The Terrace Village public housing was one of the earliest public housing projects in the city, initiated under the "New Deal" to combat the Great Depression and provide affordable housing for working families.

On October 9, 1940, President Roosevelt dedicated Terrace Village, described at the time as the nation’s second-largest public housing project. In front of a crowd of nearly 30,000, the President praised “intelligent and sympathetic cooperation between the Federal Government and the local agencies”. He then handed a key to what was described as the nation’s 100,000th low-rent housing unit to Lester and Pearl Churchfield, the wife of a 26-year-old mill worker whose family of 5 had previously been crowded into a dilapidated single-room apartment.

Addison Terrace and its companion projects Terrace Village I & II and Alequippa Terrace, were designed as complete communities, featuring swimming pools, athletic grounds, and community centers. In later decades, Addison Terrace and other public housing developments struggled to maintain that vision, for a variety of complex reasons.

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When most people think of jazz drummer Art Blakey, they might think of his unique and influential style of playing, or his years spent with his wildly popular band the Jazz Messengers. What often goes unnoticed are his roots in the Hill.

Blakey was born on October 11, 1919 in Pittsburgh to a single mother who died soon after he was born. He was raised by a family friend, not learning until years later that his foster mother was not his biological mother. Growing up in a home on Chauncey Street, he received some piano lessons in school, and gained musical experience in his foster family’s Seventh-Day Adventist Church. His uncle, Rubi Blakey, was a well known choir director in the area - in the late 1930s the elder Blakey put on several concerts with his group at venues like the Warren Methodist United Church in the Hill and Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Music Hall. 

As a young teen, Art worked in the Carnegie steel mills, an experience he later described as one he “would like to forget.” His talent for music soon gave him a route out of the rough industrial work that was common in Pittsburgh, and by the time he was 14, Art was making money playing at clubs in the Hill. He started with piano, but soon switched to the drums when fellow Pittsburgh jazz legend Errol Garner needed a drummer for a gig. 

While gaining a variety of experience in Pittsburgh nightclubs, Blakey was still working other jobs to make ends meet. At 18, he married his first wife, Clarice Stewart and began a family. The 1940 U.S. Census locates the Blakey family, including two young daughters, living in the Hill at 613 Boone Way (a location eventually demolished as part of the 1950s Lower Hill redevelopment project), and lists Art’s primary occupation as a road construction laborer for the Works Progress Administration.  The census record also identifies 3 of Clarice’s siblings and an unrelated lodger at the same address, suggesting the young family’s straitened circumstances. 

In the early 1940s, however, Art began to gain steadier employment as a musician, securing a residency with Alyce Brooks in a group called the “Rhythm Maniacs” at the Coobus Club (later renamed the Celebrity) on Centre Avenue. He also toured with Mary Lou Williams, a jazz pianist and composer from East Liberty. By 1943, he began to work in Fletcher Henderson’s big band, though he would soon move on the next year to play with Billy Eckstine, another Pittsburgh native. Art would later drum for the likes of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, and in the mid-50s he formed his own band, the Jazz Messengers. 

Art’s drumming was intense and passionate. His playing provided every tune with a raw bed of energy which fed into the solos of other band members. He was also an innovator; contemporaries credit Art with being among the first to master complex musical stylings like polyrhythms, and he was said to be a master of maintaining independence between all four limbs while drumming. Critics have labeled his music as “hard bop”, a faster, more aggressive variant of be-bop which was reminiscent of jazz’s roots in the blues. In a time when jazz audiences were becoming increasingly white, Art’s music managed to captivate a mostly Black audience. His bluesy style of playing was a return to the beginnings of jazz, and can be considered a revival of the Black ballroom scene.

While his playing style was distinctive and influential, Blakey’s role as a bandleader and mentor was an equally important legacy.

Even when I was playing with Miles Davis, Art was the strength of the band.
-Jackie McLean, saxophonist

  His keen eye for talent led him to invest in many young jazz musicians who would go on to become legends in their own right. Folks like Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, and Joanne Brackeen were all shaped by Art over the years as part of his band. Wynton Marsalis credited his time playing with Blakey’s Jazz Messengers as influential in his choice to pursue jazz instead of classical music. The musicians Blakey worked with saw him as the core of any group he was a part of; as saxophonist Jackie McLean put it, “Even when I was with Miles Davis, Art was the strength of the band.” In addition to developing the members of his band as musicians, Art became almost like a father figure to many. Javon Jackson, a member of the Jazz Messengers in the late 80’s, told the New York Times that Art “taught [him] to be a man, how to stand up and be accounted for.” 

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This Bedford Avenue dwelling was the childhood home of the playwright known as "theater's poet of Black America."

Early Life

Wilson's childhood friend and schoolmate at Holy Trinity Catholic School, Sala Udin, described him as shy but perceptive. "August would never raise his hand in class to give the answer, but if a nun called on him, he usually knew the answer," recalled Udin. "He didn't participate in rough physical games on the schoolyard, but he always watched, with a sly smile on his face."

