Riffle Way
| Riffle Way | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood | California-Kirkbride |
| Origin of name | Modification of Relief, its original name |
| Relief Alley (until 1910) | |
| Riffle Alley (1910–1914) | |
| Origin of name | Modification of Relief |
This alley was originally named Relief Alley.[1]
The 1872 and 1882 Hopkins atlases labeled it Riley Alley,[2][3] but this was probably an error for Relief. The name Relief Alley was in use by 1873,[4][5] and it is listed as "Relief" in the 1876 street directory of Thurston and Diffenbacher.[6]
In 1910, three years after the annexation of Allegheny into the city of Pittsburgh, over 900 streets were renamed to fix duplicates, and Relief Alley was changed to Riffle Alley.[7] The name is probably just a modification of Relief—the two words are almost anagrams.
It became Riffle Way in 1914 when another ordinance changed all alleys in Pittsburgh to ways.[8]
In a 1937 newspaper column about Pittsburgh street names, Charles F. Danver quipped, "There's a Card lane and an Ace way, a King avenue, a Queen street and a Jack way. (Oh, yes—and Riffle way.) Your correspondent looked hopefully for a Deuces Wild way, but with his usual luck. It's too bad when a guy can't even find a deuce on the map!"[9] Pittsburgh still has no Deuces Wild Way, but it does have One Wild Place.
See also
- Relief Alley, for other alleys that have had that name
References
- ↑ Real Estate Plat-Book of the City of Allegheny, vol. 1, plate 7. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1890. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1890-volume-1-plat-book-allegheny; included in the 1890 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source] hopkins-1890-allegheny-vol-1
- ↑ Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs, pp. 76–77. 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
- ↑ Atlas of the Cities Pittsburgh and Allegheny, plate 34. 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
- ↑ "Streets in Allegheny." Daily Post (Pittsburgh), May 3, 1873, [p. 4]. Newspapers.com 87616143. [view source] streets-in-allegheny
- ↑ "An ordinance authorizing the grading of Relief Alley." Allegheny city ordinance, 1873. Enacted June 19, 1873. Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Daily Gazette, July 1, 1873, [p. 4] (Newspapers.com 86342104). [view source] ordinance-1873-relief
- ↑ George H. Thurston and J. F. Diffenbacher. Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny for 1876–7: Embracing a general directory of the residences of citizens, full classified business directory, register of public institutions, benevolent societies and city governments, directory of the streets, secret societies, schools and churches. Thurston & Diffenbacher, Pittsburgh, 1876, p. 14. Google Books 8dkCAAAAYAAJ; Historic Pittsburgh 31735038288480. [view source] thurston-diffenbacher-1876
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the names of certain avenues, streets, lanes and alleys in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1910, no. 715. Passed Mar. 31, 1910; approved Apr. 5, 1910. Ordinance Book 21, p. 342. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the proceedings of the [Select and Common Councils] of the City of Pittsburgh for the years 1909–1910, appendix, pp. 312–328, Devine & Co., Pittsburgh, 1910 (Google Books doQzAQAAMAAJ; HathiTrust uiug.30112108223832; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1909). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Apr. 19, 1910, pp. 10–11 (Newspapers.com 86611990, 86612022), Apr. 20, pp. 10–11 (Newspapers.com 86612278, 86612297), and Apr. 21, pp. 10–11 (Newspapers.com 86612601, 86612625). [view source] ordinance-1910-715
- ↑ "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
- ↑ Charles F. Danver. Pittsburghesque. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Aug. 12, 1937, p. 8. Newspapers.com 90316941. [view source] danver-1937
