Oakland (Pittsburgh)

Oakland (Pittsburgh)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Oakland_(Pittsburgh)".

For other places with the same name, see Oakland (disambiguation).

The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning dominates Oakland's skyline

Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". [1] Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland. The neighborhood is urban and diverse and is home to several universities, museums, and hospitals, as well as an abundance of shopping, restaurants, and students. Oakland is home to the Schenley Farms National Historic District [2] which encompasses two city designated historic districts: the mostly residential Schenley Farms Historic District [3] and the predominantly institutional Oakland Civic Center Historic District.[4]

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1 Neighborhoods
2 Oakland facts
3 Oakland attractions
4 Gallery
5 Notes and References
6 External links
7 See also

Neighborhoods

Oakland is officially divided into four neighborhoods: North Oakland, West Oakland, Central Oakland, and South Oakland. Each section has a unique identity, and offers its own flavor of venues and housing.

North Oakland
Looking east over the University of Pittsburgh and Schenley Farms Historic District
Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Population (1990): 10836¹
Population (2000): 9857¹
Area: 0.499 mi² ¹

North Oakland can be loosely defined as the area of Oakland between Neville and Bouquet Streets, encompassing all of Craig Street and running north to Polish Hill. The Cathedral of Learning, the engineering or mid-section of the University of Pittsburgh campus, and the Craig Street business district are in North Oakland.

South Oakland

Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Population (1990): 3368¹
Population (2000): 3007¹
Area: 0.508 mi² ¹

South Oakland runs along the Monongahela River and forms a triangular shape between the Penn-Lincoln Parkway East, the Boulevard of the Allies, and Parkview Avenue. The area between Forbes Avenue and Boulevard of the Allies, often considered part of South Oakland, is officially part of Central Oakland, though it is rarely referred to as such by residents. South Oakland is considered by some to be an example of a student ghetto.

South Oakland was the childhood home of Andy Warhol, and later the residence of fellow pop artist Keith Haring. Haring had his first art show while living in Oakland. NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Marino was also born in Oakland, not far from Warhol's home. Warhol and Marino actually grew up on the same block and their former houses are merely a few doors down from each other.

Central Oakland
Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Population (1990): 5406¹
Population (2000): 5281¹
Area: 0.281 mi² ¹

Central Oakland is bordered by Schenley Park, the Boulevard of the Allies, Fifth Avenue, and Halket Street. This is where the majority of non-dormitory students reside. It is home to many of their favorite eateries, fraternity houses and club houses. Although it is formally designated as a separate section, Central Oakland is commonly grouped together with South Oakland, and the "central" name is rarely used by residents.

West Oakland
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has numerous hospitals adding to Oakland's skyline
Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Population (1990): 1938¹
Population (2000): 2272¹
Area: 0.215 mi² ¹

West Oakland, the smallest of the four districts, is bordered by Fifth Avenue in the south, DeSoto Street in the east, the Birmingham Bridge to the west, and Allequippa Street to the north. Magee Women's Hospital, most of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Carlow University can be found there.

Oakland facts

The neighborhood is the location of the massive Carnegie cultural complex, originally funded by Andrew Carnegie, which includes the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and Carnegie Music Hall.

Oakland is home to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, sponsor of the annual Greek Food Festival, as well as St. Paul Cathedral, mother church of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Oakland was once the home of numerous professional sports teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates. They played at now-defunct venues such as the Duquesne Gardens, Pitt Stadium, and Forbes Field. The Pittsburgh Symphony and many touring plays and musical acts performed at the also now-defunct Syria Mosque.

WQED, Pittsburgh's PBS station and the first community-sponsored television station in the United States, has been located in Oakland since 1954, although it moved from its original building to a new, larger one in 1970. WQED's first building, which had originally been the manse of a neighboring church, is now the Music Building of the University of Pittsburgh's main campus. Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, the nationally syndicated children's show, was taped at WQED's studios in Oakland.

Oakland is less than 3 miles from Downtown Pittsburgh, and as a whole is bordered by Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, the Hill District, Greenfield, Bloomfield, and the Bluff.

Oakland attractions

Carlow University
Carnegie Institute (several facilities)
- Carnegie Museum of Art
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History
- Carnegie Music Hall

"Interpretations of Oakland," a mural by John Laidacker on Forbes Avenue depicting scenes from Oakland, including Mr. Rogers.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Main)
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)²
Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens²
St. Paul's Cathedral
Schenley Farms Historic District
Schenley Park²
Schenley Plaza
Soldiers and Sailors National Military Museum and Memorial
University of Pittsburgh (Pitt)
- Cathedral of Learning
- Heinz Memorial Chapel
- Frick Fine Arts Building
- Forbes Field remnants and plaza
- Masonic Temple (now Alumni Hall)
- Petersen Events Center
- Salk Hall
- Schenley Hotel (now the William Pitt Union)
- Stephen Foster Memorial
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hospitals
- UPMC Presbyterian
- UPMC Montefiore
- UPMC Eye & Ear Institute
- UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute
- Children's Hosptial of Pittsburgh of UPMC
- Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC

Gallery

North Oakland seen from near the top of the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning.	Heinz Memorial Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh	Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens²	The Carnegie Museums
Hamerschlag Hall at Carnegie Mellon University²	The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning viewed from the William Pitt Union	The University of Pittsburgh's Alumni Hall	Intersection of Forbes Avenue (the main business district) and Oakland Avenue
The Pittsburgh Public Schools' Board of Education administration building	Panther Hollow Lake in Schenley Park²	Carnegie Mellon University's Mellon Institute	Aerial view of Pittsburgh Public Schools' historic Schenley High School
View of the main branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh from Schenley Plaza	Soldier and Sailors' Memorial on 5th Avenue in North Oakland.

Notes and References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l (January 2006). "Census: Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Department of City Planning. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Although adjacent to Oakland, these attractions are technically just within the official border of Squirrel Hill North although they are almost always popularly considered to be located in Oakland.

Toker, Franklin (1986, 1994). Pittsburgh: An Urban Portrait. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-5434-6.

External links

Interactive Pittsburgh Neighborhoods Map

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