Troy Hill 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, ...
on
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 ...
,
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, ...
's
North Side. It has a zip code of 15212, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 1.
Troy Hill sits on a plateau above 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 ...
. It is approximately long from Vinial Street to the end of Lowrie Street and only wide from Wicklines Lane to
Herrs Island.
History
Troy Hill was originally part of the Reserve Tract laid out by surveyor and
Pennsylvania Vice-President David Redick in 1788. Incorporated in 1833 as the village of New Troy, it was settled by German immigrants who worked in the mills, tanneries, breweries, and railroads that lined the Allegheny River. The migration up to Troy Hill began when a Catholic church opened a small cemetery in 1842. By 1866 one hundred families were officially Troy Hill residents. The adjacent riverfront land along with
Herr's Island would in 1849 be incorporated into the short-lived Duquesne borough (distinct from the
modern borough of the same name), that in 1868 was partitioned, the portion upriver of the northern end of Herr's Island becoming part of the newly-formed borough of
Millvale, while the downriver portion including the island was annexed to the City of
Allegheny as its 8th ward. The upland including the village of Troy Hill was also annexed, forming part of the 7th ward, and following an 1877 redistricting became the city's 13th ward. When Allegheny was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907, most of its 8th and 13th wards became Pittsburgh's 24th ward, roughly corresponding to the modern Troy Hill neighborhood.
Troy Hill is home to six historic landmarks: the Troy Hill Firehouse,
Saint Anthony's Chapel, the Rectory of Most Holy Name of Jesus, the Troy Hill Incline Building, the Allegheny Reservoir Wall, and the Ober-Guehl house.
In the 1830s, Troy Hill's population escalated significantly, resulting in the need of a school. In 1836, a 1-room brick school house was built in "New Troy" and named Mount Troy School #1, because at the time it was located in Reserve Township. It was sold in 1860, which then was replaced by a new, 2 room brick school house. A decade after the civil war, the pupils increased to around 200, so 2 more rooms were added in 1874. Troy Hill was now part of Allegheny's School System, and in 1883 the school was demolished and a new one was built in its place. That building was then also replaced by the Troy Hill School of 1907, but then was shut down in 1960 and demolished. The site of the original school is now a community park.
Troy Hill was the home to Commissioner Thomas J. Foerster who served 10 years in the state house and 28 years as the Commissioner of Allegheny County. He also served on the first county council established in 2000. Another notable resident was Andrew (Huck) Fenrich who served 9 terms in the state house, was executive secretary for the mayor of Pittsburgh, and also served as executive secretary for the Allegheny County Democrats.
Until 1959 the neighborhood was served by the ''4 Troy Hill'' trolley operated 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 April ...
.
Beginning in 2013, Evan Mirapaul, an art collector living in Troy Hill, commissioned two whole-house installations in the neighborhood. Both ''La Hutte Royal'', created by German artist Thorsten Brinkmann, and ''Kunzhaus'', by Polish artist Robert Kusmirowski, are free to tour by appointment.
Other names
While "Troy Hill" generally refers to the historically German neighborhood atop the Troy Hill plateau, the neighborhood's boundaries also encompass the narrow and flat river plain that sits between the plateau and 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 ...
, formerly part of the Borough of Duquesne. , this river plain is dominated by
Pennsylvania Route 28
Pennsylvania Route 28 (PA 28) is a major state highway which runs for from Anderson Street in Pittsburgh to U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in Brockway in Pennsylvania. From Pittsburgh to Kittanning it is a limited access expressway named the ...
, an expressway which begins at East Ohio Street and then follows the river north. But before Route 28 became an expressway, this plain was a Croatian neighborhood that was settled by immigrants from
Jastrebarsko
Jastrebarsko (; hu, Jaska), colloquially known as Jaska, is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia.
History
Antiquity
In 1865, remnants of a Roman settlement were uncovered in Repišće, Klinča Sela, a village in Jastrebarsko metropolitan area ...
, who called the neighborhood "Mala Jaska" and founded
St. Nicholas Parish, and "Bohemian Hill" to the Southwest.
Troy Hill in Hollywood Films
Several Hollywood films have scenes filmed in Troy Hill, including ''
Hoffa'' (1992)'',''
''
Innocent Blood'' (1992),
''
Striking Distance'' (1993),
and ''
Adventureland'' (2009).
Surrounding and adjacent neighborhoods
Troy Hill has five borders including the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of
Spring Garden to the north and northwest,
East Allegheny to the west, and
North Shore to the southwest as well as
Reserve Township to the north-northwest and the borough of
Millvale to the northeast. Troy Hill is also adjacent to the
Strip District across the Allegheny River with a direct link via 31st Street Bridge.
City Steps
The Troy Hill neighborhood has 11 distinct flights of city steps, many of which are open and in a safe condition. In Troy Hill, 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 the East Ohio Street trail.
Gallery
Image:PennBrewery.jpg, Eberhardt and Ober Brewery (now part of the Penn Brewery
Penn Brewery, also known as the Pennsylvania Brewing Company, is a brewery and restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Tom Pastorius in 1986, and is located at 800 Vinial Street in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, on ...
complex), founded in 1848, in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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 ...
. Buildings shown here circa 1880.
Image:GreatStoneWallofAlleghenyReservoir.jpg, Great Stone Wall, Allegheny Reservoir, located by Cowley Spray Park at the Troy Hill Playground, built 1848, the last remnant of the former 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 ...
Reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
.
Image:MostHolyNameofJesusRectory.jpg, Most Holy Name of Jesus Rectory, built around 1875, at 1700 Harpster Street.
Image:SaintAnthony'sChapelPittsburghPA.jpg, Saint Anthony's Chapel, built in 1880, at 1700 Harpster Street. About five thousand relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s are housed in the chapel, making it the largest collection of relics outside the Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
.
Image:Ober-GuehlHouse.jpg, Ober-Guehl House, built around 1877, at 1501 Lowrie Street.
Image:TroyHillInclineStation.jpg, Former Troy Hill Incline Station, built in 1887, at 1733 Lowrie Street.
Image:HeinzCompanyPittsburghPA.jpg, H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...
, in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA, since 1890.
Image:FirstSt.NicholasCroationCatholic.jpg, Saint Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church, built from 1900 to 1904, at 1326 East Ohio Street. The church was established in 1894, and is the site of the first Croatian Catholic Parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
in America
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 territorie ...
. It was demolished in 2013 to make room for the expansion of Route 28
Image:TroyHillFireStationNo.39.jpg, Troy Hill Fire Station#39, built in 1901, at the corner of Ley and Froman Streets. As of 2013, no longer a firehall, but used by the City as home of the Police Bureau's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement division.
Image:HeinzLofts.jpg, Heinz Lofts, built from 1913 to 1927, at 300 Heinz Street.
Image:curtoparkview.jpg, A view of Troy Hill (center) with Spring Hill in the background and The Cork Factory lofts in the Strip District in the foreground.
Image:Purse Way City Steps Troy Hill Pittsburgh.jpg, The Purse Way city steps are one of many public flights that connect pedestrians to Spring Garden.
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 ...
References
External links
Interactive Pittsburgh Neighborhoods MapTroy Hill Citizens, Inc.nextpittsburgh.com - Things to do in Troy Hill
{{Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
1833 establishments in Pennsylvania
Croatian-American culture in Pennsylvania
German-American culture in Pittsburgh
Neighborhoods in Pittsburgh