West Commons
| West Commons | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood | Allegheny Center |
| Origin of name | West Common |
| Beaver Street (1788–1871) | |
| Arch Street (1871–1967) | |
This street was originally Beaver Street, named on November 28, 1788, by a resolution of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The same resolution established the name of the town of Allegheny; the names Federal Street, Ohio Street, and Sandusky Street; and the names of six alleys and two lanes. The names were given by a committee consisting of "Mr. Woods, Mr. Redick and Mr. Dennison."[1]
Beaver Street appears in the 1788 map of the "Reserve Tract of Land Opposite Pittsburgh" (as the North Side was originally called).[2] By 1852 Beaver Street had been extended outside the original town of Allegheny, as far north as Jackson Street (today's Jacksonia Street).[3]
Beaver Street was renamed Arch Street in 1871,[4] and the northern part still bears that name today (see Arch Street).
The southern part of Arch Street became West Commons in 1967 when the "Allegheny Center Loop" was opened (consisting of North Commons, West Commons, South Commons, and East Commons).[5][6][7][8] The name recalls the West Common, part of the open pasture that surrounded the original town of Allegheny.[3] Today much of the old West Common forms the main part of Allegheny Commons Park.
See also
References
- ↑ "Old state body laid out town of Allegheny: Executive council in 1788 fixed lot prices and furnished names for streets and alleys: Origin of the present parks." Pittsburg Press, Dec. 1, 1907, p. 32. Newspapers.com 142120163. [view source] old-state-body
- ↑ Reserve Tract of Land Opposite Pittsburgh. L. J. Richards & Co., 1863. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0084. Reproduced in Dan Rooney and Carol Peterson, Allegheny City: A History of Pittsburgh's North Side, pp. 2–3, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, 2013, ISBN 978-0-8229-4422-5 (LCCN 2012047727). A variation entitled City of Allegheny 100 Years Ago is reproduced in Walter C. Kidney and Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr., Allegheny, p. 2, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, 1975 (LCCN 75-43276), and in Allegheny City Society, Allegheny City, 1840–1907, pp. 10–11, Images of America, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, S. C., 2007, ISBN 978-0-7385-5500-3 (LCCN 2007927944). [view source] reserve-tract
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 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
- ↑ 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, p. 358. A. Warner & Co., Chicago, 1889. Google Books DwzYAAAAMAAJ; Internet Archive historyofalleghe1889cush. [view source] history-of-allegheny-county
- ↑ William M. Rimmel. Out of the Past. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 22, 1967, [p. 21]. Newspapers.com 88351802. [view source] rimmel-commons
- ↑ "Uncommon confusion?: Allegheny 'Loop' opens in a week." Pittsburgh Press, Nov. 26, 1967, sec. 3, p. 7. Newspapers.com 148899979. [view source] uncommon-confusion
- ↑ "Allegheny Commons Loop." Pittsburgh Press, Dec. 3, 1967, sec. 3, p. 8. Newspapers.com 148954558. [view source] allegheny-commons-loop
- ↑ "1-way loop to surround N. S. center: All right turns to speed traffic effective today." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dec. 4, 1967, p. 26. Newspapers.com 88155232. [view source] 1-way-loop
