Allentown (Pittsburgh)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 40°25′16″N 79°59′38″W / 40.421°N 79.994°W / 40.421; -79.994

Allentown
Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°25′16″N 79°59′38″W / 40.421°N 79.994°W / 40.421; -79.994
Population (1990): 3600[1]
Population (2000): 3220[1]
Area: 0.295 mi² [1]
ZIP code(s): 15203, 15210

For the city in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, see Allentown, Pennsylvania

Allentown is a south neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The zip code used by residents is 15210, and has representation on the Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 3 (Central South Neighborhoods).

Contents 1 History 2 References 2.1 Further reading 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] History

Beltzhoover Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare that separates Allentown and Knoxville (to the East) from Beltzhoover and Mt. Washington, (to the West). The city of Pittsburgh expanded and absorbed these areas lying southward of the original city of Pittsburgh.

Allentown was carved out of St. Clair Township, which was one of the original townships of Allegheny County. On April 26, 1827 an Englishman named Joseph Allen purchased the land that would eventually be known as Allentown from Jeremiah Warder. Incorporated on March 2, 1870 and annexed by the City of Pittsburgh on April 2, 1872, Allentown was settled by many skilled German immigrants who established businesses. Welsh, Irish, and English settlers made up the second largest immigrant population. Allentown developed quickly due to its convenient location to downtown Pittsburgh as well as due to the available transportation. Two main roads south from Pittsburgh merged on the hilltop in Allentown – Washington Road (today’s Warrington Ave) and Brownsville Turnpike Road (today’s Arlington Ave). The neighborhoods were connected at first by horse-drawn streetcars and later by the electric streetcar. In 1888 Allentown became the first site west of the Allegheny Mountains to operate an electric streetcar. Ever since then the trolley, or ‘T’, has run through the neighborhood of Allentown keeping the hilltop residents connected to the downtown. In the past there were five inclines that served Allentown, the most famous of which was the curved Knoxville incline with a station at the intersection of Warrington and Arlington. Today the 52 Allentown, several bus routes, and many more roads connect the neighborhood with the downtown, South Side, and beyond.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Toker, Franklin (1994) [1986]. Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-5434-6. 

[edit] See also

• List of Pittsburgh neighborhoods

[edit] External links

• Interactive Pittsburgh Neighborhoods Map

This Pittsburgh-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e