Squirrel Hill North Neighborhood
Squirrel Hill North is a large, primarily residential neighborhood, though two of the city’s numerous university sit within its boundaries. In 1974, the Department of City Planning distinguished Squirrel Hill north of Forbes Avenue as a residential neighborhood with “a preponderance of single family owner occupied dwellings” compared to Squirrel Hill south of Forbes Avenue, which was “more apartment oriented.” Architectural Historian Frank Toker describes the Squirrel Hill neighborhoods collectively as a deceptively “stereotypical bedroom community” (297) that has been home to many famous businessmen, artists, scientists, and writers. He concurs that Forbes Avenue is the dividing line between the wealthy northern half of the neighborhood and the middle- and working-class southern half.
Like many wealthy neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North was not touched by “urban renewal” according to the 1970 status report or other reinvestment or disinvestment efforts that have significantly altered less wealthy neighborhoods. For a neighborhood that has seen minimal change to its built environment over the last 100 years, a high proportion of that change has happened to its religious sites. Only one of the three religious sites from 1926 remains an active religious site. The other two were demolished and replaced with other community-serving uses.
Neighborhood Statistics (Out of 70 in this Series)
- 7th largest by acreage
- 45th highest number of religious sites (multi-way tie)
- 66th most sites/acre
Locations
The map below shows the locations of the 3 congregations listed in the 1926 directory for Squirrel Hill North (the dotted line marks the neighborhood boundary).
What are they now?
The table below matches the 3 congregations listed in the 1926 directory with the current use of the site.
| 1926 Congregation Name | By 2026 the Congregation’s Building is: |
| Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church | replaced with a library and parking garage |
| Sixth Presbyterian Church | still Sixth Presbyterian Church |
| Third United Presbyterian Church | replaced with a parking lot for a nonprofit |
Photos
For more on this series, visit our introductory post.
Sources:
Pittsburgh Department of City Planning. A Community Profile of Squirrel Hill North of Forbes. Pittsburgh, 1974. https://historicpittsburgh.org/islandora/object/pitt%3A31735070066422#page/1/mode/1up
Pittsburgh Department of City Planning. A Development and Renewal Program for Pittsburgh, Summary Documentation, Pittsburgh Community Renewal Program. Pittsburgh, 1970. https://pittsburgharchives.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_d1f07da0-9303-4aee-a162-04c83a0eaaa0/
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
Toker, Frank. Pittsburgh: A New Portrait. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009.