Penn Avenue is a major arterial street in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and

Wilkinsburg Wilkinsburg is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The borough has a population of 15,930 as of the 2010 census. Wilkinsburg is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The borough was named for John Wilkins Jr., a United States Army ...

, in

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, ...

. Its western terminus lies at Gateway Center in

downtown Pittsburgh Downtown Pittsburgh, colloquially referred to as the Golden Triangle, and officially the Central Business District, is the urban downtown center of Pittsburgh. It is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River whose ...

. For its westernmost ten blocks it serves as the core of the Cultural District with such attractions as

Heinz Hall Heinz Hall is a performing arts center and concert hall located at 600 Penn Avenue in the Cultural District, Pittsburgh, Cultural District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Home to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) and the Pittsburgh Youth Sym ...

, the

Benedum Center The Benedum Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Stanley Theatre) is a theater and concert hall located at 237 7th Street in the Cultural District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm Hoffman-He ...

and the

Byham Theater The Byham Theater is a landmark building at 101 Sixth Street in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally built in 1903 as The Gayety Theater, the former vaudeville house was renovated and reopened as ...

as well as the

David L. Lawrence Convention Center The David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLLCC) is a convention, conference and exhibition building in downtown Pittsburgh in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is served by two exits on Interstate 579. The initial David L. Lawrence ...

and the

Heinz History Center The Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is the largest history museum in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. Named after U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III (1938–1991) from Pennsy ...

bordering it. Exiting downtown it is the major route through the city's Strip District, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield,

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human ...

and East Liberty neighborhoods. Its eastern portion exits the city at

where it continues to exist as Penn Avenue with a numbering system that begins anew using small numbers as it approaches

Interstate 376 Interstate 376 (I-376) is a major auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System in the US state of Pennsylvania, located within the Allegheny Plateau. It runs from I-80 near Sharon south and east to a junction with the Pennsylvania Tur ...

the "Parkway East". Penn Avenue is about long. From downtown, Penn Avenue travels in the same general direction as the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

, thus it passes close by a number of the bridges of the city that cross that river. In the downtown area, Penn Avenue is the main bisecting street of the Three Sister Bridges that form the

Roberto Clemente Bridge The Roberto Clemente Bridge, also known as the Sixth Street Bridge, spans the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. History First bridge The original bridge at the site was a wooden covered bridge with six spans, ...

Andy Warhol Bridge Andy Warhol Bridge, also known as the Seventh Street Bridge, spans the Allegheny River in Downtown Pittsburgh. It is the only bridge in the United States named for a visual artist. It was opened at a cost of $1.5 million on June 17, 1926, in a ...

and

Rachel Carson Bridge __NOTOC__ Rachel Carson Bridge, also known as the Ninth Street Bridge, spans the Allegheny River in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States. The total length is including the main span and two side spans, or including the appr ...

. It passes the 16th Street Bridge, and goes straight through the Strip District.

History

Before being named Penn Avenue it was known as the Great Road, being perhaps the only road leading from east of the Allegheny Mountains to the headwaters of the Ohio River. It may have been known as the Great Road when

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

traveled it, in 1753. In the 18th century, settlers entered the area from the eastern part of

via a road which came to be called the Greensburg Pike early in the 19th century. The road passed through a tiny settlement which grew to become Greensburg, Pa. In Pittsburgh, Greensburg Pike became Penn Avenue, therefore, Penn Avenue is the oldest and most historically significant street in Pittsburgh.

Bike infrastructure

In early 2014, the City of Pittsburgh announced the installation of the first set of protected bike lanes in the area. After deliberation, it was decided that Penn Avenue would be the candidate for the lanes. The eastbound lane of Penn Avenue was removed from the David McCullough Bridge to 6th Street in Downtown to provide protected bike lanes. The lanes have provided bikers with a safe and effective way of leaving Downtown.

References

{{Pittsburgh Streets in Pittsburgh