|
The Pittsburgh neighborhood is
located southwest of Downtown Atlanta within Neighborhood Planning Unit-V (NPU-V). The neighborhood is defined at the north
end by Wells Street, to the east by Norfolk Southern Railroad and Pryor Road, University Avenue to the south, and Metropolitan
Parkway to the west. Interstate-20 lies just north of the neighborhood and I-75/85 runs along the eastern edge. The BeltLine
runs parallel to University Avenue just to the south.
Pittsburgh is one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods
and was established by African Americans in 1883 on 554 acres in the aftermath of the Civil War in a segregated city. Atlanta’s
economy during the late 1800s was dependent upon three major rail lines which merged near Five Points. The railroad has always
played a defining role in the development of Pittsburgh. The neighborhood got its name because the land south of Pegran rail
yards was so polluted it was nicknamed “Pittsburgh” after the steel mills in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The neighborhood’s
earliest residents were laborers on the railroads and the conditions provided by steady employment and forced by segregation
encouraged the development of African American-owned businesses along McDaniel Street, Pittsburgh’s “Main Street.”
Serviced by four streetcar lines running along Washington Street, Pryor Street, Stewart Avenue (now Metropolitan
Parkway) and Georgia Avenue (now Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard), Pittsburgh experienced considerable growth during the early
decades of the twentieth century. Neighborhood residential development followed typical African American platting patterns
with single family houses and duplexes on small lots. The neighborhood is laid out in a fairly regular grid pattern.
The Atlanta Theological School (Salvation Army College) was constructed on the western side of the neighborhood along Metropolitan
Parkway and is still a major presence in the community. Crogman Elementary School, named for the first African American President
of Atlanta University, William Henry Crogman, opened in 1923 and was the first elementary school for African American children
in the Atlanta Public School System. Crogman elementary in recent years was rehabilitated into housing units. Gideons Elementary
School, named after Charles L. Gideons, a long-time employee of the Atlanta school system, was constructed in the 1950s. The
elementary school, under the able leadership of Principal Armstead Salters, serves as a strong community asset. The neighborhood
is also serviced by Walter L. Parks Middle School, in the southeast portion of the community and Carver High School just southeast
of Pittsburgh in the South Atlanta neighborhood.
Starting in the 1950s, Pittsburgh began to experience several
decades of decline. Many historically African American neighborhoods began to loose their more affluent black families as
they moved to the west side of the City into former white-owned neighborhoods. Civil Rights, integration, and the departure
of residents had a detrimental effect on black-owned businesses in Pittsburgh decreasing their customer base and eventually
causing them to close. Redlining of the neighborhood by financial institutions crippled home sales, causing wide-spread abandonment
of houses which soon fell into visible disrepair. The 1960s dealt the neighborhood another blow when construction of I-75/I-85
cut off the southeastern tip of Pittsburgh. The primarily industrial area is currently a no-man’s land claimed by both
Pittsburgh and Peoplestown. The construction of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium brought game-day traffic congestion to the neighborhood
which still persists. The Model Cities Program of the 1960s and 1970s started the trend of broken promises to the neighborhood.
In twenty-year’s time, Pittsburgh experienced a fifty percent decline in population from 7,276 in 1970 to 3,624 in 1990.
Historic Resources
Because Pittsburgh is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Atlanta formed after the
Civil War and in times of racial segregation, the community has historic significance. The PCIA in coordination with the Atlanta
Urban Design Commission (AUDC) completed the steps necessary to apply for National Register Historic status. The Pittsburgh
Community received designation in June 2006. Pittsburgh can now decide if it would like to pursue Local Historic District
status.
|
