Pittsburgh is a neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, founded in 1883 as a black working-class suburb alongside the Pegram rail shops. It was named Pittsburgh because the industrial area reminded one of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and its famous steel mills. Pittsburgh is relatively poor and underdeveloped, but as property values rise in Intown Atlanta

Intown Atlanta

Intown Atlanta is a term very frequently used in metro Atlanta to designate an area containing parts of the City of Atlanta and bordering communities...

 neighborhoods, many see hope that this trend will spread to Pittsburgh and bring renewal.

Location

Pittsburgh is bounded on the northern tip by I-20 across which is the tip of Castleberry Hill

Castleberry Hill

Castleberry Hill is a neighborhood in central Atlanta, Georgia located adjacent to and southwest of the Central Business District. It is a federally recognized historic district since 1985 and became a City of Atlanta Landmark District in 2006...

, on the northeast by a Norfolk Southern rail line across which is Mechanicsville

Mechanicsville (Atlanta)

Mechanicsville is a neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. It sits in the shadow of both downtown Atlanta and Turner Field. The neighborhood is bounded by:* I-20 on the north, across which is Castleberry Hill and Downtown Atlanta...

, on the west by Metropolitan Parkway and Adair Park

Adair Park

This article includes information collected from the National Park Service website, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.Adair Park is a residential neighborhood located southwest of downtown Atlanta...

, and on the south by the BeltLine

Beltline

The Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown , and is sometimes considered part of downtown...

 across which is the Capital View Manor neighborhood.

History

The area of land known as Pittsburgh was on the southern outskirts of Atlanta in the early 1880s when houses began to be built there. Owned by white real-estate investor H.L. Wilson, it had many similarities to neighboring Mechanicsville, which also grew up around the Pegram railroad repair shops, but there were substantial differences. In contrast to Pittsburgh, Mechanicsville was racially mixed and included some well-to-do areas.

A poor, black community, Pittsburgh was served by four streetcar lines: Washington Street, Pryor Street, Stewart Avenue (now Metropolitan Parkway) and Georgia Avenue (now Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard). In spite of its poverty, early Pittsburgh boasted some well-educated and self-sufficient residents. Until the 1930s, Pittsburgh housed Clark College

Clark Atlanta University

Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University...

; it also held two theological seminaries. Black-owned businesses sprung up on McDaniel Street.

Starting in the 1960s it became possible for better-off blacks to move into previously all-white areas, and many did, even as "white flight

White flight

White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...

" started to the suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

s. This led to the depreciation of home values in Pittsburgh and eventually to abandoned houses. Pittsburgh's population fell by fifty percent from 7,276 in 1970 to 3,624 in 1990.

Pittsburgh today

In the first years of the 21st century, middle and upper income people started moving into many parts of intown Atlanta again. This brought hope to many in Pittsburgh, at least up until the real estate crash in 2008-9, that their neighborhood would eventually gentrify as had been the case with, for example, Cabbagetown. A great deal of visible change has not yet come, however there are some positive signs pointing to the future. The Pittsburgh Civic League Apartments, a low-income housing project was torn down and replaced with a large apartment complex. The BeltLine

Beltline

The Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown , and is sometimes considered part of downtown...

 forms the southern boundary of Pittsburgh, which will add park space, a bicycle path, and plans include light rail with a stop at the corner of University and Metropolitan Avenues. This in turn gives the opportunity for new development.

Commercial districts

Pittsburgh's western border is Metropolitan Parkway, an important commercial thoroughfare. McDaniel Street also houses some local businesses.

Education

The community is zoned to Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Public Schools is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. APS is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with interim superintendent Erroll Davis...

. A Salvation Army

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

Center for Officer Training is located in Pittsburgh.

Parks

Pittman Park is located in Pittsburgh.