Beechview Neighborhood

Beechview was its own borough until annexed by the city in 1909. It was a small community, mostly farms or other rural estates, until the Liberty Tubes opened in 1924 when it quickly transformed into one of the first bedroom communities in the region. The main street (Broadway Avenue) follows the crest of the main ridge while the rest of the neighborhood attempts to drape an urban grid over the steep, undulating terrain. Most of the housing south of Crane Avenue was built in the 1920s and 1930s and features a blend of small to moderate detached single-family homes, rowhouses, duplexes, and small apartment buildings. Several lots remained undeveloped until after WWII, but were quickly filled in at that time with the traditional detached post-war suburban house with integral garage. North of Crane Avenue remained largely rural until after WWII and features uniform blocks of post-war suburban housing, mostly single-family, but with an intentional, uniform pocket of duplexes separate from the single-family homes.

While the neighborhood has experienced population changes since then, population loss and demographic shifts, it’s housing stock has remained relatively stable. Urban renewal did not turn its sights onto Beechview and other demolition initiatives throughout the city also primarily passed by Beechview. Perhaps that is why only one and a half sites for the 9 congregations listed in the 1926 directory have since been demolished. Two have been converted to secular uses and the rest remain active as religious centers.

Neighborhood Statistics (Out of 70 in this Series)

• 5th largest by acreage
• 19th highest number of religious sites (multi-way tie)
• 52nd most sites/acre

Locations

The map below shows the locations of the 9 congregations listed in the 1926 directory for Beechview (the dotted line marks the neighborhood boundary).

What are they now?

The table below matches the 9 congregations listed in the 1926 directory with the current use of the site.

1926 Congregation Name	By 2026 the Congregation’s Building is:
Beechview Christian Church	converted to secular use, healthcare
Beechview Methodist Episcopal Church	changed to a different religious institution
Beechview Presbyterian Church	partially demolished and replaced with a fire station
Beechview United Presbyterian Church	still Beechview United Presbyterian Church
Holy Trinity Lutheran Evangelical Church	still Trinity Lutheran Evangelical Church
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints	changed to a different religious institution
St. Catherine Catholic Church	new St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church
Third Christian Science Church	demolished, now a side yard
West Liberty Union Mission	converted to residential use

Photos

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For more on this series, visit our introductory post.

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Sources:

Polk’s Pittsburgh City Directory, 1926. Pittsburgh: R. L. Polk & Co. https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3A31735056286846/viewer#page/4/mode/1up