Source:Oliver-avenue-19040324/content
Mayor Hays yesterday afternoon signed the ordinance passed by councils changing the name of Virgin alley to Oliver avenue, and thus the city gains a euphonious name for one of its most centrally located business thoroughfares and at the same time honor is paid to the memory of one of our most prominent citizens.
The Press, to whose suggestion the change is due, feels sure that the city will never have cause to regret it. Virgin alley, while at one time a fitting title, designating the name of the cemetery connected with Fort Duquesne, was to most of this generation without historical significance. Oliver avenue, on the other hand, preserves the name of one of the most successful and public-spirited business men who ever labored in this busy community. The late Henry W. Oliver was associated with an era of wonderful local material development, and indeed had taken as large a part as any other man in the city's upbuilding. Moreover, it was mainly through his personal efforts that Virgin alley became a street. The ordinance drawn up at the instance of The Press met with practically no opposition in councils, and Mayor Hays' prompt attachment of his official approval is in hearty accord with the public sentiment on the subject.
The next step would seem to be to make Oliver avenue of the same width above Smithfield street as below, in harmony with the extensive other improvements impending between Smithfield and Grant street in connection with the proposed removal of the hump.
