Highland Park (Pittsburgh)

Highland Park
A view of the park in the Highland Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40.478°N 79.916°W / 40.478; -79.916
Population (1990): 7029
Population (2000): 6749
Area: 1.163 sq mi (3.01 km2)

Highland Park is both a large municipal park and a racially diverse, mostly residential neighborhood in the northeastern part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The neighborhood has 6,749 residents according to the 2000 United States Census. It occupies 748 acres (3.03 km²) built around the 380-acre (1.5 km²) park (also called Highland Park), and is bordered by the neighborhoods of East Liberty and Larimer to the south, Morningside to the west, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar to the east, and the Allegheny River to the north. Unlike much of the rest of the city, the houses in Highland Park are spaced more generously apart. The neighborhood is well-served by public transportation. A few small, locally-owned stores and restaurants can be found on Bryant Street, its central business district.

Highland Park (the public park) encompasses the northern region of the neighborhood. Its main entrance is clearly marked by two bronze sculptures by Giuseppe Moretti atop Ionic columns on each side of the road. Its Stanton Avenue entrance features another Moretti pair of sculptures on grand pedestals, depicting two groups of lean, heroic youths taming wild horses.

The park, which contains two of the city's large water reservoirs, offers picnic groves, a Babbling Brook water feature, Lake Carnegie for fishing, the city's only long-course swimming pool, two sand volley ball courts, tennis courts, walking trails, and playgrounds. The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium are also within the park, as is the Washington Boulevard Bike Track, a banked half-mile oval loop for bicyclists.

Alexander Negley, who was the first permanent white settler in 1778, owned the land that is now Highland Park. His property was a 300-acre (1.2 km²) farm on the banks of the Allegheny River, but it was later expanded by his son, Jacob Negley. During the 19th century, Jacob and his descendants sold off portions of the land to farmers. A 190-year-old farmhouse, which has been used as a park office and summer campsite, still stands. The park was founded in 1889, and opened in 1893 after Pittsburgh Director of Public Works, Edward Bigelow, spent more than $900,000 in city funds to buy the land, parcel by parcel, from farmers. The park entrance is designed as a grand Victorian entryway, which included a large fountain with a reflecting pool and formal gardens.

On August 30, 2007, the Highland Park Residential Historic District, in Morningside, roughly bounded by Highland Park (the public park), Heth's Run and Heth's Avenue, Chislett Street, Stanton Avenue, and Jackson Street, was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gallery

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  Fulton Elementary School, built in 1894, at 5799 Hampton Street.

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  The Welcome Sculptures at the North Highland Avenue entrance of the park, sculpted in 1896 by Giuseppe Moretti.

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  The Horse Tamer Sculptures at the Stanton Avenue entrance of the park, sculpted in 1900 by Giuseppe Moretti.

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  James Scott House (also known as Altholl), built in 1900, at 5635 Stanton Avenue.

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  Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 2, built circa 1930s, near Highland Park Bridge.

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  Highland Park Bridge, opened in 1938.

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  View of a residential street in the Highland Park neighborhood.

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  The sea lion exhibit in the Kids Kingdom section of the Pittsburgh Zoo.

See also

• List of Pittsburgh neighborhoods

References

Further reading

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

External links

• Pittsburgh Dept. of Parks & Recreation website
• Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
• Highland Park Community Club homepage
• Interactive Pittsburgh Neighborhoods Map