August's father was only in the home intermittently. Education was extremely important to Daisy Wilson, and August enrolled as the first black student in Central Catholic High School. Daily threats and abuse drove him to Connelley Vocational High School in the Hill, but August found it unchallenging; he would later attend Gladstone High School. Wilson later reflected on the story behind his final dropout in the 10th grade: "I wrote a paper about 20 pages long, on Napoleon. He was one of my heroes. I went to the library, got the books, wrote it, and turned it in. The teacher asked to see me after school, and he handed me the paper. There were two grades listed on it: A+ and E. Now, he said to me, 'You've got a sister in college, right? Well, I don't think you wrote this. Now, tell me, what grade should you have?' Of course, I said 'A+' and so he circled E. I took the paper, tore it up, and dropped it in the waste can, walked out of Gladstone, and never went back."

He would later return to the Hill and adopt his mother's maiden name. The newly branded August Wilson educated himself in the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh. In the 1960s, he began to consider himself a poet and befriended other black writers such as Rob Penny. They hung out at Irv's Bar in the Hill District, and Wilson began to write plays based on conversations he overheard around his neighborhood. He joined Black nationalist groups and founded the Black Horizons theater with his writer friends.

Like most people, I have this sort of love-hate relationship with Pittsburgh. This is my home, and at times I miss it and find it tremendously exciting, and other times I want to catch the first thing out that has wheels.
-August Wilson

The House Before August

The Pittsburgh Connection

Wilson's friend and fellow Hill District writer, Rob Penny, wrote of Wilson's relationship to his city: "August always had a strong sense of history. He feels we can all learn from the past so we can improve the future. I think Pittsburgh's history has been very, very important to him. The city is a puzzle, a disjointed place with all the different ethnic groups going their separate ways. But everything that is America exists here, from the artistic beauty to the ugliness. It's all had an effect on August."

The Fight to Save The August Wilson House

In 2008, Pittsburgh's City Council unanimously voted to declare historic status for the home. Paul Ellis and his nonprofit, The Daisy Wilson Artist Community, had a plan to turn the home into a writers' retreat: complete with a shop, a museum, and living accommodations. Ellis's nonprofit and volunteers from "Renew Pittsburgh" began to clean up the property and stabilize the structural stability of the house, described as "the first step in a $2 million-dollar project." Thanks to these efforts, the house joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 and received a historic marker sign out front. Today, the Daisy Wilson Artist Community - with funding from passionate Wilson fans such as Denzel Washington - is working to complete their dream of completely restoring the building for community applications while hosting community parties and artistic events.

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In 1894, six women in the Hill District of Pittsburgh unknowingly made history with the creation of the Aurora Reading Club. Rachel Lovett Jones, along with Hannah Lovett, Virginia Woodson Proctor, Anna Posey, and Cora V. Hill Washington aimed to create a space where African American women could explore literacy, the arts, and the sciences at a time when African American women were not given many opportunities to do so.  Their goals still live on within the club today.

The Aurora Reading Club created the motto, “Lifting as we climb,” to signify the women’s goal of helping each member better themselves through education and advocacy for themselves and each other. They did this through sharing literature, participating in cultural and political events, and using the reputation developed through the years to aid in their social pursuits. The club’s most common events consist of luncheons and community events to advocate and raise awareness for promoting literacy both locally and nationally.

Each month, the group hosts a luncheon at one of the member’s homes. This is in addition to a grand anniversary luncheon held in a larger venue to accommodate additional guests. Membership in the Aurora Reading Club has become a generational tradition, resulting in members like Thelma Lovette Morris, current co-chair of the club and the great-granddaughter of founder Hannah Lovett. 

Examples of the club’s work have been regularly mentioned in the Pittsburgh Courier, which documented the Club’s meetings, including guest speakers, the topic of the meeting’s discussion, and informing readers about the book the group had talked about. They have also documented the wide variety of issues the Aurora Reading Club has addressed to help in the spread of information important to Pittsburgh.

In 1959, the Pittsburgh Courier documented a club meeting where the topic discussed was about “an ordinance against discriminating in housing.” The luncheon had a member of the Commission come and talk about the working of the Office of the Mayor of Pittsburgh. In addition to area specific news, in 1960, the Pittsburgh Courier reported the club had one of their monthly luncheons talking about “Negro History,” which discussed “contributions of the Negro in religion, poetry, music, science, medicine and architecture both locally and nationally.” This meeting also touched on many “firsts” like those of Dr. Vivian Davidson Hewitt, the first African American librarian. 

The Aurora Reading Club is not only able to help local areas within Western Pennsylvania, like the Hill District, but people all over the country as well. The current day club’s accomplishments, documented in the Pittsburgh Courier, include setting up the Evers Book Fund in order to gather and ship books to multiple communities in Mississippi as well as providing books for the Selma Burke Art Center. The Aurora Reading Club has its roots placed firmly in the Hill District and has shown that it remains true to and has improved upon their original goals in 1894.

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An institution focused on faith, service, and activism, Bethel AME is a testament to the enduring spirit of Pittsburgh's Black community.

The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh recently signed a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team to recuperate its historic land. But why was this deal necessary? Under a program known as "urban renewal" in the 1950s, Pittsburgh city leaders ordered Bethel AME and many other historic buildings to be demolished to make way for the Civic Arena. Today, Bethel fights for its return to the neighborhood it called home. Yet this glimpse only tells a fraction of the church's story. To truly understand the modern context, the church's powerful history spanning the 1800s and 1900s needs to be understood. Through its social and spiritual history, Bethel AME Church greatly impacted the Lower Hill neighborhood and its African American community.

Early Activism

Through these political goals, Bethel AME in Pittsburgh joined a united movement dedicated to black civil rights, and actively participated in that movement. Under the leadership of Reverend Lewis Woodson, the Pittsburgh church itself became a stop on the Underground Railroad to help escaping slaves. Reverend Woodson soon led the church to form the city's first school for black children in 1831. Additionally, as the movement expanded throughout Pennsylvania, Bethel AME hosted the state's civil rights convention in 1841.

During the turbulence of Reconstruction, the national AME Church sent missionaries to help protect the rights of the newly freed African Americans of the South. Black Pittsburgh residents regularly participated in this missionary work. One Pittsburgh Courier article proudly cites the service history of the city's men and women, including local missionary president Harriet White and "young people's department" director Elsie Meeks as recently as 1953.

The national AME Church also pushed for black representation and justice in American history, as a significant actor in the 1876 centennial celebrations. Representatives like Christian Recorder editor Benjamin Tucker Tanner advocated for events celebrating black history, including memorials of African American military service, religious liberty, and new monuments to black spiritual leaders like African Methodist founder Richard Allen.

Within this coalition, Bethel AME remained a powerful force for black civil rights in Pittsburgh. Reverend J. W. Gazaway, pastor of Bethel AME, provides a perfect example of black leadership in the city. In 1898, Gazaway spoke out against the trend of lynching black men, and served his community as a spiritual advisor to black Americans imprisoned in an unfair criminal justice system. Through their efforts at black education, suffrage, civil rights, and spiritual support, the leaders of Bethel AME played a key role in black civil rights in the 1800s.

20th Century Challenges

Beyond its wide range of influence, Bethel has provided a welcoming respite to generations of African Americans in Pittsburgh. By 1962, Reverend J. G. Harris found that "the vineyard is richer" as the pews of his church filled with more educated, active members. Pittsburgh Courier writer Theodore Graham reported this steadily growing church membership owed its success to the caring involvement of church leaders in all facets of life, including "housing, labor, community problems, and politics." With such passion for advocacy, Bethel church members knew their leaders would speak out to protect their interests.

Bethel also stands strong as an institution that feels like a second home to its members.

Bethel has provided a welcoming respite to generations of African Americans in Pittsburgh.

Urban Renewal Era

After decades of civil rights activism to restore their community, black Pittsburgh residents established major breakthroughs. Twenty-first century activism has produced a legacy of community engagement, including community benefits agreements to guarantee black residents will have a say in projects involving economic development. Within this activism, Bethel AME persists as a community leader, offering a space for change.

Recent Developments

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The Black Beauty Lounge is the longest-running bar in the Hill District, operating at the same site for more than 50 years. The lounge was established In 1972, under the ownership of Roberta Brassell aka "Ms. Bert." Even those who have not patronized the lounge may recognize it as a notable landmark - one side of the building is covered with a large-scale mural celebrating the work of August Wilson.

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In 1968, student activist at the University of Pittsburgh founded the Black Action Society (BAS), an organization to serve the needs and interests of Black students by building community and “providing educational, political, and social programming relative to the Black experience.”

As part of this effort, Pitt's BAS developed an arts organization to support Black writers, artists and performers. This idea was modeled after the Black Arts Repertory Theatre in Harlem, founded in 1965 by playwright and poet Amiri Baraka, usually considered the founding of a national Black Arts Movement.

The BAS would meet at a restaurant called the Pan Fried Fish on Wylie Ave. Known for having the best fish sandwiches for miles around, the restaurant was a gathering spot for students and artists in the neighborhood to express themselves freely, creating music, poetry, and art under a united cause.

A Grand Entrance

One night, artist and native resident Frank Floyd Hightower was exhibiting his photography and leading a discussion on his work at the restaurant when he met August Wilson, Rob Penny, and Curtiss E. Porter, who were playwrights, social activists, and artists in their own right. Penny and Porter were also co-directors of the University of Pittsburgh's Africana Studies Program. That same night, they also met Sala Udin and Sakina Abdul A’la, an actress and women’s rights advocate. This group of friends became instrumental in the local Black Arts movement and together founded Black Horizon Theatre. Their goal was to establish a community theater aimed at raising social consciousness within the Black community and the world. 

The A. Leo Weil School auditorium at 2250 Centre Ave became home to Black Horizon Theatre, and they staged plays there from 1968 to 1972. The school’s principal allowed them to use the auditorium at no charge.

Black Horizon Theatre Company portrayed characters struggling with inequality, opening the audience’s and community’s eyes to the constant obstacles African Americans faced. The company initially charged only 50 cents for admission to their plays. “We literally went into the street a half hour before the show and talked people into going in,” recalled Wilson years later. “Once they got in, they really liked it.”

August Wilson's Contributions

Black Horizon Theatre dispersed by the mid-1970s. In 1975, Dr. Vernell A. Lillie, a University of Pittsburgh professor, continued Black Horizons’ legacy by founding the Kuntu Repertory Theatre.

The following year, August Wilson brought his early playwriting effort, Homecoming, to Kuntu. It was his first play to be produced by a resident company at the University of Pittsburgh. Wilson won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1987 for his Broadway show Fences and later won a second Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for The Piano Lesson.

While Wilson was the most prominent author to come out of the Pittsburgh Black Arts scene and Black Horizon Theatre, it is important to recognize and appreciate the Black Horizon Theater, and the creative collaborators who helped shape and nurture his remarkable talent. 

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Throughout the 111 years that Central Baptist Church has stood at 2200 Wylie Avenue, it has offered the residents of the Hill District a strong Black religious presence in the neighborhood which has uplifted the whole community. Though the church has had its struggles over the decades, the devoted leaders which have pastored it have continually made Central Baptist into a church body which serves the Hill both socially and spiritually.

Difficult Beginnings

His successor, Rev. Cornell E. Talley, was one of the most beloved pastors the church ever had. A relatively young man for his trade at just 31 years old, Talley arrived from Indianapolis with his wife and eight month old son, and preached his first sermon at Central Baptist in 1938. Within just three years, he tripled the church’s attendance from 532 regular members to 1,500, and he not only managed to pay off all of Central Baptist’s debts, but increased the church’s savings to $5,000.

This kind of growth was unheard of for the church previously, but the church’s rocky history seemed not to bother Rev. Talley. He was known for his motto, “Forgetting those things which were behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Under his leadership this became the guiding vision behind Central Baptist, inspiring their participation in the struggle for Black freedoms.

Fighting for Rights

Dr. Martin Luther King came to visit on several occasions, leading services of worship at the church as well as delivering his “A Knock at Midnight” speech there. When Rev. Talley took a position with another church in 1961, Dr. King was even considered as a candidate in the church’s search for a new pastor.

Talley's resignation was vigorously protested by many of the congregation’s members, a testament to how much he was cherished as the pastor there. He was succeeded by Dr. Isaac Green, who led Central Baptist from 1963 to 1994, and saw the church through endeavors like their first televised services and the creation of the Central Baptist Academy. The church’s current pastor, Rev. Victor Grigsby, has continued Central Baptist’s legacy of community service and activism, even holding a rally to support former President Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008.

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Throughout its history, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) has had a focus of providing quality support to working class men survive the harsh conditions that they were facing. When it was founded in 1851, the YMCA had strong goals to bring support and services to the working class. Unfortunately, the services and lodgings that were offered by the YMCA were heavily segregated. When William Hunton became the first black full time secretary of the YMCA in 1888, he faced the challenges of establishing a place for African Americans under the YMCA’s segregated policies. This led to the birth of a movement that focused on creating “semi-autonomous African American YMCA system,” that no longer focused on the “seemingly futile goals of participation with whites, and instead advocated self-help and racial solidarity.” YMCAs built under this philosophy were to serve as pillars in African American communities and would  “Shield black men from the humiliations of lingering racism and segregationist policies.” This required Hunton and others to fundraise and attract benefactors willing to offer aid to those communities seeking to build their YMCA. After a lengthy process of successfully fundraising the required funds to purchase a site and having the structure built, the Pittsburgh’s African American YMCA affiliate officially joined this legacy as the Centre Avenue YMCA in 1923.

A Slow Decline

Regardless of the opportunities and services the Central Avenue YMCA provided the residents of the Hill District, membership began to steadily decline in the late 1950s. The changes began with the Urban Renewal projects in the Lower Hill, forcing many members to relocate. As the “separate but equal” doctrine in the YMCA’s policy on membership and attendance dissipated due to the success of the Civil Rights movement, many middle class African Americans chose membership at the better funded YMCAs that had once been segregated. The later collapse of the steel industry in the 1970s and 80s meant more people could not afford to use the Y’s services. This turmoil would cause an upsurge in substance abuse and criminal activity in the late 80s and early 90s for the Hill. The Central Avenue YMCA provided a place for transitional housing and provided support services for people fighting substance abuse and mental illness, causing a shift from recreational and community activities to community services. However it was designated a City Historic Infrastructure in 1995.

Rebuilding

Later, in 2012, a new YMCA was built on Central Ave and named after Thelma Lovette. Lovette was a prominent activist in Pittsburgh who heavily involved herself with the local YMCA as the first woman on the Central Ave Board. As of today, the Centre Avenue YMCA no longer functions in the same capacity as it once did.  This does not mean that it has lost all of its original principles.  In 2020, it was announced that a partnership between the YMCA and ACTION Housing, with help from $7.4 million provided by over 20 agencies, would transform the Historic Centre Avenue building into a low-income residency for African American men. This renovation allowed the building to continue its mission of being a safe refuge to African American men who require the safety of its walls. 

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For 70 years, the Connelley Trade School Building served students seeking vocational education. Today, the building continues its educational legacy in innovative ways.

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A key remnant of Pittsburgh’s 20th century musical culture, Crawford Grill was a landmark of Black entrepreneurship, inclusive atmosphere, and legendary jazz music.

When approaching Crawford Grill No. 2, the bustling sounds of the evening crowd could be heard from the curb of Wylie Avenue. Laughter filled the night air, mingling with the hum of loud chatter and the backdrop of jazz music. Upon entering through the front door, patrons were immediately greeted with warm smiles from familiar faces and the enticing aroma of Crawford’s famous chicken wings. For many, Crawford Grill No. 2 was more than just a bar—it was a second home, a platform for both local and nationally-renowned musicians, a haven for those seeking desegregation and equality, and a place where people felt safe and empowered.

The original Grill was founded by Gus Greenlee, a local Pittsburgh businessman and owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the local Negro league baseball team. The Grill quickly gained a reputation for attracting top-notch music acts while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere for both locals and visitors. It became a well-known venue for legendary musicians like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzie Gillespie, and Miles Davis, who graced the patrons with their mesmerizing melodies. Moreover, Crawford Grill played a crucial role in nurturing local talents and elevating Pittsburgh as a thriving center of jazz culture. Artists like Walt Harper found their beginnings and built their careers in the city. Harper's performances at Crawford Grill significantly boosted both the venue's popularity and his own recognition, even earning him second place in the Pittsburgh Courier "favorite combo" poll, right behind Louis Armstrong.

Crawford Grill No. 2 came into existence in 1943 during the peak success of its predecessor. Gus Greenlee, with the help of his business partner Joseph Robinson, expanded his restaurant business to multiple locations. Grill No. 2 also attracted esteemed customers, including the John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Frank Sinatra, and Muhammad Ali, among others. Similar to Grill No. 1, it embraced a diverse clientele, welcoming people of all races and genders at a time when racial violence and segregation were prevalent across much of the United States. Joseph Robinson, later succeeded by his son William “Buzzy” Robinson, managed Crawford Grill No. 2 as a haven for music and good food until its closure nearly 60 years later.

For many, Crawford Grill No. 2 was more than just a bar, it was a second home.

In the 1960s, changes to the Hill and the larger culture presented challenges to Crawford Grill's continued success  First, urban redevelopment in the 1950s and the construction of the Civic Arena in 1960 contributed to the deterioration of the Hill District community, displacing more than 8,000 residents and severing friendships, community support systems, and even aspects of cultural identity. Second, the riots of 1968 following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., damaged the Hill District's reputation among White patrons; in its heyday, 80 percent of the club's audience had been White. Finally, the rise of rock and roll and other forms of popular music led to a decline in the audience for jazz by the late 1960s. While the club remained a mecca for jazz lovers and Hill residents, it could not maintain the booming business of its heyday. A 1975 Post-Gazette article described Joe Robinson, surveying a sparsely-occupied Crawford Grill No. 2 dining room and lamenting, "Used to be you couldn't find a place to sit during lunch hour. Look now—who's here?"

These challenges ultimately proved insurmountable. With declining interest from outside patrons and a failing urban infrastructure around it, Crawford Grill No. 2 closed its doors for the final time in 2003. It was listed for sale in 2006 and has remained vacant since, serving as a poignant reminder of Pittsburgh's role in America's jazz scene and the Hill District's significant contribution to the diverse and vibrant culture of 20th-century Pittsburgh.

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From business to betting, this barbershop carries a lasting legacy in Pittsburgh.

In a small corner building at the intersection of Wylie Avenue and Crawford Street stood the Crystal Barber Shop and Billiard Parlor. Bright neon signs in the front window drew customers into a place that provided more than just haircuts and shaves - it was a hub of all aspects of male social life in the Hil.

The roots of Crystal Barber Shop traced back to the 1920s when skilled barber Frank Belt frst opened it.

Woogie Harris had ulterior motives for purchasing the shop…it was used by Harris and Greenlee as one of the headquarters for an illegal lottery known as “the numbers.”

While he sold the business in 1923 to William "Woogie" Harris, Belt continued to work as a barber at Crystal for many years, gaining a reputation as one of the finest barbers in the city.

Men and boys of all ages congregated within the confines of the six-chair shop to engage in activities that went beyond the realm of hairstyling. Like many Black barbershops, the Crystal played an instrumental role in fostering a sense of community and trust among Black entrepreneurs and customers. It was a space where patrons could immerse themselves in the news of the day, swap stories, and get cleaned up for a night out at nearby entertainment venues like Crawford Grill or the Hurricane Lounge. Adding to its appeal as a male social hub, the basement of Crystal's also housed a billiards room, opened in 1941 by Harris and his business partner Gus Greenlee.

Behind Closed Doors

The Crystal Barber Shop and Billiard Parlor also had its secrets. While it was, in fact, a legitimate business, Woogie Harris had ulterior motives for purchasing the shop - namely, the shop was used by Harris and Greenlee as one of the headquarters for an illegal lottery known as “the numbers." 

The numbers is a lottery-style game where players would choose a number, lay a bet with a bookie, and hope their number hit at the next call. To ensure the game wasn't fixed, the number was usually based on some unrelated figure that was both publically available and outside the bookie's control - a popular choice was the published volume of shares traded in a given day on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the Hill’s worst-kept secret that this small barber shop was a front for one of the most successful numbers “banks” in the city.

Traditionally, the rise of Harris and Greenlee as the preeminent numbers men in Pittsburgh has been ascribed to a 1930 “crisis” when the number 805 - a favorite "lucky number" of bettors - hit and the city’s numbers men were on the hook for massive payouts. As the story goes, many competing Pittsburgh numbers banks collapsed on the same bet, but Harris and Greenlee scrounged sufficient funds together to emerge after the crisis as the "only game in town.” Conflicting accounts in the historical record, however, suggest this narrative may be more lore than fact.

Regardless, by the 1930s the partners ran a highly-successful numbers racket. While Pittsburgh police arrested Harris and Greenlee numerous times over the years on racketeering charges, the fines made little impact on business. It is estimated that at its peak, Harris and Greenlee earned as much as $25,000 a day running numbers.

New Places and New Faces

Pittsburgh’s urban renewal projects ultimately pushed Harris out of his Wylie Avenue shop to a new location at 1605 Centre Avenue. Upon Woogie’s passing in 1967, his wife, Ada, inherited the shop and entrusted its management to her former son-in-law, Harold Slater. Slater was not involved in the numbers game like his predecessor, but had quite the knack for building community. In addition to the shop, Slater worked in waste management for the city of Pittsburgh. He and his wife, Dolores, raised their family just across the street from the Crystal Barber Shop. Harold gave excellent hot towel treatments, served Pittsburgh’s ballplayers and boxers, and generally created a social atmosphere to be remembered.

Although the Crystal Barber Shop and Billiard Parlor no longer stands on Centre Avenue, its legacy persists in a unique way. Michelle Slater, the daughter of Crystal manager and barber Harold Slater, began practicing hair over twenty-eight years ago. Today, Michelle operates as “The Crystal Barber” out of Sola Salon, located at 5241 Liberty Avenue Suite 1—just a few minutes away from the original Wylie Avenue shop. Michelle hopes that, through her work, she can continue the tradition of the barbershop and salon as an inclusive community space.

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Despite her quiet and unassuming demeanor, Daisy Lampkin achieved astonishing feats as a tireless crusader for women and civil rights.

Daisy Lampkin was a woman with many roles and had her voice heard throughout more organizations than one could imagine, many centered in the Hill District. Nicknamed by some as the “Dynamic Daisy Lampkin”, she has a long list of activism across social issues such as suffrage, civil rights, and even youth initiatives in the Hill District of Pittsburgh.

Ms. Lampkin was born to a working-class family in Washington D.C. in 1883. At the age of 26, she made the decision to move to Pittsburgh and settled in the Hill District, where she married restaurant owner William Lampkin three years later. Daisy and William would never have children of their own during their 50 years of marriage, but they would adopt and raise their 11-month old goddaughter Romaine Childs in 1924.

Dynamic Daisy's Activism

During this time, suffrage groups were highly segregated between White and Black women, leaving the suffrage movement to be a divided fight. Ms. Lampkin solidified her voice in the fight for gender equality in the United States and made the fight for suffrage an instance of an integrated cause for women. She became a prominent figure for women of color across many social issues that she fought for in the decades to come.

Along with the suffrage movement, Ms. Lampkin devoted much of her life to fighting for the civil rights of African Americans throughout the early 20th century. She is most known for holding a very prominent and driving role in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  Her efforts within the NAACP, particularly in her founding of the Pittsburgh branch, helped drive membership to roughly 2,000 by 1929. She was known to have a “oratorical flair and vigorous fundraising” spirit when advocating both on the local and national levels. She traveled to various cities across the East and Midwest cities to hold meetings for the NAACP, including Baltimore, Chicago, and Memphis.

Ms. Lampkin worked alongside some of the most notable members of the NAACP on the national level, including Mary McLeod Bethune, Mary Church Terrell, and Thurgood Marshall. In particular, she was instrumental in convincing Marshall to join the NAACP’s legal defense team, which sparked his career further into becoming one of the most prominent African Americans in the legal system. Marshall was instrumental in winning many cases that fought segregation laws, most notably Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka which found segregation in public schools unconstitutional in 1954. Marshall also went on to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court until 1991.

During the 1920s, Ms. Lampkin went further in her political activism as she served as the vice chairman of the Negro Voters League of Pennsylvania and the Colored Voters Division of the Republican Party. In the former, she was known as an alternate delegate-at-large, meaning she was ready to represent the league as a whole at the Republican national convention. Her time in politics did not go without its tough waters. During her time as president of the Negro Women’s Republican League of Allegheny County, she responded to gossip about the league and claims of greed with her usual flair at a meeting towards the council: “I had said I would resign; that I would not work for you like I have, neglecting my home and my hubands’ work and not be appreciated. But in the face of your spirit here tonight I stand here as your county chairman until you elect another, and all the devils in hell can not prevent me from doing so.”

Our male leadership is so busy with their private interests that nothing is done unless the women do it.
-Daisy Lampkin

Other Significant Roles

In 1964, she was the first to receive the Eleanor Roosevelt- Mary McLeod Bethune World Citizenship Award which was accepted by her friend Lena Horne due to her failing health after a stroke.

Ms. Lampkin remained in the Hill District on Webster Avenue until her death in March of 1965. On August 9, 1983 a historical marker was placed outside her former home in the Hill District commemorating her life and service. She was the first African American woman in Pennsylvania history to receive this honor. The Daisy E. Lampkin Award is also given annually to a woman of the community of Pittsburgh (many who have resided in the Hill District) who dedicates service to the fight for equal rights.

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Eddie's Restaurant was an unassuming, inexpensive eatery frequented by many Hill District residents, most notably the group of playwrights and poets that made up the "Black Horizon Theatre Group" - including Rob Penny, Bob Johnson, Maisha Baton, Sala Udin, and August Wilson

"Another place we would hang out was Eddie's Restaurant...they would allow us to sit for hours
and didn't bother us. We didn't buy a lot of food, but they would always keep filling up our coffee cups."

-Sala Udin, recalling the spots favored by the Black Horizon Theatre group

It has been said that Wilson concieved Jitney, the first of his Pittsburgh Cycle plays, at Eddie's. While Eddie's is mentioned in The Piano Lesson, the play with the strongest connections to it is Two Trains Running, set in a fictional but similar diner, Memphis Lee's, located somewhere in the immediate vicinity.

Eddie's was torn down in 2006 as part of the construction of the new Hill District branch of the Carnegie Library - perhaps a fitting end for a place that nurtured so many writers with its endless cups of coffee.

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This now vacant lot was once the site of the Ellis Hotel, a safe haven for traveling Black artists and celebrities, and a hub of culture for the local Hill community.

Originally established by James and Frank Ellis in Pittsburgh's South Side, the hotel eventually relocated to this Centre Avenue address when Frank Ellis and his wife purchased the former Black YWCA building. They transformed the spacious 45-room structure into a centerpiece hotel in the Hill District, opening in 1957. Once opened, the new Ellis was touted as one of the finest establishments in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, gaining a listing in the “Green Book” as a safe place for black travelers visiting Pittsburgh.

The Green Book, officially titled The Negro Motorist Green Book, was published annually from 1936 to 1967, and was a lifeline for those navigating a divided America.  The book directed Black travelers to restaurants, hotels or service stations that welcomed them with open arms. In an era when downtown Pittsburgh hotels had an unspoken "whites only" policy, the Ellis Hotel was a sanctuary where luminaries like Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington found a home away from home.

The Ellis Hotel was instrumental in Pittsburgh’s jazz culture, hosting famous jazz artists of the time, such as Al Morall, Danny Varlotta and Don Molica. Eddie Russ and his combo could commonly be heard serenading hotel patrons with his “smooth melodic deliveries” that were said to make music lovers “sit up and listen”.

The new Ellis was touted as one of the finest establishments in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, gaining a listing in the “Green Book” as a safe place for black travelers visiting Pittsburgh

More famous patrons were also known to make an appearance - Ella Fitzgerald and pianist Duke Ellington were rare, but highly anticipated performances. In a time when businesses could turn away patrons on the basis of race, the Ellis Hotel hospitably received Black celebrities such as Jackie Robinson, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and Ray Charles.

The Ellis Hotel was known for its entertainment and food alike - the hotel's Shangri-La Lounge showcased jazz luminaries and served up french-fried shrimp and steak alongside the soulful tunes.

The Ellis Hotel frequently appears in the plays of August Wilson, including Jitney, Two Trains Running, and King Hedley II. In all three stories, Wilson depicts the hotel as a rendezvous point for escapades between lovers.

Like many Hill District businesses, the hotel faced a series of difficulties beginning in the 1970s.  In 1980, the building was ultimately converted into a senior living center; however, a 1995 fire left the structure abandoned, and it was demolished in 2002.

While it no longer stands today, the Ellis Hotel is a symbol of Black resilience and a testament to the challenges faced and the victories won during an era of upheaval.

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The intersection of Centre Avenue and Crawford Street serves as a significant monument to civil rights activism in Pittsburgh.

In the 1950s, city planners across the country labeled neighborhoods as "sub-standard" and moved to replace them with new houses and gentrified communities. Eradication disguised in the name of "urban renewal" threatened to destroy the Hill District and the lives of the people that called it home. To make room for the development of the Civic Arena, planners seized large areas of the Lower Hill District by means of eminent domain and forced 8,000 residents and 400 businesses to leave the Lower Hill District, as "progress" destroyed their homes and businesses and threatened their way of life.

As talk of further top-down redevelopment crept into the Hill District, residents held the line at the corner of Crawford and Centre. A grassroots group called the Citizens Committee for Hill District Renewal (CCHDR) erected a billboard on the corner in 1966, declaring "Attention City Hall and URA: NO REDEVELOPMENT BEYOND THIS POINT! We Demand: LOW INCOME HOUSING FOR THE LOWER HILL." As the bulwark against demolition and eradication, the geographic point known as "Freedom Corner" first became tied to the concept of civil discourse and organized resistance. The actions of activists transformed this intersection from an ordinary streetcorner into a place of significance for social activism, protest, and remembrance.

From its early beginnings, Freedom Corner has served as a meeting point for groups protesting against injustice and prejudice. Pittsburgh Councilman Sala Udin noted in 1998 that "One cannot discuss the civil rights struggle in Pittsburgh without mentioning Freedom Corner. The two are intertwined."

In 1963, thousands of Pittsburgh civil rights marchers met at Freedom Corner to depart for Washington, D.C. and the landmark March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Five years later, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, violence broke out throughout the country and in the Hill District. The NAACP had planned a peaceful march from Freedom Corner to downtown Pittsburgh, only to be stopped by the police before a single step took place. In the end, organizers convinced the police to allow the march to proceed and the peaceful event advanced through downtown to Point State Park. Events like the 1968 march have helped the Hill District community to remain strong and have offered opportunities to heal during times of adversity.

Over the years, Pittsburghers have met at Freedom Corner as a starting point to march and protest a myriad of issues. Freedom Corner has served a role in civil liberties marches and parades, community food drives, war protests, marches supporting victims of violence, and a meeting place for remembrance services. These events and the actions of the community have allowed Freedom Corner to become infused by the spirit of those who gave the struggle for social and civil rights their voices, their muscle and their lives. This spirit has transformed an ordinary streetcorner into the prominent place of remembrance Freedom Corner is today.

For decades, no formal monument marked Freedom Corner. After years of hard work and fundraising, local leaders dedicated a monument at Freedom Corner in March 2002. These efforts began in 1992 when the late city councilman Jake Milliones began a campaign to erect a sculpture at the corner. After Milliones' death in 1993, Councilman Sala Udin and the Freedom Corner committee worked tirelessly to obtain funding and finish Milliones' campaign. The Freedom Corner monument, designed by local Black artist Carlos Peterson, is made of granite and features a bronze figure of a spiritual form that rises from the rear wall of the structure. Soaring with arms uplifted, the figure signifies hope, faith and a future of human rights triumphs.

From its early beginnings, Freedom Corner has served as a meeting point for groups protesting against injustice and prejudice.

The monument remains an important meeting point and starting point for groups in Pittsburgh and the Hill District in particular. In keeping with tradition, the 2023 Juneteenth parade started at Freedom Corner before making its way through downtown Pittsburgh. The significance of Freedom Corner's past continues to speak to a new generation of activists that build on and honor the previous marches that started there. Their actions transformed the corner of Crawford and Centre from an ordinary streetcorner into the prominent place of social action and movement known as Pittsburgh's Freedom Corner.

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Hill District ambulance service revolutionized healthcare, establishing a model for emergency medical services emulated nationwide.

In the blistering summer heat of 1968, the first ambulance of its kind wailed down the street, and as it came to a screeching halt, out hopped emergency medical service professional John Moon. Like the ambulance, Mr. Moon was also a first: one of the first professionally medically trained men to serve the Hill community of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) member, Mr. Moon provided lifesaving emergency medical care en route to a hospital in the back of a moving vehicle. He did all this in the name of serving his community, The Hill District.

Not only was an ambulance equipped with an EMS professional a sight to see in 1968, but even more surprising was that the EMS professional was a Black man, at a time when America was torn by racial strife. The ability of Mr. Moon to attain such an important job and give back to his community would not have been possible without the Freedom House Ambulance Service.

Freedom House Ambulance Service emerged in 1967 as a response to the Hill community's desire for self-reliance. Before Freedom House, the Hill community - and all Pittsburgh residents - had limited access to emergency medical services.  Ambulances were driven by police officers, firefighters, or even mortuary workers, all with little or no medical training. There was no on-site or in-transit treatment, only an effort to get the patient to the hospital quickly.

John Moon describes the experience of emergency medical transportation in the 1960s as "swoop and scoop...which meant you'd call the police, and they'd pick you up, throw you in the back of a paddy wagon, and rush you off to the hospital. They could do little more than offer patients basic first aid, a canvas stretcher, a half-empty oxygen tank, and a pillow, which often only served to choke off your airway."

"And on top of that," recalled Moon, "both officers got up front. The patient was left to fend for themselves in the back of the police van. If you stopped breathing in the backseat, there was no one there to assist you."

In addition to the limited medical care, police ambulances often failed to respond to emergency calls in a timely manner, especially in poorer, Black-majority neighborhoods like the Hill. The Pittsburgh Courier regularly reported cases which resulted in serious harm or death due to police negligence or lack of response.

Freedom House Enterprises, Inc. was an organization initially aimed at fostering Black-owned businesses and creating jobs in Pittsburgh's Hill District. Headed by James McCoy, Jr., the program was a part of Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty" initiative.

In 1966, McCoy connected with Philip Hallen, a former ambulance driver and president of the Maurice Falk Medical Fund, a local foundation. Hallen's experience as an ambulance driver made him sympathetic to problems faced by Hill residents, and he decided that if Freedom House could sell produce out of a truck, then they could easily shuttle members of the Hill Community to the hospital in lieu of city police ambulances.

The impact of the Freedom House Ambulance Service reverberated beyond Pittsburgh. Recognizing the importance of Freedom House's work, other cities and communities across the country began to adopt similar models of EMS training and integrate advanced life support systems into their ambulances. The Freedom House Ambulance Service thus became a catalyst for change, racial equality, and community strength, inspiring the development and advancement of EMS throughout the nation.

But this success, unfortunately, came at a cost to Freedom House. Political squabbling and racial inequality cut down Freedom House Ambulance Service in its prime. As improved standards of emergency medical care were taken up by the state, local community services like Freedom House lost their funding.

The Hill community now had to use the same state-run emergency medical programs that underserved them in the first place once again. The closing of Freedom House reflected politicians' unwillingness to employ or allow African American folk to engage with their communities in a meaningful way.

In 1975, Mayor Pete Flaherty struck one final blow. He announced that the city would roll out its brand-new paramedic service. Not only was the new service showered with the resources Freedom House had long been denied, but none of the new recruits were African American. Dr. Caroline got the city to hire Freedom House's staff, but most of them were quickly reassigned to non-medical or non-essential duties, and even as late as the 1990s, Pittsburgh's EMS program was 98% white.

Despite this, the legacy of the Freedom House Ambulance Service showcases the extraordinary impact a single African American community can have on transforming emergency medical services. Their efforts raised standards and expectations for EMS, inspiring change, challenging barriers, and leaving a legacy of hope, progress, and community empowerment. The paramedics of Freedom House inspired generations to believe that they too could be effective and create positive change in communities like the Hill.

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