August Wilson

St. George Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Church

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…
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St. Benedict the Moor School

St. Benedict the Moor School first opened in 1908 as St. Richard's Roman Catholic Church and school. The building's chapel was on the first story, and the school was on the second. St. Richard's combined with the parishes of St. Brigid and St. Benedict the Moor in 1977 and adopted…
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Black Beauty Lounge

The longest-running bar in the Hill

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…
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Eddie's Restaurant

Diner was regular hangout for Hill District writers

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…
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Ellis Hotel

Green Book-listed lodging and nightspot

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…
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Halfway Art Gallery

The Halfway Art Gallery was a short-lived but pivotal cultural institution in the Hill District. The gallery's origins can be traced to 1966, a time when the neighborhood was undergoing significant social and political changes. The gallery emerged from the vision of local activists and artists…
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Lutz's Meat Market

The building at 2145 Centre Avenue was for many years the home of Lutz's Meat Market; indeed, the owner's name is still visible on the building's cornice. German immigrant Charles Lutz founded the meat market in 1894 at a site across the street from where he eventually built the three-story…
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Workingmen's Civic Club

Now demolished, the Workingmen's Civic Club was a hotspot for music and entertainment. The club reached the height of its popularity in the 1960s, and inspired scenes in four of August Wilson's plays: Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Seven Guitars, Two Trains Running,andJitney.
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Hill House Association

"The Heart of the Hill"

The Hill House Association served as a community development organization and played a vital role in the Hill for more than 50 years. Hill House formed in 1964 from the merger of three pre-existing organizations: the Soho Community Center, the Anna B. Heldman Center, and the Hill City Youth…
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Pittsburgh Weil School

The Weil School, named after prolific Pittsburgh lawyer Adolphus Leo Weil, was designed by Marion M. Steen in 1942. Members of the Hill District's arts community, including Rob Penny, August Wilson, and Sala Udin, ran the Black Horizon Theater out of Weil's auditorium. August Wilson…
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