Black History Month: Diving Into The Hill District's Rich History
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Wander through the Hill District, especially down Wylie Avenue, and you'll notice the bright brushstrokes of murals illustrating historic tales juxtaposed against boarded-up buildings with peeling paint.
Both scenes provide perspective on Black landmarks that have been lost to time and raise questions about what once was, questions local historian Samuel Black has the answers to.
"There's so much history that has taken place here, so much culture that has existed and continues to exist here," said Black, the director of African American Program at the Senator John Heinz History Center.
KDKA-TV spoke with him outside the Former Crawford Grill #2, a once thunderous jazz club that drew international sensations like Miles Davis and put a variety of local talent in the spotlight.
"I argue, for a city of its size, it had the most significant jazz alumni ... everything from ragtime all the way to contemporary jazz," said Black.
But the Hill District has always been much more than just a hub for entertainment.
People of more than 25 different European and Middle Eastern nationalities called this home over the years before it eventually became a predominately Black neighborhood, a reasonably self-sustaining one in the early 20th century, giving residents very little reason to leave the Hill.
"Stores, doctors' offices, pharmacies, jazz clubs, and restaurants," Black said.
But come the 1960s, they left, although not because they wanted to.
More than 8,000 people were pushed out of the Lower Hill for the development of the old Civic Arena, moving them up the Hill and to other neighborhoods like Homewood and East Liberty. It disrupted the lives and shattered livelihoods of Black business owners, many of whom never recovered.
"You have to realize that there was real estate and infrastructural discriminations against African Americans," Black said.
Other institutions and churches like Bethel AME, Pittsburgh's oldest Black church, also experienced loss during this time due to the change of location. All of this, later coupled with the collapse of the steel industry, caused great financial ruin to this once-thriving Black neighborhood.
"It was following that same old pattern, which was, we have this growing Black community, let's just smash half of it and take the rest of it for gold. And that's what happened," said Black.
But today, fences and tarps show signs of growth. One example is New Granada Square along Center Avenue. It's a $2 million mixed-use redevelopment project by the Hill CDC, promoting affordable homeownership and offering artist apartments, cultural and performance space, commercial, retail, restaurant, and office space.
And while the future looks promising for the Hill District, Black charges everyone to keep retelling the story of the Hill's history so the work of those who came before us can never be lost.
"To teach the history makes you understand that you are part of something larger than yourself and that there's a real responsibility that comes with taking care of that," said Black.
