Brookline is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in the South Hills of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylv ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. It takes its name from the city in Massachusetts, which early settlers felt bore a resemblance to the area.

History

Early settlement

Brookline was a part of the larger West Liberty Borough before its absorption into

in 1908. Early in its history, the area was mostly inhabited by miners and farmers. At the turn of the century, when the mining industry in the area declined, only farms were left.

Dawn of the 20th century

The dawn of the 20th century brought many technological advances that helped the South Hills of Pittsburgh flourish. First, the transportation of coal from the area opened up the Pittsburgh & Castle Shannon Railroad Co. to install lines going to the area. This included a tunnel to be bored from downtown Pittsburgh, through Mt. Washington, and to exit right above South Hills Junction. With the age of automobiles looming, a few decades later the

Liberty Tunnel The Liberty Tunnels (also known as the Liberty Tubes) are a pair of tunnels located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States that allow motorists to travel between the South Hills of Pittsburgh and the city, beneath Mt. Washington. The tunne ...

was completed. This helped create a boom in the South Hills areas.

Trolley service

Brookline was linked by

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

to downtown Pittsburgh in 1905 by

Pittsburgh Railways Pittsburgh Railways was one of the predecessors of Pittsburgh Regional Transit. It had 666 PCC cars, the third largest fleet in North America (after Toronto (745) and Chicago (683)). It had 68 streetcar routes, of which only three (until Apri ...

who built a single line south along West Liberty Avenue, turning east on a private right of way and then following Brookline Boulevard to Saw Mill Run. This initial line was cut back to Edgebrook Avenue a year later, but in 1909 the track was doubled and a loop put in near the end of Witt Street. In 1915 the line was extended south along West Liberty Avenue to

Dormont Dormont is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 8,593 at the 2010 census. Dormont includes young professionals, working families, and retirees. Dormont is mixed ...

where it linked with the ''42 Dormont'' line. The ''39 Brookline'' service closed in 1966.

Surrounding communities

Brookline has seven borders, including the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Beechview to the northwest, Bon Air to the northeast, Carrick to the east and Overbrook to the southeast. The remaining borders are with Baldwin Township to the south, Mt. Lebanon to the southwest and

to the west.

References

External links

Interactive Pittsburgh Neighborhoods MapBrookline History (SPDC)
{{Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Neighborhoods in Pittsburgh Economy of Pittsburgh