Pittsburgh's oldest residential neighborhood is filled with ancient rowhouses
leaning against each other like drunken revelers, magnificent churches,
well-preserved Victorian storefronts, and everything else that makes a
city neighborhood fascinating. Yet until recently Pittsburghers--even the
restoration maniacs--tended to ignore Lawrenceville. That's beginning to
change, and some of the better houses and shops are being enthusiastically
restored.
St. Augustine Church dominates the western end of Lawrenceville exactly
the way a church ought to dominate a neighborhood: benevolently. That's
St. Augustine himself gazing kindly down on you from above the entrance.
Much of the area near the Allegheny is or was industrial, and some of those
industrial buildings have their own surprising charm.
Many of the Victorian storefronts in Lawrenceville are being restored.
But even more impressive are the ones that need no restoration. This perfect
Victorian storefront has probably not been altered substantially in more
than a century.
When the Allegheny Arsenal exploded during the Civil War, it killed dozens
of people and leveled the surrounding area. The old Federal-style rowhouses
in the surrounding streets were later replaced with substantial Victorians
like these.
Though Lawrenceville has always been mostly working-class, a few streets
became more prosperous. This beautiful mansion on Penn Avenue has been
lovingly restored.
No visit to Lawrenceville would be complete without a tour of the
Allegheny
Cemetery, the final resting place of Pittsburgh's merchant princes.
