Lower Hill Redevelopment Area Property Inventories

Collection

Identifier: RG-11-002

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Lower Hill Redevelopment Area Property Inventories contain photographs, building and lot descriptions, property ownership information, and real estate valuations of parcels located in the Lower Hill District Redevelopment Area from c. 1953 to 1961. The redevelopment area was bounded by Bigelow Blvd, Manilla St, Bedford Ave, Crawford St, Pride St, Fifth Ave, Sixth Ave, Wylie Ave, and Tunnel St and included thousands of buildings on 95 acres of land.

The URA conducted the surveys in order to execute the real estate transfers necessary for the redevelopment plan of the Lower Hill, which included the construction of the Civic Arena.

The records include notes on each building’s condition, date of construction, dimensions and occupancy. In addition to property surveys, the records also include photographs, deeds and correspondence between the URA and property owners. Taken together, the wealth of documentation in the collection provides a unique window into life and commerce in the Lower Hill District just prior to extensive mid-century redevelopment activity.

Dates

Creation: c. 1953-1961

Biographical / Historical

The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) is the City of Pittsburgh's economic development agency.

Incorporated in 1946, the URA was one of the first redevelopment authorities created under the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law of 1945 (Act of May 24, 1945, P.L. 991, No. 385). The law enabled public authorities to facilitate the use of public and private investment for the improvement of blighted land. In order for a redevelopment project to begin, the Pittsburgh Planning Commission had to declare the area blighted and redevelopment plans and contracts had to be reviewed by the Commission and approved by City Council.

The URA Board is comprised of five citizens appointed by the Mayor of Pittsburgh. The first URA Board consisted of Mayor David L. Lawrence, Chairman; Arthur B. Van Buskirk, Vice Chairman; City Councilman William Alvah Stewart, Treasurer; department store magnate Edgar J. Kaufmann; and John Lester Perry, then the retiring head of Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation. The early planning and acquisition efforts of the URA set in motion a course of redevelopment projects that became known as “Renaissance I,” which included projects such as Gateway Center (the first privately financed downtown redevelopment project in the United States); the expansion of Jones and Laughlin’s South Side Works; the clearing and redevelopment of 95 acres in the Lower Hill District and 254 acres in East Liberty.

Today, the URA’s programs primarily focus on affordable housing, small business development, inclusive growth and job creation, neighborhood revitalization, and workforce development.