Blockhouse Way
| Blockhouse Way | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood | Central Business District |
| Origin of name | Fort Pitt Block House |
| Fate | Vacated in 1966 |
| Redoubt Alley (1784–1887) | |
| Origin of name | Grant's Redoubt |
This alley formerly ran from Fort Pitt Boulevard to Liberty Avenue, between Commonwealth Place and Stanwix Street.
It was originally laid out as Redoubt Alley in George Woods' 1784 plan of Pittsburgh.[1] The name referred to Grant's Redoubt, a structure built around February 1764 to help defend Fort Pitt, which stood on the bank of the Monongahela River near what later became the end of Redoubt Alley.[2][3][4]
Redoubt Alley was renamed Blockhouse Way in 1887[5] for the Fort Pitt Block House, which still stands in Point State Park. This name change seems to have been the result of confusion about which redoubt the alley had been named for. The Block House was also built as a redoubt to defend Fort Pitt, about the same time as Grant's Redoubt, but they were two distinct structures.[4] Blockhouse Way never came anywhere near the Block House.[6]
Blockhouse Way was vacated by a city ordinance in 1966.[7]
See also
- Fort Street, also named for the Fort Pitt Block House
References
- ↑ George Woods. A Draught of the Town Plat of Pittsburgh, Surveyed for John Penn, Jr., and John Penn, by George Woods, May 31st 1784. 1784. Reproduced as "Original plan of Pittsburgh" in plate 19 of Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs, G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1872 (Historic Pittsburgh 1872p019). [view source] woods-plat
- ↑ Neville B. Craig. The History of Pittsburgh: With a Brief Notice of Its Facilities of Communication, and Other Advantages for Commercial and Manufacturing Purposes, p. 86. John H. Mellor, Pittsburgh, 1851. Google Books cE0OAAAAIAAJ; HathiTrust 001263103; Historic Pittsburgh 00aee7261m, 31735056285699; Internet Archive historyofpittsbu00crai. [view source] craig
- ↑ Rose Demorest. "First the French, then the British chose Point for bastions: Fort Pitt was pioneers' version of 'Pentagone.'" Pittsburgh Press, Jan. 18, 1959, sec. 3, p. 1. Newspapers.com 147990122. [view source] demorest
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Emily M. Weaver. The Fort Pitt Block House, pp. 25–31. History Press, Charleston, S. C., 2013, ISBN 978-1-60949-933-4. [view source] weaver-block-house
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the name of Redoubt alley to Blockhouse Way." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1887, no. 96. Passed Nov. 21, 1887; approved Nov. 25, 1887. Ordinance Book 6, p. 204. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Select Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the Years 1887–8, p. 375, Devine & Co., Pittsburgh, 1887–1888 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1887) and Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Common Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the Years 1887–8, p. 277, Devine & Co., Pittsburgh, 1887–1888 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1887). [view source] ordinance-1887-96
- ↑ George Swetnam. "Here in Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 29, 1947, p. 15. Newspapers.com 149729673. [view source] swetnam
- ↑ "An ordinance vacating that portion of First Avenue between Stanwix Street and former Short Street; vacating Blockhouse Way between Boulevard of the Allies and Fort Pitt Boulevard; providing for the maintenance and abandonment of certain sewers, water line and other facilities; waiving claims for damages and benefits; providing certain other terms and conditions; and authorizing the mayor and the Director of the Department of Lands and buildings to execute and deliver quitclaim deeds to the respective parties in whom title to the streets hereby vests." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1966, no. 416. Passed Sept. 19, 1966; approved Sept. 20, 1966. Ordinance Book 68, p. 214. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh: For the Year 1966, appendix, pp. 440–442, Park Printing, Inc., Pittsburgh (Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1966). [view source] ordinance-1966-416
