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Strip District History
The Historic Strip District
Known for its retail food markets, thriving small businesses, lively nightlife, and growing residential population, Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District neighborhood epitomizes the vibrancy and cultural diversity of our region.
What’s In a Name
Out-of-towners might raise their eyebrows when they first hear of “The Strip District” – but Pittsburghers know that name refers to the narrow strip of land along the Allegheny at the base of the Hill District.
The Strip is confined by natural boundaries, including the Allegheny River and the extension of Grant’s Hill, between 11th and 33rd Streets.
In 1814 property owners James O’Hara and George A. Bayard established a plan of lots encompassing the area now between 11th and 15th streets. Although officially named the “Northern Liberties of Pittsburgh,” the area was commonly known as Bayardstown. In 1837, the Northern Liberties joined the city as Pittsburgh’s Fifth Ward, the first addition to the city’s original four wards.
While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact year when the neighborhood officially became the Strip District, the term was widely used by Pittsburghers by the turn of the 20th century.
Early Industrial History
Throughout the 1800s, the Strip’s location and access to transportation made it ideal for industrial development. As early as the 1820s and 1830s, the Strip District was home to iron mills, foundries and glass factories. After the Civil War, industrial development flourished and new construction continued to move east, with factories lining the Allegheny River. The Strip District was the scene for a number of significant industrial “firsts.” Andrew Carnegie got his start in the iron and steel industries with the Upper and Lower Union Mills on Smallman and 33rd streets.
The Pittsburgh Reduction Company, later ALCOA, began commercial production of aluminum in the 3200 block of Smallman Street. George Westinghouse built his first factory to produce air brakes in the 2400 block of Liberty Avenue.
Railroad yards in the Strip District, c1900-c1920. Courtesy of the Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center.
The Strip is Wholesale
During the late 19th century, wholesale produce merchants began locating downtown along Liberty Avenue in the 600 to 900 blocks. Railroad tracks ran down Liberty Avenue. Trains stopped on the street and produce was unloaded directly into the warehouses. When plans were announced that the railroad tracks would be removed from Liberty Avenue downtown (this finally occurred in 1906), produce merchants began to move to the Strip District near the Pennsylvania Railroad yards.
The produce station was located in a small triangular building at 21st Street near Smallman Street. In the early 20th century, this intersection became the hub of the wholesale produce business in Pittsburgh. From the turn of the century through the 1920s, industrial buildings, shops, and homes along Smallman between 16th and 21st streets were demolished for the construction of produce warehouses and offices. Auction houses and large wholesalers lined up along Smallman; smaller dealers set up shops on Penn Avenue in existing retail buildings.
The 1920s were a time of prosperity, and grocery store chains began on a small-scale and helped increase the volume of business in the Strip District. Produce merchants faced difficult times in the 1930s. The Depression and the flood that hit Pittsburgh on St. Patrick’s Day in 1936 caused tremendous losses throughout the business.
The aftermath of the St. Patrick’s Day Flood in 1936. Photo from the terminal on Pike St. and 15th St. on March 18, 1936. Courtesy of the Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center.
16th St. Produce Terminal of the Pennsylvania Railroad Fruit Auction & Sales Building. Taken in 1936. Courtesy of the Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center.
Just as the wholesalers were beginning to pull out of the Depression, World War II brought about short supplies of food, rationing and price freezes.
The post-war years brought two major changes to the produce industry. Trucks began to replace railroads as the preferred method of transportation, and grocery store chains continued to grow, putting small independent stores out of business and cutting out wholesalers by purchasing directly from growers. This put a double squeeze on wholesale merchants who lost both large and small customers.
In the 1950s, there were 71 wholesale produce dealers in the Strip District. By the 1970s, there were about two dozen dealers left in the produce terminal. Remaining dealers began to expand their businesses by opening retail stores on Penn Avenue and Smallman Street.
Men loading ice blocks into railcars of wholesale produce near produce terminal, c1917-c1930. Courtesy of the Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center.
Looking down the 17th Street Incline at Penn Avenue, c. 1940. Courtesy of the Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center.
An International Destination
By the 1990s, dozens of retail shops opened on Penn Avenue and Smallman Street, providing a rich array of produce, ethnic foods, and restaurants.
In 1996, the Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, opened at 1212 Smallman Street, making the Strip District home to the largest history museum in Pennsylvania.
During the past 20 years, the Strip District has experienced a cultural renaissance and transformed itself into both an international tourist destination and a desired residential neighborhood.
The Strip District is home to merchants selling products from locally and around the globe.
Shops such as Wholey’s Fish Market, Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., and the original Primanti Brothers maintain the neighborhood’s historic charm and delight local and out-of-town visitors looking for an authentic taste of Pittsburgh.
By the 1990s, dozens of retail shops opened on Penn Avenue and Smallman Street, providing a rich array of produce, ethnic foods, and restaurants.
In 1996, the Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, opened at 1212 Smallman Street, making the Strip District home to the largest history museum in Pennsylvania.
During the past 20 years, the Strip District has experienced a cultural renaissance and transformed itself into both an international tourist destination and a desired residential neighborhood. The Strip District is home to merchants selling products from locally and around the globe.
Shops such as Wholey’s Fish Market, Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., and the original Primanti Brothers maintain the neighborhood’s historic charm and delight local and out-of-town visitors looking for an authentic taste of Pittsburgh.
Ray Klavon scoops ice cream for an eager customer. After retiring from the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Klavon renovated and reopened the Art Deco Pharmacy his grandparents began in 1920. Photo by Heather Mull. Courtesy of the Detre Library & Archives at the Heinz History Center.
Historical information and images provided by the Heinz History Center. For more information, visit heinzhistorycenter.org.