The fact that Pittsburgh has 90 neighborhoods has become nearly as much of a truism as our bridge boasts and sports victories. Some could argue that’s generous — why are Squirrel Hill and Lawrenceville divided up into pieces, for example? But distinct neighborhood identities play a huge role in Pittsburghers’ self-perception, and how we participate in our community.
You could also argue 90 neighborhoods is a significant underestimate. That’s because nestled among our 90 official neighborhoods are numerous sub-neighborhoods with their own histories, cultures, and institutions.
A few are well-known. Some have been quietly doing their thing for a century or more. All have distinct identities tied to who lives there and how they came to be built. They’re also all a testament to our Appalachian-ness — isolated by steep hills, these neighborhoods-in-neighborhoods formed their own distinct vibes over two centuries of Pittsburgh growth and contraction.
Duck Hollow (Squirrel Hill)
Duck Hollow is a quintessential Pittsburgh sub-neighborhood. Nominally a part of Squirrel Hill, it surfaces periodically in news coverage as a local curiosity. Duck Hollow sits at the foot of what was once an active slag heap. Settled by steelworkers 140 years ago due to its convenient proximity to the mills, the tiny neighborhood now anchors a rejuvenated watershed and the southern tip of Frick Park.
It’s easy to forget you’re in the heart of a densely populated area in Duck Hollow. Though the Summerset development has brought dense housing closer than ever, the former slag heaps that hug the neighborhood on all sides have become forested hillsides. Duck Hollow feels like a place out of time, even following the reconstruction of its small bridge a few years ago to make access easier for locals and emergency vehicles.
Holmes Estates (Upper Lawrenceville)
Lawrenceville Shopping Center sits at the center of what was once Pittsburgh philanthropist Jane Holmes’ estate. Abutted by property owned by the Irwin family, the Holmes estate likely looked much as it does now: steep and wooded. The Ireland-born Holmeses once had a small house on the site, but Jane converted it to house terminally ill patients in 1833. Before her death in 1885, she expanded this into a large brick building, the Protestant Home for Incurables.
As Upper Lawrenceville expanded, parts of the Holmes and Irwin estates were subdivided to make way for steelworker housing. Given the sloping land, there was only room halfway up the hill for a single block, leading to what is now a tight cluster of brick rowhomes that looks as if it was dropped in the middle of a forest. The strange little extension of Duncan and Wickliff streets is connected by several sets of city steps and testifies to the creative development schemes Pittsburgh used to house its burgeoning population at the turn of the 20th century.
Hunky Hollow (South Side Slopes)
Anchored by the Kollar Club, the easternmost edge of the South Side Slopes is home to a tight-knit community of Slovak immigrants who took the slur “hunky” — often deployed against Eastern European immigrants in the early 20th century — and reappropriated it for their neighborhood. Bounded by Jane and Handler St., this wedge-shaped neighborhood remains home to descendants of its original Carpathian inhabitants. Like other neighborhoods on this list, Hunky Hollow’s once industrial surroundings have become lush and overgrown, giving the neighborhood a green buffer from the rest of the South Side.
Panther Hollow (South Oakland)
Though the neighborhood technically occupies a valley known as Junction Hollow, Panther Hollow is a beautiful illustration of the way Pittsburgh’s cityscape reflects our vibrant past. This dense strip of homes between Joncaire and Boundary streets was settled by Italian immigrants from the villages of Pizzoferrato and Gamberale (4,627 and 4,629 miles east of Pittsburgh, per a signpost in the neighborhood).
The pride of that original community is evident today in the tricolored monuments to Panther Hollow’s Italian history. However, times change, and this sub-neighborhood now bears the hallmarks of Oakland’s student life, and is a frequent pass-through for cyclists using the Panther Hollow Trail. The Oakland DIY skatepark has also become a mecca for local street skaters.
Park Place (Regent Square)
In a previous media role, I once got an email from someone who pointed out that there is technically a sign-designated neighborhood called Park Place occupying a small section of Pittsburgh near Fern Hollow Bridge. Sure enough, there is a small sign welcoming visitors to Park Place posted at Braddock Ave. and Forbes Ave., and the neighborhood has its own neighborhood association and active Facebook group. Park Place truly lives up to its name — visible from and connected to some of Frick Park’s most popular trails, the neighborhood’s beautiful homes blend with the park’s edge in one of the city’s most scenic corners.
The Run (Greenfield)
Four Mile Run, aka Ruska Dolina, aka simply “The Run” is Pittsburgh’s quintessential sub-neighborhood. Home to the golden-domed St. John Chrysostom church, which Andy Warhol’s family attended, and several Pittsburgh institutions including the inimitable Big Jim’s bar, the neighborhood provided a soft landing for Pittsburgh’s Rusyn community, a group of Slavic people from the Carpathian mountains.
The Run is named for the waterway that now flows beneath its streets. That buried creek now poses an ongoing flood risk the city is working to solve, though the Four Mile Run Stormwater Project is still in the design phases. In this way, The Run is an apt demonstration both of Pittsburgh’s history and Pittsburgh’s future, and the challenges a changing climate poses for a landslide-prone city interlaced with temperamental waterways.
Schenley Farms (North Oakland)
While every other neighborhood on this list was built for the working class, Schenley Farms was built for management. The neighborhood, wedged between the ever-expanding Pitt campus and the Upper Hill, was once a cow pasture owned by Mary Schenley that was turned into a model community designed by F.F. Nicola in the early 1900s. Like other projects built during City Beautiful Movement, Schenley Farms is indeed beautiful, with three-story brick homes and lush vegetation along its gently sloping streets.
Woods Run (Marshall-Shadeland/Brighton Heights)
Also named for a buried waterway, Woods Run has a character quite distinct from the Marshall-Shadeland and Brighton Heights neighborhoods on either side. Its lively commercial district contains Pittsburgh’s first state-run liquor store (there’s a small plaque inside) and a charming Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh branch. Multiple streets in Woods Run lead directly into the adjacent Riverview Park.
Woods Run feels somehow both urban and rural; very Pennsylvanian all around. It’s also home to a bizarre artwork, the Elusive Chicken Tender Man, whose dress changes seasonally. It’s details like these that make Pittsburgh Pittsburgh — and make our sub-neighborhoods such a delightful quirk in this city of surprises.
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2024.
