchange alley, which it had doubtless from the Merchants' Exchange."

1906: Source:Killikelly, p. 192: "A Merchants' Exchange was established the first of September, 1849; the first effort in this direction was made in 1837, but it did not meet with success."

1907-07-28: Source:Dickson-4: "There were three large ale breweries in the city in its early days. One was called the Pittsburgh brewery, and was located in Exchange alley, between Sixth street and Barkers alley. ¶ . . . ¶ Although Penn avenue was then considered the aristocratic residence part of the city, yet there was on it the old Bowen rolling mill and nail factory, on the corner of Penn avenue and Cecil alley, where Horne's store stands. Opposite this, where McElveen's store is, was Freeman's large foundry. Both of these establishments ran back toward the river, where they met the grounds of the two city water pumping houses. Next to the foundry was Dennis Leonard's large lumber yard, running from Penn avenue to the river. Across the street, where the Belasco theater now stands, was James Mathew's Exchange livery stable."

1910: Source:Ordinance-1910-716: "Exchange ay., from Eleventh to prop. line, 2d wd."

1917-08-26: Source:Fleming-dickens discusses the Exchange Hotel. Also an image.

1917-09-02: Source:Fleming-dickens-incidents continues the description. Also an image.

1921-08-07: Source:Fleming-tavern: "The more modern houses were the Exchange Hotel, in 1831, at the corner of Penn and Sixth." Also an image.

1922: Source:Dahlinger

• pp. 73–74: "As late as 1807, Zadok Cramer, writing about the former location of Fort Pitt, stated that on part of the ground there stood a large brewery and two dwellings, and added, 'the situation is too low for general building.' (14) The brewery referred to was the Point Brewery, then conducted by Colonel O'Hara. The writer in Watson's Annals speaking of this brewery, (15) said, 'a part of the brew-house premises fills the place which was a bastion. At a little distance from it there is still a small brick five-sided edifice called the Guard-House, erected by the British after the capture from the French.' This was the Redoubt. There is in existence an old plan of Pittsburgh made in 1805, by William Masson (15a) and owned by Mr. Joseph B. Shea of this city, on which the names of the owners of the property are given, (mainly those of the grantees of the Penns) and on which pictures of a few of the more prominent buildings appear. Twenty or thirty feet north of Penn Street and about seven hundred feet west of Marbury Street, there is shown the brewery, a large, two′story [sic] structure surmounted by a belfry. It was the north bastion that was located north of this part of Penn Street, and it was the easterly end of the brewery which stood on the site of the bastion, if the writer in Watson's Annals was correct in his statement. Brewery Alley was laid out easterly of the rear line of the brewery and led to it. It was a narrow alley nine feet in width running parallel with Penn Street and about ninety-eight [p. 74] feet north of it. Eight feet north of the location of this alley is the Redoubt."
  • The placement of Brewery Alley north of Penn Street is incorrect; it was south of Penn Street, as is clear from Source:Town-lots and the descriptions in directories that place it between Penn and Liberty. This error is repeated by Source:Vidunas-point-brewery.
• p. 79: "14. The Navigator, Pittsburgh, 1808, p. 33. ¶ 15. John F. Watson, Supra. [Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1857, Vol. II, p. 131.] ¶ 15a. Note.—William Masson, who prepared this plan, was apparently the sailmaker who in the early part of the Nineteenth Century resided on Water Street, between Smithfield Street and Cherry Alley. The Pittsburgh Directories for both 1815 and 1819 have him as residing at this place, and according to a deed filed in the Recorder's Office of Allegheny County he had purchased the property in 1813. The belief that he was the author of the plan is strengthened by the fact that the plan contains pictures of eleven sailing ships of various classes, all of which are labeled as having been built at Pittsburgh or in the vicinity, and about which hardly anyone could have had knowledge, unless he was intimately connected with shipbuilding."

1922: Source:History-pgh-environs-2, p. 134: "He [Charles Dickens] was en route for St. Louis, and stopped when in the city at the Exchange Hotel, located on the corner of Penn avenue and St. Clair street (now Sixth street), the present location of the Hotel Anderson."

1922-08-20: Source:Fleming-old-map-6 discusses Brewery Alley.

1955-02-04: Source:White: "Not in the 1795 plat of the Borough of Pittsburgh, Exchange Way was later between and parallel with Penn and Liberty, except for breaks here and there, and extended to Tenth St. Sections of it still exist."

2018-01-17: Source:Vidunas-point-brewery: "Brewery Alley, named for its association with the Point Brewery, was east of the rear line of the brewery and led to it. The alley was only 9 feet wide and ran parallel with Penn Street and about 98 feet north of Penn. Eight feet north of the alley was the Redoubt, known today as the Blockhouse. Later it became a part of Exchange Way. Reference: Fort Pitt by Charles William Dahlinger, 1922, page 73." (Source:Dahlinger.)