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Hill District
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. Despite its cultural and economic vibrancy, in the mid-1950s a substantial area was slated for redevelopment, displacing about 8,000 individuals.
The Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as of 2010 the area comprises Census Tracts 305 (Crawford Roberts, "Lower Hill"), 501 (Crawford-Roberts, "Middle Hill"), 506 (Upper Hill), 509 (Bedford Dwellings), 510 and 511 (Terrace Village). It is bordered by the Downtown on the west, the Strip District next to the Allegheny River and Polish Hill to the north, the Bluff (Uptown) on the southwest, and Oakland on the east and southeast.
The census tract/neighborhoods noted in the Hill District are represented on the Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 6 (Downtown neighborhoods). Part of the Upper Hill is also represented under District 7. The 15219 ZIP code covers all five neighborhoods, and the 15213 ZIP code covers part of Terrace Village and the Upper Hill.
Following the rebellion by slaves and gaining of independence of Haiti in 1804, the free African-American community of the Hill District, Pittsburgh's oldest black community, was called "Little Haiti." The early residents of the Hill District were middle-class free blacks. In 2004 the Pittsburgh City Council announced commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Haiti's independence.
Beginning in the 1910s, the Hill attracted migrants from elsewhere in the United States (particularly from the rural American South in the Great Migration) and from abroad, including many Italians and Eastern European Jews. The neighborhood's black population grew rapidly from around 10,000 in 1890 to over 37,000 by 1920. The influx of so many new residents resulted in a housing shortage which was exacerbated by the rigid system of segregation that limited potential dwellings for blacks almost entirely to the Hill District. The experience of young, single black men underscored the severity of the housing crisis. By virtue of housing segregation and their marital status, these men crammed into the limited number of units available in the district. The result was an epidemic of cramped boarding houses where workers slept in shifts, as one 1969 study showed when it stated:
Men who work at night sleep during the day in the beds vacated by day workers. There is no space in these rooms, except for beds and as many of them are crowded in as can possibly be accommodated.
The Hill developed a vibrant entertainment district that turned the area into a cultural hub for music, especially the jazz genre. Black entrepreneurs established and ran a large roster of nightspots that included nightclubs, bars, and gambling dens, all of which required a constant influx of musical acts to keep guests entertained.This concentration of entertainment spots along Wylie Avenue, Fullerton Street, and Center Avenue provided ready venues for both famous national acts and upstart local artists to perform. A short list of the more well-known spots consisted of the following institutions:
The establishment of such robust entertainment infrastructure allowed for the proliferation of musical entertainment in the neighborhood, especially when it came to jazz. Nationally known artists such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington made the Hill District a regular stop on national tours. In fact it was after a performance at the Lincoln Tavern that the nationally syndicated black-run newspaper The Pittsburgh Courier crowned Ellington "the King of Jazz."
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Hill District
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. Despite its cultural and economic vibrancy, in the mid-1950s a substantial area was slated for redevelopment, displacing about 8,000 individuals.
The Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as of 2010 the area comprises Census Tracts 305 (Crawford Roberts, "Lower Hill"), 501 (Crawford-Roberts, "Middle Hill"), 506 (Upper Hill), 509 (Bedford Dwellings), 510 and 511 (Terrace Village). It is bordered by the Downtown on the west, the Strip District next to the Allegheny River and Polish Hill to the north, the Bluff (Uptown) on the southwest, and Oakland on the east and southeast.
The census tract/neighborhoods noted in the Hill District are represented on the Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 6 (Downtown neighborhoods). Part of the Upper Hill is also represented under District 7. The 15219 ZIP code covers all five neighborhoods, and the 15213 ZIP code covers part of Terrace Village and the Upper Hill.
Following the rebellion by slaves and gaining of independence of Haiti in 1804, the free African-American community of the Hill District, Pittsburgh's oldest black community, was called "Little Haiti." The early residents of the Hill District were middle-class free blacks. In 2004 the Pittsburgh City Council announced commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Haiti's independence.
Beginning in the 1910s, the Hill attracted migrants from elsewhere in the United States (particularly from the rural American South in the Great Migration) and from abroad, including many Italians and Eastern European Jews. The neighborhood's black population grew rapidly from around 10,000 in 1890 to over 37,000 by 1920. The influx of so many new residents resulted in a housing shortage which was exacerbated by the rigid system of segregation that limited potential dwellings for blacks almost entirely to the Hill District. The experience of young, single black men underscored the severity of the housing crisis. By virtue of housing segregation and their marital status, these men crammed into the limited number of units available in the district. The result was an epidemic of cramped boarding houses where workers slept in shifts, as one 1969 study showed when it stated:
Men who work at night sleep during the day in the beds vacated by day workers. There is no space in these rooms, except for beds and as many of them are crowded in as can possibly be accommodated.
The Hill developed a vibrant entertainment district that turned the area into a cultural hub for music, especially the jazz genre. Black entrepreneurs established and ran a large roster of nightspots that included nightclubs, bars, and gambling dens, all of which required a constant influx of musical acts to keep guests entertained.This concentration of entertainment spots along Wylie Avenue, Fullerton Street, and Center Avenue provided ready venues for both famous national acts and upstart local artists to perform. A short list of the more well-known spots consisted of the following institutions:
The establishment of such robust entertainment infrastructure allowed for the proliferation of musical entertainment in the neighborhood, especially when it came to jazz. Nationally known artists such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington made the Hill District a regular stop on national tours. In fact it was after a performance at the Lincoln Tavern that the nationally syndicated black-run newspaper The Pittsburgh Courier crowned Ellington "the King of Jazz."