Search results
The Hill District is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the years leading up to World War I, "the Hill" was the cultural center of black life in the city and a major center of jazz. [1]
But that story doesn't end here. Looking to the resurgence of East Liberty, Lawrenceville and other neighborhoods we've covered in this series, the Hill District is primed and ready for a comeback. Join us as we discuss a brief history of the Hill, a look to the future and some amazing places already starting change in this neighborhood.
Oct 24, 2023 · For the Black community in Pittsburgh, the Hill District is a living, breathing testament to the power of resilience and activism in the fight for change. In the upcoming years, the revitalized neighborhoods will allow the Black community to unite and feel strength in their shared history.
*This date in 1758 celebrates the “Hill District,” a historically African American neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. Locally, following the rebellion by slaves and gaining independence of Haiti in 1804, the free black community of the Hill District was called "Little Haiti."
The Hill District's history mirrors that of the City of Pittsburgh. As the city grew and became more established as an industrial core, newly settled Eastern European immigrants flocked to the hillside area overlooking the Golden Triangle, and emerging white-collar workers and commerce merchants moved out to areas such as Oakland and Shadyside.
Dubbed “the crossroads of the world” by Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay during its heyday in the 1930s through 1950s, the Hill District boasts a strong African-American cultural heritage.
Feb 24, 2017 · The Hill District in Pittsburgh is the setting for the play and movie "Fences." Preservation wins have been hard fought in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Hill District. Over 1,300 buildings were razed in the 1950s and '60s in the name of urban renewal.
