Crawford Square - Brief History

Brief History

The location which is now "Crawford Square" was an elevated slope about one mile (1.6 km) east of the original city of Pittsburgh. In 1800, only 1565 people lived in Pittsburgh. Separate annexations occurred in 1837, 1847, 1868, 1874, and 1906. In 1900, 321,616 residents were counted, including a group of Jews who had constructed the first synagogue (now demolished and replaced) near Elm Street. At that time, a local term for the large general area was "Jews Hill." Despite that name, other sorts of people lived there, including Italians, African Americans, Russians, and more.

The number of Jews who had established businesses within the large general area that was at one time called "Jews Hill" by other residents of the city of Pittsburgh has declined by at least 90 percent, but a paltry number of Jews still exists there. The place that is now called "Crawford Square" is centrally located within the large general area formerly called "Jews Hill" by earlier residents of the city of Pittsburgh. Today there is very little physical evidence of the former Jewish presence in the neighborhood as Jewish businesses and synagogues have been replaced over time.

By the early 20th century the Hill District's Jewish presence became less prominent as the neighborhood became a hub for African-American culture. More than 24,000 "negro" immigrants arrived from 1850 to 1900 and concentrated in the Hill District. By the 1920s and 30s it was known for its eclectic jazz clubs and speakeasies.

Although the Hill District was known for its rich culture and diversity of residents (Jews and other ethnic groups remained a fixture of the neighborhood), Pittsburgh authorities began to see its density, proximity to downtown, and high proportion of African Americans as reason to target the district for "Slum Clearance." As early as 1914, the Hill District's African –American and immigrant groups were being condemned for their "moral vice." The verbal and written condemnation of such African-American-dominated neighborhoods was a common occurrence as a post-industrial response to changing demographics and deteriorating urban environments in North American cities. This type of rhetoric was used to strategically discriminate against neighborhoods like the Hill District. According to reports on the Hill District, African-American girls and women from the South populated the worst of the Pittsburgh brothels—the "alley houses of the Hill District.". Later, increasing attention was given to housing conditions in the area. In 1946, the fledgling Pittsburgh Housing Authority published a report on "Negro housing needs," condemning the propensity of African American communities for overcrowding and calling for further assistance to this underserved population. Although the report claims "Large scale demolition was largely finished in Pittsburgh by 1940,"the Hill District was to see an ambitious clearance project that would displace 8000 Hill District residents between 1956 and 1960.

100 acres, 1300 buildings, and 413 businesses were wiped away by demolition in the "revitalization" project for the Hill. Rather than bringing housing projects to the area to replace those that were demolished, the clearings made way for commercial and cultural projects. The first and only of these was the city's Civic Arena, which opened in 1961 to house the Civic Light Opera. Community opposition, financial constraints, and local leaders’ decisions led to a halt in development of the cleared land. In 1968, race riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. caused further disinvestment in the Hill District. The cleared land languished for decades and became what could be described as an urban wasteland— the vacant lots became overgrown with only a few scattered structures remaining. Meanwhile, the Hill District steadily deteriorated and lost population. In the late 1980s progress in reconstructing the area was finally made. Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) acquired the derelict land and, with the participation of the Hill Community Development Corporation—the Hill District's newly formed community group—succeeded in initiating the development process for the area.

The new project, "Crawford Square," was constructed in three phases: Phase I in 1993, Phase II in 1995, and Phase III in 2000. It received funding from federal, state and local sources including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHCA), local banks and foundations, and the URA itself. The URA first called upon the mixed income real-estate developer McCormack Baron Salazar to lead development. McCormack Baron then contracted Urban Design Associates—an urban design/architectural firm based in Pittsburgh—who provided the project's architectural vision and master plan. The Urban Design Associates utilized many public focus group meetings with residents, community leaders, and stake holders to help formulate the Crawford Square design. Finally, the URA also enlisted other architectural firms who designed additional buildings for the final phases of the project.