The Fourth Avenue Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

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, ...

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 territorie ...

. The district was the center of finance and banks for the city during the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century. Many ornate structures still exist from that era, including the location of the

Pittsburgh Stock Exchange The Pittsburgh Stock Exchange was a large regional stock market located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from November 11, 1864 (originally as Thurston's Oil Exchange) until closing on August 23, 1974. It was alternatively named the Pittsburgh Coal ...

on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Smithfield Street from 1864 to 1903, the now vacant lot of its location at 229 Fourth Avenue from 1903 to 1962 and the still standing structure of the Exchange from 1962 until it closed in 1974. It is roughly bounded by Smithfield Street, Third Avenue, Market Square Place, and Fifth Avenue. The period of significance for the District is from 1871 (when the initial phase of the Dollar Bank building construction was finished) to 1934 (50 years before preparation of the nomination to the NRHP). Some of its structures are: * Burke Building, 211 4th Ave. (1836) *

Dollar Bank Dollar Bank is a full-service regional savings bank serving both individuals and business customers, operating more than 70 offices throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia. The bank's Pennsylvania headquarters is located in downtown Pittsbu ...

, 340 4th Ave. (1871) *

, 333 4th Ave. * Arrott Building, 401 4th Ave. (1902) * Benedum-Trees Building, 223 4th Ave. (1905) *

The Carlyle The Carlyle is a tall skyscraper in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, located at 100 Third Avenue South. Completed in 2007, The Carlyle has 41 floors and 249 units. It is the 12th-tallest building in Minneapolis, and the 2nd tallest residential ...

, 306 4th Ave. (1906) *

Skinny Building The Hendel Building, more commonly known as the Skinny Building, is a commercial building in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At only wide, it is one of the narrowest commercial buildings in the world, rivaling the Sam Kee Building in Vancouve ...

, 241 Forbes Ave. (1926) * Investment Building, 239 4th Ave. (1927) 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 v ...

on September 5, 1985. A boundary increase was added on March 20, 2013.

References

External links

Historic District RequestCity's Fourth Avenue TourNews article
{{National Register of Historic Places Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Historic districts in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh