Scrip Way

From Pittsburgh Streets
Scrip Way
Neighborhood Central Business District
Origin of name City scrip, paper money issued by the city
➤
Scrip Alley (until 1914)
Origin of name City scrip

This alley was laid out as Scrip Alley in 1849 as part of a plan of lots sold by the City of Pittsburgh.[1]

The square bounded by Fifth Street (now Fifth Avenue), Diamond Alley (now Forbes Avenue), Cherry Alley (now Cherry Way), and Grant Street had been city property. It was the location of the million-gallon reservoir for the city's first pumped water system, built 1826–1828.[2][3][4][5][6][7] At that time its elevation was significantly higher than it is today: 116 feet above the Allegheny River.[2][3][7] A steam pump drew water from the Allegheny River near the foot of Cecil Alley at an average rate of 40,000 gallons per day and raised it to the reservoir, whence it was distributed throughout the city by gravity.[5][6][7]

This water system was replaced in 1844 with two pumps further upstream and a larger reservoir on Quarry Hill near the modern intersection of Fullerton Street and Bedford Avenue.[5][6][7][8][9]

In the meantime, the Panic of 1837 had hit Pittsburgh. Banks had suspended payment in gold and silver coins, and consequently there had been a money shortage in the city.[10] The city had responded by issuing its own paper money, called "city scrip," in denominations of one, two, and three dollars.[5][10]

By 1849 public confidence in the city's financial situation had begun to waver, in part because of the large amount of outstanding city scrip,[11][12] the notes of which were derisively called "shinplasters."[5][10] In order to redeem the old scrip and reduce the city's indebtedness, City Councils passed an ordinance with several provisions, among which was the sale of the old basin lot, with scrip accepted as payment.[11][5][12]

The property was divided into smaller lots and sold at auction in May 1849; in all the sale brought $32,405.[4] The names of the two alleys created in the plan, Scrip Alley and Relief Alley (later Resort Way),[1] commemorate the relief of the city's debt by the redemption of scrip.[5] (A newspaper column from 1850 described the names of these two alleys as "singular.")[13]

Scrip Alley became Scrip Way in 1914 when a city ordinance changed all alleys in Pittsburgh to ways.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Plan of the subdivision of lots Nos. 371, 372, 373 & 374 in Col. Wood's plan of Pittsburgh: Made for the City of Pittsburg at the request of James B. Murray, Chairman of Comm. on City Property." Laid out May 22, 1849; recorded May 23, 1849, Plan Book 1, p. 150. Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds 3778240. [view source] old-basin-lot-plan
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jean Barbeau and Lewis Keyon. Map of Pittsburgh and Its Environs. N. B. Molineux, Pittsburgh, 1830. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0576; https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/36c3ab00-57aa-0136-8f4f-08990f217bc9. [view source] barbeau
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 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
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Sale of the old water lot: Great excitement among the holders of scrip!" Daily Morning Post (Pittsburgh), May 7, 1849, [p. 2]. Newspapers.com 86641622. [view source] old-water-lot
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: Including its early settlement and progress to the present time; a description of its historic and interesting localities; its cities, towns and villages; religious, educational, social and military history; mining, manufacturing and commercial interests; improvements, resources, statistics, etc.: Also portraits of some of its prominent men, and biographies of many of its representative citizens, part I, pp. 623–624. A. Warner & Co., Chicago, 1889. Google Books DwzYAAAAMAAJ; Internet Archive historyofalleghe1889cush. [view source] history-of-allegheny-county
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Joel A. Tarr, ed. Devastation and Renewal: An environmental history of Pittsburgh and its region, 1st pbk. ed., p. 65. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 2005, ISBN 0-8229-5892-9. [view source] tarr-devastation
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 ASCE Pittsburgh Section 100th Anniversary Publication Committee. Engineering Pittsburgh: A history of roads, rails, canals, bridges & more, pp. 146–147. History Press, Charleston, S. C., 2018, ISBN 978-1-5402-3599-2. LCCN 2018942435. [view source] engineering
  8. ↑ 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
  9. ↑ 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
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 History of Pittsburgh and Environs, vol. 2, p. 77. American Historical Society, New York and Chicago, 1922. Google Books 3staAAAAYAAJ, TPUMAAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 011262563; Internet Archive historypittsbur00yorkgoog, historypittsbur02socigoog. [view source] history-pgh-environs-2
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Local matters." Pittsburgh Daily Gazette, Apr. 18, 1849, [p. 3]. Newspapers.com 96009315. [view source] local-matters-1849-04-18
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Sarah H. Killikelly. The History of Pittsburgh: Its rise and progress, p. 192. B. C. & Gordon Montgomery Co., Pittsburgh, 1906. DonsList.net HistPgh1909M; Google Books kXmloex-vr8C, poRU0YjqrzsC; HathiTrust 100122020; Historic Pittsburgh 00adc8925m; Internet Archive historyofpittsbu00kill, historypittsbur00killgoog. [view source] killikelly
  13. ↑ "Local matters: Reported for the Pittsburgh Daily Gazette." Pittsburgh Daily Gazette, June 19, 1850, [p. 3]. Newspapers.com 96006957. [view source] local-matters-1850-06-19
  14. ↑ "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
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