The Mexican War Streets, originally known as the "Buena Vista Tract", is a historic district in the Central Northside neighborhood 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 Pennsylva ...

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, ...

, in the United States. The district is densely filled with restored

row houses In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

, community gardens, and tree-lined streets and alleyways. The area dates to around the time of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

Brief history

In the late 19th century,

Allegheny, Pennsylvania 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 ...

(later annexed by Pittsburgh), became known for its stately homes, occupied by some of the area's wealthy families. One such area became known as the Mexican War Streets. It developed from land owned by William Robinson Jr., ex-mayor of the city of Allegheny, who subdivided the property into streets and lots in 1847. Surveys for the development were made by Alexander Hays. A number of the streets are named after battles and generals of the

, including

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

Street,

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

Street,

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

Street, Resaca Place,

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...

Avenue, and

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

Avenue. Fremont Street (currently Brighton Place) had been named in recognition of John C. Frémont.

Historic District Designation

The district 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 ...

in 1975 with 119 buildings deemed to contribute to the historic character of the district. In 2008, the district's listing was increased to include an additional 288 contributing buildings over a area. As of 2020, the historic district has been expanded. The general boundaries of the Mexican War Streets Historic District are Brighton Road to Federal Street (on the east and west) and North Avenue to Jefferson Street (on the south and north). As part of the designation, all exterior alterations to buildings within the Historic District that are visible from a public street or way must be reviewed and approved by the City of Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission.Mexican War Streets Historic District Design Guidelines for the Issuance of Certificates of Appropriateness.
''Historic Review Commission of Pittsburgh.'' Retrieved 2021-05-28.

Gallery

File:Mexicanst.rows.JPG File:Warstrs.JPG File:Greensrt.JPG File:Rowsgrn.JPG File:Victnrows.JPG File:Buena vista.JPG File:Chruchwarst.JPG File:MattressFactory.jpg, The

Mattress Factory The Mattress Factory is a contemporary art museum located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a pioneer of site-specific installation art and features permanent installations by artists Yayoi Kusama, James Turrell, and Greer Lankton. The museum' ...

art museum at 500 Sampsonia Way File:MattressFactoryAnnexBuilding.jpg, The

's annex gallery building at 1414 Monterey Street (at the corner of Monterey and Jacksonia streets).

References

External links

Mexican War Streets SocietyAllegheny City Central Association
{{Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania City of Pittsburgh historic designations Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks Houses in Pittsburgh Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh