Notes:Liberty Avenue

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• In discussion of the Northern Liberties, compare East Liberty, West Liberty?
• Source:Miller@44–45: "The word Liberty is supposed to have originated from the free grants of lands, as recompense by the Government for military service. The expression is first found in a report of Washington's made to Governor Dinwiddie in which he speaks of the 'Northern Liberties,' meaning the districts later called Bayardstown and Lawrenceville."
• Source:Swetnam says, "During the Prohibition era, when attacks on 'personal liberty' by drys had thrown the word into disrepute, an effort was made to change the name to 'Freedom St.' Happily, it was a complete failure."

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History of Liberty Avenue through Lower Lawrenceville and Bloomfield.

• Source:Fleming-abandoned: "Cross streets ran at regular intervals from the Monongahela River, beginning downtown at Liberty street and continuing to Boundary street, now Thirty-third. Liberty street ended here as a thoroughfare at the old Iron City Park. It was later extended as at present."
• Source:E-f-denny-plan (1866) gave Liberty Street a bend at Ewalt Street (33rd Street) and continued it eastward a short distance.
• Source:Hopkins-1872, p. 54, shows Liberty Street to the northwest of Iron City Park, though separated from the rest of Liberty Street by a gap from 33rd Street to Hazlett Street (today 34th Street). There are dotted lines in this gap that indicate a plan to put the street through. This part of Liberty Street was renamed Ligonier Street by Source:Ordinance-1881-33.
• Common Council, 1873-10-13, in Source:Municipal-record-1873: "Plan of streets in Iron City Park; approved."
• Source:Survey-committee-1874-09-24: ". . . a proposed change of grade on Liberty avenue, between Thirty-third and Fortieth streets. ¶ . . . ¶ . . . Mrs. Denny did not originally desire the opening through Iron City Park, but consented to it conditionally—that the grade should not be fixed lower than six and a half feet to the hundred. He stated further that the present grade was only about five feet, and the cut through the hill was absolutely ruinous. It would cost Mrs. Denny $100,000 to grade her property down to the street level, and property holders further out would be damaged $50,000. . . . ¶ . . . ¶ Dr. Gross, on behalf of the Liberty avenue Commissioners, gave a history of the movement to secure a better outlet to the East Liberty valley, than those afforded by Penn and Fifth avenue. This had been rendered necessary by consolidation. Liberty avenue was first located around Iron City Park hill, and not through it. It was desired to have not more than a four feet grade. The Denny estate claimed that by cutting into the hillside, as proposed, their property would be immensely damaged, as it would leave but one tier of lots, and even those would be in bad shape. This route was therefore abandoned, as too expensive, and at the request of these very parties who now ask a higher grade, the location was fixed through Iron City Park, and the grade assented to. By this change of location, the property owners have two tiers of lots, instead of one. The doctor called for the reading of the minutes of October ⸺, 1872, in proof of what he had said."
• "Common Pleas No. 2.—Judges White and Kirkpatrick," Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, 1878-05-16, [p. 4] (Newspapers.com 85461560): "In the case of Denny's executors vs. The City of Pittsburgh, the jury are out. The question involved was mainly the fact as to how much damage was done to the property of the late Mrs. Denny, known as Iron City Park, through which Liberty avenue was opened under the Penn avenue act. A cut was made through the property for a long distance, the average depth being twenty-five feet."
• Source:Iron-city-park-plan (1883) shows the modern route of Liberty Avenue through Lower Lawrenceville.
• Source:Historic-ravines: "As business progressed commerce demanded a shorter route to the district of Bloomfield than by the round-about way of Penn avenue, and as there was no way of getting into Bloomfield only by going up to Pearl street and driving down on the other side, it was deemed advisable to have Liberty street extended. Petitions were sent out by business men and residents requesting that the improvement be made, and the more enthusiastic populace began dumping earth, filling in the valley in 1869. The Penn avenue act was passed in 1870, and on April 2 the work of filling in the place began. The work was a tremendous undertaking and many laughed at the idea of such an immense job. Ashes from far and near were hauled, and when the grade of Liberty avenue was laid out, as many hills had to be cut through, the earth taken from the cuts was used in the valley. Six years afterward, in 1876, the job was completed, and the old ravine which separated the city from Bloomfield was a thing of the past. At first the street caused considerable trouble, as every rain caused the fill to slip into Skunk Hollow. The work was one of the most extensive the city has ever undertaken on street work. In 1876 the street was paved with cedar blocks, but these soon were worn in splinters, and now the entire thoroughfare from the Monongahela river to Center avenue and Rebecca street, East End, is paved with Ligonier granite."

Source:Swetnam: "Liberty Ave. took its name from the zeal that brought on the Revolution, when the word was a rallying cry, and marked itself on towns and streets all over this district. ¶ During the Prohibition era, when attacks on 'personal liberty' by drys had thrown the word into disrepute, an effort was made to change the name to 'Freedom St.' Happily, it was a complete failure. ¶ Incidentally, it was the thing which most marred Liberty Ave. for years that has made it the fine, wide thoroughfare it is in a city where space too often was forgotten in the early days. ¶ Man on Foot Preceded Trains ¶ Until 1906 freight trains ran on Liberty, preceded for many years by a man on foot, waving a red flag and ringing a bell."