East Allegheny, also known as Deutschtown, is a neighborhood on
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 Pennsylva ...
's
North Side. It has a ZIP Code of 15212, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 1 (North Central Neighborhoods). The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire houses 32 Engine and 32 Truck in Deutschtown.
History
In 1783, the
Commonwealth of 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, Ma ...
established a 3000-acre tract of land north of where the
Allegheny River merged with the
Ohio River.
John Redick created an initial town plan for
Allegheny City
Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...
– which featured 36 city blocks surrounded by a common grazing area – the following year. The common grazing area became a park now known as
Allegheny Commons, and the area just east of the park – which had been set aside for farming in Redick's initial plan – is today's East Allegheny.
This area was developed between 1850 and 1900 by immigrants who were almost exclusively German. As a result, the area was called Dutchtown, a mispronunciation of Deutschtown. Its residents created a business district on East Ohio Street and a residential district running south of it, from Cedar Street (on the western border with Allegheny Commons) to
Troy Hill (on the east). These buildings were very solidly built.
In 1984, this area was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
as the Deutschtown Historic District.
The nominating petition noted that "Dutchtown is distinguished from neighboring North Side neighborhoods by its ethnic associations and intense feeling of neighborhood solidarity. It also retains the busiest original commercial district left on the North Side since the development of Allegheny Center in the 1960s." The area is also a City of Pittsburgh Historic District.
Construction of
Interstate 279
Interstate 279 (I-279), locally referred to as Parkway North, is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that lies entirely within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Its southern end is at I-376 at the Fort Pitt Bridge in Pittsburgh, a ...
sliced the neighborhood in half, such that there is now a West Deutschtown (which runs from Allegheny Commons to the Interstate and contains the active business district on East Ohio Street) and an East Deutschtown (which runs from the Interstate to Troy Hill). Both sections of the neighborhood suffered as a result of the Interstate's construction: some residents moved, their homes were rented by absentee landlords to low-income tenants, and the area saw a general lack of investment. However, neighborhood activists established the East Allegheny Community Council and gradually restored the neighborhood, especially the western portion.
Geography and transportation
East Allegheny is composed of "East Deutschtown," an area that is bounded by East Street, East Ohio Street, Goehring Street and Vinial Streets, and "West Deutschtown," which extends from Cedar Avenue to East Street and from the Norfolk Southern Mainline to Dunloe Street.
Surrounding neighborhoods include
Allegheny Center
Allegheny Center is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh's North Side. Its zip code is 15212, and it has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by both council members for District 6 (Downtown, North Shore) and District 1 (Northside).
History
In ...
,
Fineview,
Troy Hill,
Spring Hill, and
Spring Garden.
City buses that connect East Allegheny and
downtown include the 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, and the 54a and 54b, which also connects East Allegheny with
Oakland, the city's academic center.
City Steps
The East Allegheny neighborhood has four distinct flights of city steps - all of which are open and in a safe condition. In East Allegheny, the
Steps of Pittsburgh
The Steps of Pittsburgh refers to the collection of nearly 800 sets of city-owned steps in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Many steps parallel existing roads, but others exist on their own and are classified as city s ...
quickly connect pedestrians to public transportation and provide an easy way to travel through this densely populated area.
Organization
The neighborhood citizens group is the East Allegheny Community Council. The organization offers a self-guided walking tour for the neighborhood (available from its website).
Gallery
File:PittsburghsGrandHallatthePriory.jpg, Pittsburgh's Grand Hall at the Priory (formerly St. Mary's German Catholic Church), built in 1854, located at the corner of Pressley, Nash and Lockhart Streets.
File:TeutoniaMaennerchorHall.jpg, Teutonia Männerchor Hall, built in 1888 by George Ott
George Ott (born 22 October 2001) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays for NPL Victoria club Melbourne Knights as a striker.
Club career
He made his professional debut on 5 January 2022 in a FFA Cup match against A-League Men sid ...
, located at 857 Phineas Street.
File:The Priory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania LCCN2011633259.tif, St. Mary's Priory, built in 1888, located at 614 Pressley Street.
File:LatimerSchool.jpg, Latimer School
The Latimer School (also known as "The School House Apartments") is located in the East Allegheny neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The school building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
History and archite ...
, built in 1898 by Frederick C. Sauer, located at Tripoli and James Streets.
File:Workingman'sSavingsBank&TrustCo.jpg, Former Workingman's Savings Bank & Trust Co. Building (also the former ARC House
ARC may refer to:
Business
* Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s
* Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services
* ...
Building), built in 1901, located at 800 East Ohio Street.
File:SchillerElementarySchool.jpg, Schiller School, built in 1939, located at 1018 Peralta Street.
File:Streetside in the Deutschtown Historic District.jpg, Buildings along Cedar Avenue north of its intersection with Ohio Street.
File:East Allegheny Chestnut st.jpg, A view down Chestnut St. in East Deutschtown.
File:Middle Street city steps East Allegheny Pittsburgh.jpg, The Middle Street city steps in East Allegheny. Photo by Laura Zurowski.
Pop Culture
In the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
,
Jennifer Jareau
Jennifer "JJ" Jareau is a fictional character from the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'', portrayed by A. J. Cook.
Character background
Jareau was born November 22, 1981. During various episodes, Jareau has described growing up in East Alle ...
was born and raised in East Allegheny.
See also
*
List of Pittsburgh neighborhoods
This is a list of 90 neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Generally neighborhood development followed ward boundaries, although the City Planning Commission has defined some neighborhood areas. The map of neighbor ...
*
Deutschtown Music Festival
References
Further reading
*
External links
Deutschtown (Pittsburgh)East Allegheny Community CouncilDeutschtown picturesNorth City News
{{Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
German-American culture in Pittsburgh
Neighborhoods in Pittsburgh
City of Pittsburgh historic designations
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh