Franklin Wilhamina “Frankie Mae” Pace was born in 1905 in Clinton, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge, to Henreatta and Louis Scott. She grew up in Chicago, Illinois, with her nine older siblings and moved to Pittsburgh in 1936 with her husband, Charles H. Pace.

The couple owned a gospel music store, the Old Ship of Zion Music Company (later changed to the Charles H. Pace Music Publishers) on Centre Avenue.  Charles and Frankie quickly made themselves fixtures in the Hill District community.

As a young woman, Frankie wanted to become a social worker, but had limited means to attend college.  Instead, she served the Hill community through volunteer work and community organizing. Pace especially devoted herself to improving education and housing in the Hill District. She quickly emerged as an icon, described by Henry Freeman of the United Way Family and Children’s Services as a “‘real honest-to-goodness community leader" for disenfranchised communities.

Mrs. Pace was an original member of the Homeowners and Tenants Association—the first group to protest City Hall during Pittsburgh Mayor David L. Lawrence’s tenure; that group eventually became the Citizens Committee for Hill District Renewal (CCHDR), which Pace founded with realtor Robert Lavelle and civil rights activist Jim McCoy. The CCHDR was instrumental in organizing community leadership to ensure urban redevelopment in the Hill District be done only with community input.

I knew that ...if you wanted something done in your neighborhood you had to find out who to see to get it done, then go there and speak up.
-Frankie Pace

In 1967, Pace testified before a U.S. Senate Sub-Committee on Manpower and Poverty in support of President Johnson’s "War on Poverty." Amidst the escalating Vietnam War, she spoke directly and with conviction, telling the Senators that “if we can spend billions of dollars to destroy life, we ought to spend millions of dollars to save life.”

Her community service also included a membership on the Board of Directors for the Urban League of Pittsburgh and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) of Pittsburgh, and a number of other community organizations. She was a lifelong active member of the Rodman Street Baptist Church

Frankie Pace's devotion to the Hill District came from a deep religious faith, a desire to serve others, and an understanding of her responsibilities in the community. In an interview before her death in 1989, Pace stated, “‘I already knew even by the time I came here if you wanted something done in your neighborhood you had to find out who to see to get it done, then go there and speak up.’”  The Hill benefited because Frankie Pace spent her life doing just that.

In 2021, the City of Pittsburgh honored Mrs. Pace with the newly-opened Frankie Pace Park located between the Lower Hill and downtown.

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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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In the 1950s and '60s, the Hurricane served as an upscale jazz lounge that nurtured young musicians, a vision of its dynamic co-owner "Birdie" Dunlap.

Opening its doors in 1953, the Hurricane Bar and Lounge served as one of the numerous hubs for jazz music and night life in the Hill District. The Hurricane Bar set itself apart from other nightclubs nearby by its tropical décor, excellent cuisine, and diverse clientele. Located at 1603 Centre Avenue, it was frequently dubbed the “Happy House of the Hill District”. With an ample seating capacity of 120, the Hurricane attracted guests eager to hear the evening’s jazz ensemble; a stage tucked away in the back provided a platform to dance and listen to aspiring jazz artists. Performers at the Hurricane entailed a variety of jazz stars for the time; Gene Walker, with his “wailing sax and combo” were a favorite at the Hurricane.

The Hurricane was run by husband-and-wife Shine and “Birdie” Dunlap. Birdie was no stranger to running a nightclub on Centre Avenue; in fact, she had run “Birdie’s Crib” prior to opening the Hurricane. Miss Dunlap “spared no expense” in the designing of the Hurricane, wanting the lounge to serve as a “real show piece” of Hill District culture and life. The elegant décor, which had a tropical flair, was described as both “swanky” and “cozy” by patrons. Aspiring musicians frequently found themselves performing at the Hurricane to a diverse clientele that consisted of both Black and white audience members. These musicians would later go on to become high salaried performing artists such as Jimmy Smith, who Birdie Dunlap personally knew and assisted in the purchase of his first musical instrument. Other big hopeful musicians who made their debut at the Hurricane were names such as Kenny Burrell, George Benson, and Wes Montgomery. The Hurricane attracted bands such as The Lun-A-Tones, a five-piece outfit that was touted as “[making] a bigger sound than most larger groups.” Robert Banks Organ trio from New Jersey would frequently open at the Hurricane, attracting headlines and crowds. The Hurricane’s food was as acclaimed as the music; Dinner specials at the Hurricane varied, but customer favorites included fried chicken, jumbo shrimps, and juicy steaks as well as a variety of “tempting” sides.

"The Hurricane Club was one of my favorite stops, because Birdie always kept things jumping. There was no such thing as being overcrowded. If you had money, you got a seat." -Ralph Proctor, from Song of the Hill

The Hurricane’s blissful existence would be unfortunately short-lived. Like other bars in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, it fell victim to the changes in the surrounding area. Urban redevelopment demolished much of the Lower Hill, displaced thousands of residents, and dramatically altered the community and its business environment. In 1970, the Hurricane suffered a fire that shut its doors for good.

Despite the Hurricane’s demise, its influence was recognized on several occasions. In 1973 the Crawford Grill celebrated "Birdie Dunlap Night" to show appreciation for all Birdie had done to encourage and develop the city's young musicians. In 2007, the Hill House Association announced a monthly event that paid tribute to the jazz and culture of Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District. The jazz redux, titled “Live at the Hurricane” sought to recreate the “funky” atmosphere of the Hurricane lounge, showing that the legacy of the Hill's "Happy House" was not forgotten.

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Set atop a scenic hill on Bedford Avenue, this beautiful property was home to the ugly reality of tuberculosis.

During the first half of the twentieth century, tuberculosis posed a grave threat to public health in the United States. The disease was easily transmitted through actions as simple as coughing, sneezing, singing, or even speaking and caused symptoms such as weakness, fever, chest pain, and, at worst, death. For people who lived in cities, the risk of tuberculosis was especially high; poor air quality combined with people living in close proximity to one another created an ideal breeding ground for infection.

Pittsburgh’s infamous smoky air and densely-populated neighborhoods made its residents highly vulnerable to tuberculosis. By 1905, the disease had climbed the ranks to become the city’s third leading organic cause of death, accounting for 9% of all fatalities. Pittsburgh’s eminent public health crisis set into motion a domino effect of responses. In December of 1906, concerned members of the community formed the Pittsburgh Society for the Prevention and Treatment of Tuberculosis, providing community outreach and treatment throughout the city. The city’s first sanitarium opened just two months later, occupying the McConway House, a converted private home, on Bedford Avenue. By 1908, the two groups had joined forces to form the Tuberculosis League of Pittsburgh; that same year, this league would establish the city’s leading sanitarium, the Tuberculosis Hospital of Pittsburgh.

If it were not for a few quirks, passersby could easily mistake the Tuberculosis Hospital of Pittsburgh for a city park. The property sits atop a hill overlooking the Allegheny River, high above the factory smoke of the central city. Wooded areas surround the buildings on three sides, with a grassy lawn central to the property. With conventional medicine lacking the resources to treat tuberculosis with drug therapy, fresh air was one of the preferred methods of care. In the hospital’s earliest days, five open-air shacks accompanied the McConway House. Patients of all ages could take respite in these shacks year-round; even in the colder months, people would bundle up in jackets and scarves to lay in the open front buildings and breathe in the cold, crisp air.

As tuberculosis continued to sweep through Pittsburgh, the hospital quickly outgrew its humble beginnings. In 1909, the Tuberculosis League built a two-story consumption dispensary fitted with two consultation rooms for preventative screenings and skin tests, a treatment room, an operation room, and two recovery rooms. The construction of this building kickstarted nearly two decades of expansion, all with the aim of providing better care for the city’s sick residents.

With each expansion, the hospital became a bit more specialized. In 1917, the League completed construction on the Women’s and Children’s Building, which featured a unique open-air school where ill children were able to continue their studies in the fresh air. The Christmas Seal Building, named after the Tuberculosis League’s annual fundraising sale of package labels, housed infected World War I veterans. Construction on a Men’s Pavilion finished in the early 1920s, followed by the construction of another treatment ward in 1927.

However, the hospital served a broader purpose beyond providing a haven for the sick. Healthcare professionals and medical students also found a home at the Tuberculosis Hospital of Pittsburgh. The Power and Service Building provided an on-campus residence for the men and women who fought so tirelessly against the relentless disease. The building was fitted with amenities such as a laboratory and library. The 1927 ward served as a teaching hospital for medical students from the University of Pittsburgh. Here, at the Tuberculosis Hospital of Pittsburgh, the next generation of doctors and nurses would diligently study the prevention and suppression of the disease. The League constructed a second, four-story residence hall for nurses in 1949, which would be the last structure built on the site.

Before long, the incidence of tuberculosis throughout Pittsburgh began to drop dramatically. By 1925, just 544 people died from the disease, accounting for just over 5% of all fatalities. Ten years later, that number further decreased to 370 people, representing 4% of all deaths and a significant decline from the 1905 total of 9%. With its preventative screenings, tuberculosis tests, and treatment programs, the Tuberculosis Hospital of Pittsburgh was instrumental in this decline.

As understanding of tuberculosis grew, new treatment options emerged. In 1944, a significant milestone was reached when three scientists developed the first tuberculosis antibiotic, streptomycin. This groundbreaking drug reduced the need for extended quarantines and long hospital stays, thus allowing patients to recover in the comfort of their own homes. Outpatient treatment became a priority for the hospital; examinations for these patients grew 21.5% in the years between 1907 and 1946. Ultimately, the rise in outpatient care led to a decline in the number of patients receiving treatment at the hospital. Due to this decline, the Tuberculosis League officially closed the hospital’s doors in 1955, selling the three hospital buildings and Nurses’ Residence to the State of Pennsylvania. These four buildings would later become the Western Restoration Center, a mental health treatment facility.

Unfortunately, the Western Restoration Center also shut its doors in the 1980s. Citizens of Pittsburgh moved for the sanitarium to be memorialized, and in 1993, the hospital was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in recognition of the site's historical significance. In the time since, the site has been home to a daycare, a city health center, and, most recently, senior living apartments. Despite these changes, the facility’s designation as a national historic site cemented its significant contributions into the city’s history, underscoring its enduring importance in the difficult fight against tuberculosis.

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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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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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In the heart of the Hill District stands a time-worn monument, witness to a vibrant history and home to an exciting future.

The New Granada, located in the Hill District at 2007 Centre Avenue, tells a story that is still being created today. The three-story building has served various roles in the community throughout the decades. From ballroom dancing, star-studded music performances, weekly cinematic features, and community events, all have taken place at this site, serving as an "icon" for the Hill District then and now.

The New Granada has an evolving history that begins with prominent African American architect, Louis Bellinger. He was one of only sixty black architects in the United States in the 1930s. One of his most prominent works, and also one of the few still standing, is the New Granada Theater. The building first opened in 1927 as the Pythian Temple for the fraternal order, the Colored Knights of Pythias. This organization served numerous roles for its members. For example, they were the only social organization at the time to offer life insurance, which aided families after a member's death. Under their ownership, the Knights of Pythias hosted live music and community events. The architectural vision Bellinger constructed for the Pythian Temple led to the iconic New Granada Theater. The Pythian Temple was bought by Henry Hendel after the Knights struggled to make mortgage payments.

Bellinger's designs allowed for the Pythian Temple to easily be transformed into the New Granada Theater by architect Alfred M. Marks. He redesigned the first floor from a banquet hall to a commercial movie theater. On May 20, 1937, the building reopened as The New Granada Theater. "When the beautiful new Granada theater threw open its doors last Thursday evening, a huge crowd jammed the sidewalks and streets... Men, women, and children ogled and marveled at the beauty and elegance of the interior," and "all races and colors filled up the ticket booth." While the theater did occasionally show popular white movies like Casablanca, it was well-known for mostly playing films with African American-led casts, something that was not common at the time. The theater showed a variety of genres from musicals to dramas. The building was also welcoming to all. "A cross-section of Pittsburghers, white and black, middle class, and working poor, attended both 'sepia cinema' or black films starring African American movie stars." The movie theater wasn't the only entertainment that drew in large crowds. The second floor of the New Granada continued the traditions of the Pythian Temple by hosting live music events.

On the second floor, patrons were transported to a magnificent ballroom stage where "the jazz greats played. The ballroom had indirect lighting, beautiful Venetian blinds, colorful drapes, wall murals, and a revolving crystal ball." Harlem music, a form of jazz, was a staple for the period. Harlem music itself shaped parts of the Hill District culture. This style of jazz music was developed in Harlem, New York, in the early 1900s. Due to the differing racial and economic differences in New York City, the area of Harlem became known as a "city-within-the-city" of New York City. This description can be shared with the Hill District, as it too can be seen as a "city-within-the-city" in comparison to Pittsburgh. Harlem musicians touring from New York City to Chicago would make a stop along the way in Pittsburgh to play on the second floor of the New Granada.

The second floor housed the Hill City Auditorium and then later changed to the Savoy Ballroom. The Harlem singers were popular in the area but were not the only style of entertainment the Savoy Ballroom saw. Local bands, singers, and orchestras played there as well. They also used the space to host jitterbug contests. The stage at the New Granada attracted well-known jazz stars as well as local performers.

The New Granada Theater provided a variety of entertainment for Pittsburgh while continuing to be a staple for residents of the Hill District. The building was often used for civic and community engagement. The space housed high school proms and graduations but also worked to "combat juvenile delinquency." The Hill City Youth Municipality was an organization that worked to prevent crime but also worked to serve and "uplift the underprivileged girls and boys of the community." In June of 1939, this organization hosted programs persuading residents to aid in "eliminating conditions that lead to crime and delinquency." They ended the week of events by showing a celebratory film in the New Granada Theater.

Although the New Granada Theater was a packed place at its height, its popularity and clientele eventually began to wither. The theater had to close its doors in the 1970s. It was purchased by the Hill Community Development Corps (CDC) in 1990. The site became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. The groundbreaking for the New Granada Square took palce in May 2023 which opened the door for construction of artist apartments, cultural spaces, retail spaces, and more. The New Granada Theater is currently being revitalized as a space of bright hope for the future of the Hill District.

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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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In a time when banks regularly refused mortgages to Black applicants, Robert R. Lavelle invested in Black homeownership in the Hill District community.

For a large part of the twentieth century, Pittsburgh's real estate industry and homeowners blocked African American access to housing and homeownership. Racism and redlining denied these qualified applicants home loans and ownership due to the color of the applicant's skin and the close-mindedness and shortsightedness of those in power at loaning institutions. Banks simply did not lend to African Americans, and lenders avoided certain neighborhoods, creating "a self-fulfilling prophecy of neglect and deterioration." African Americans found themselves left out of lending programs. As an example, though the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was founded in the 1930s, as of 1967, only 3% of all new homes had been sold to African Americans. Robert R. Lavelle, however, proactively worked to change these issues of ownership for Pittsburgh's African American community.

Starting in the early 1950s, Robert R. Lavelle made homeownership a reality for numerous Pittsburgh African Americans. Lavelle spent his entire life working to revitalize the Hill District. After twenty-one years at the Pittsburgh Courier, Lavelle changed careers and started his own business - Lavelle Real Estate - in 1951. A few years later, he rescued the faltering Dwelling House Savings and Loan in 1957 and used that bank to focus on supporting African American homeownership in Pittsburgh and the Hill District in particular. Lavelle's group loaned to African Americans when others would not. His efforts made a difference, as homeownership in the Hill grew from 14% in the 1960s to over 40% in the 1990s.

Lavelle argued that "Homeownership is the basis of all wealth" and that "When poor people own the land they're living on, then they have power." Homeownership gave residents standing to demand more from their schools through the payment of property tax. Additionally, homeownership drove neighborhood and community improvements through the simple concept of pride of ownership.

You can have integrity no matter what your situation.
-Robert Lavelle, 1988

Throughout his life, Robert R. Lavelle fought to correct wrongs and injustice when he encountered them. As a young serviceman returning from World War II, Lavelle encountered racism in the Jim Crow South. When Lavelle refused to sit in the back of a streetcar in Virginia, a white man threatened him with a crowbar. Lavelle would later recount: "I stood up to him. I've always fought for self-respect, and I was willing to lose my life for it right then and there." In 1967, after being denied membership and access to Pittsburgh's real estate association and multilist service, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund represented Lavelle in his suit against 35 Pittsburgh realtors in a case centered on his exclusion from professional services. The suit was settled out of court, with Lavelle Real Estate being granted membership in the real estate association and full access to the listing service.

While Lavelle championed the Hill District, he also lamented the effect crime had in reducing the quality of life for its residents. In the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and the Eight-Day Riots, Pittsburgh found itself in a tumultuous time where crime levels escalated. In a 1969 letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, Lavelle noted that in that year, his Hill District real estate office had been burglarized three times, suffered several other attempts, fell victim to thievery, and that he personally was held up at gunpoint. Lavelle argued that citizens must work with police to protect and develop their neighborhoods and best interests and make their communities "peaceful and economically progressive."

Sadly, a different kind of crime forced Lavelle's lending institution, Dwelling House Savings and Loan, to close its doors in 2009 - the institution was the victim of online crime and deposit fraud. Robert R. Lavelle's real estate business, Lavelle Real Estate, is still operating and an important part of the Hill District.

Lavelle was born in Tennessee on October 4, 1915, and passed away in Pittsburgh at the age of ninety-four on July 4, 2010. In between, he worked to correct injustice where he encountered it and helped improve the lives of the people who call the Hill District home. His legacy is the thousands of families he helped acquire a home when other institutions turned their backs on them, as well as the Lavelle family he left behind. The Hill District is a better place today because of his efforts in the past.

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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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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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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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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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The Letsche Education Center, built in 1905 as the Letsche Elementary School, is an art deco building designed by architect Marian M. Steen. Originally occupying the lot at 1530 Cliff Street, a 1941 addition expanded the school to 1527 Bedford Avenue. In April of 1975, Pittsburgh's Board of Education decided to transition Letsche from an elementary school to an alternative learning center. In the years following, Letsche began to offer programs for non-traditional students: the Twelfth Grade Special Program helped students who failed to obtain the necessary number of credit hours receive their diploma; the Semester Make-Up program allowed students affected by non-academic issues to retake courses for credit; the Ed-Med program provided classes to pregnant students; and the Project Retrieval program helped to re-enroll students who have dropped out of school to raise children. The building was accepted into the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. At a 2004 meeting, members of the Pittsburgh Public School District's Board of Education voted to consolidate Letsche and the Options Center schools, with instruction continuing at the Baxter High School in Homewood North. The school officially closed sometime around 2007, remaining vacant since. In 2022, the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority approved the sale of the Letsche building with plans to convert it into forty-two mixed income apartments. Developers will also add an addition to the property including four townhouses and a garden space.

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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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This small, yellow brick church, topped with a traditional orthodox onion dome, served as a spiritual home for Pittsburgh's Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian communities from 1917 to 1959. It was during this time that August Wilson, who wrote the famous "Pittsburgh Cycle," frequently spent time on the chapel steps with other Hill District youth. Following the congregation's move to Oakland in 1959, various Protestant groups used the church as a space for worship.

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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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