Smithfield Street (Pittsburgh)

Smithfield Street (Pittsburgh)
Name	Smithfield Street
Location	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Contents

Smithfield Street (Pittsburgh) is a historic thoroughfare in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, connecting the neighborhoods of Point State Park, Monongahela River waterfront, and South Shore via major civic, commercial, and transportation corridors. The street has evolved through periods defined by figures and institutions such as George Washington, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, and municipal planning by the City of Pittsburgh alongside landmark projects like the Smithfield Street Bridge, the Allegheny County Courthouse, and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Its alignment and built environment reflect changes associated with events including the Pennsylvania Main Line, the Great Fire of Pittsburgh (1845), and the urban renewal initiatives tied to the Renaissance I program and the work of architects influenced by Daniel Burnham and Benjamin Latrobe.

History

Smithfield Street’s origins trace to early routes used by Delaware people, Shawnee, and colonial settlers tied to the 18th-century activities of George Washington, Robert Morris (financier), and traders associated with the Ohio Company of Virginia; later development accelerated with investments from industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick and through transport links to the Pennsylvania Canal and Pennsylvania Railroad. The street survived infrastructural shocks including the Great Fire of Pittsburgh (1845), reconstruction during the era of the Industrial Revolution, and reconfiguration concurrent with projects championed by civic leaders associated with Mayor David L. Lawrence and urban planners influenced by City Beautiful movement. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries Smithfield Street intersected patterns of finance, manufacturing, and legal authority exemplified by connections to institutions such as the Allegheny County Courthouse, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland operations in Pittsburgh, and corporate headquarters like the Gulf Oil offices and H.J. Heinz Company facilities. Preservation efforts emerged as part of movements involving organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, local chapters of the American Institute of Architects, and civic advocacy groups tied to the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

Smithfield Street runs southeast from Point State Park near the confluence of the Allegheny River and Monongahela River toward the Monongahela Incline corridor and the South Side Slopes, intersecting major arteries such as Forbes Avenue, Liberty Avenue, and Bayard Street and linking transit nodes near Penn Station (Pittsburgh), the Allegheny County Courthouse, and Market Square. The street’s alignment follows early topography and 18th-century lot divisions associated with the Chartiers Creek watershed and urban grids influenced by surveyors who worked with figures like James O’Hara and municipal engineers affiliated with the Allegheny County governance structure. Today the corridor includes mixed uses adjacent to cultural anchors including the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the Benedum Center, and the Pittsburgh Cultural District, creating a connective spine between civic, commercial, and entertainment districts.

Smithfield Street features architecture spanning Federal, Greek Revival, Victorian, Beaux-Arts, and Neoclassical styles with contributions by architects and firms linked to Benno Janssen, Henry Hornbostel, Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, and successors active in projects connected to Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh expansions. Notable buildings include structures associated with the Allegheny County Courthouse complex, adjacent office buildings once occupied by U.S. Steel, headquarters formerly used by Gulf Oil, and commercial blocks tied to retailers that paralleled the growth of Heinz Hall and the Benedum Center. The corridor abuts historic sites such as the Smithfield Street Bridge engineering work by John A. Roebling’s firm lineage, masonry linked to builders who also worked on Fort Pitt Blockhouse, and commercial facades registered in surveys conducted by the Historic American Buildings Survey and inventories compiled by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

Smithfield Street has been a multimodal corridor intersecting trolley lines, transit tunnels, and automotive networks associated with agencies like the Port Authority of Allegheny County and rail operators such as Pennsylvania Railroad and later freight carriers tied to Norfolk Southern Railway. The street’s relationship to the Smithfield Street Bridge provides a direct connection to river crossings similar to those served by the Fort Pitt Bridge and the Roberto Clemente Bridge, and its corridor has housed cable and incline infrastructure related to the Monongahela Incline and Duquesne Incline. Traffic patterns on Smithfield Street reflect regional planning influenced by authorities including the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and municipal transportation studies that involved consultants from firms engaged with projects around Pittsburgh International Airport and the Tennessee Valley Authority-era infrastructure expertise.

Smithfield Street has hosted parades, political demonstrations, and civic gatherings tied to organizations such as the United Mine Workers of America, labor movements that intersected with events involving Samuel Gompers, cultural festivals connected to Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, and commemorative observances for figures like George Washington and Robert Morris (financier). The street’s proximity to venues such as the Benedum Center and the Heinz Hall has made it part of theatrical, musical, and festival routes coordinated by groups including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and annual events supported by the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Cultural memory of the street appears in local histories produced by the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and in oral histories archived by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Preservation and redevelopment initiatives affecting Smithfield Street have involved collaborations among the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, municipal agencies of the City of Pittsburgh, and private developers including firms linked to Oxford Development Company and Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Projects have balanced historic designation efforts with adaptive reuse for tenants including tech startups affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University incubators, legal offices connected to the Allegheny County Bar Association, and hospitality ventures near Market Square. Redevelopment phases have been influenced by funding mechanisms such as Historic Tax Credits, state economic development programs administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and grants from philanthropic entities like the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Farnsworth Trust.

Category:Streets in Pittsburgh