Pittsburgh Main Thoroughfares and the Down Town District / Improvements Necessary to Meet the City's Present and Future Needs

by Frederick Law Olmsted

It is one of the unfortunate features of the Diamond Square Market that it has been thought necessary to segregate the farmers' wagons in another locality, and a serious objection to the Square as a permanent market site is the impossibility of providing for them in connection with it. But while the farmers' wagons are important, even more important is the maintenance of facilities for the economical shipment, receipt, and sale of provisions from farmers who cannot bring their goods to market in their own wagons. Pittsburgh is not in the midst of an ideal farming country and an exceptionally large proportion of its food must come by rail. Even in Philadelphia, where the immediate surroundings of the city are much better adapted for the raising of provisions, the notable success of the Reading Market is largely due to the economical and convenient arrangements for getting produce to market by rail, and in Pittsburgh such facilities seem almost essential to any large and permanent success.

It seems clear then, that, if such a permanent success is to be made of the Pittsburgh Market, it must be moved from Diamond Square to a larger site with rail connections and room for farmers' wagons. Several localities have been studied with this idea in view and the best of them appears to be, as recommended earlier in this report, between Third and Fourth Streets and Penn and Liberty Avenues. The advantages of the site briefly are as follows: First, it is not far from Diamond Square, and is even more accessible from the cars passing over the Point Bridge by which a large proportion of the present patrons of the Market appear to arrive; and furthermore, the improvement of street railway transportation will undoubtedly mean the through-routing of cars, a change which will make this site directly accessible also from other sections of the city. Under the circumstances, to move the market so short a distance should not involve any serious loss of trade. Second, the land and the buildings are reasonably cheap although the frontage is on Liberty Avenue, one of the main arteries of travel in the Point District. Third, the area is large enough to allow a reasonable provision of space where farmers can remain and sell produce directly from their wagons and not be forced, as at present, to do business at a distance, on the Monongahela wharf; and furthermore there is plenty of room for expansion either across Penn Avenue or Fourth Street. Lastly, in this location, a direct connection already exists, via the Duquesne Elevated, with the Pennsylvania Railroad System, the most important freight carrier in the District; also the site is close to the Wabash Railroad, with which connection could be secured if further developments of the road should justify it; and being close to the Allegheny River all possible advantage can be taken of river transportation, especially for the receipt of produce.

It should be noted further that even with the best advantages of site and physical equipment a public market is by no means sure of success. More important probably than any other one element making for success is able and stable management. The market business is a large, intricate and many-sided business; and it is not reasonable to expect any very brilliant results under the management of a succession of superintendents rotating in office with political changes in the City Government, and not selected because of any special qualifications of experience or great business ability. A highly competent superintendent holding his office during good behavior will be essential to the success of the new market in Pittsburgh.

THE HUMP CUT

The purpose of this improvement, upon the successful attainment of which the plans must be judged, appears to be twofold: (1) To reduce the obstacle offered by the Hump to the general street traffic of the city, and (2) to reduce the obstacle which appears to be offered by the steep gradients to the expansion of the district available for high-class retail trade and offices.

The former is the larger consideration as regards the whole city. The latter is the main consideration as regards the locality itself and the interests of the owners of land therein.

The plan of the Bureau of Surveys, marked "Approved December 23, 1909," shows proposed gradients on the east and west streets ranging from 4.75 per cent on Sixth Avenue to 5.88 per cent on Diamond Street, Fifth Avenue being 5.52 per cent. On Grant Street the maximum gradient is proposed to be reduced from 4.8 per cent to 4.6 per cent. While these proposed gradients are undesirably heavy, it is believed that they would not in themselves offer a very serious obstacle to the advance of first-class business into the Hump District if for other reasons the growth should tend in that direction. Further, for automobiles, electric cars and light horse-drawn carriages the proposed gradients, while objectionable, are not, in view of the topography of Pittsburgh, very excessive. Such gradients, however, are prohibitive to economical teaming. They will be avoided by teamsters at the expense of a long detour if they can find a route of low gradient, and if there is no such route they mean the hauling of smaller loads, the making of more trips to do the same work, and a very appreciable tax upon the public, paid in the cost of coal, building material, household supplies, etc.

Almost at first sight there appear two important lines of travel which might naturally be expected to pass through the Hump District, and which would be seriously affected by gradients as heavy as those remaining under the Bureau of Surveys' plan. One is that leading from the Point District and from practically all the freight yards into the valley occupied by Fifth Avenue and Forbes Street. A second line which may be expected to have great importance is one connecting Second Avenue east of Try Street with Liberty and Penn Avenues in the vicinity of the Union Station—in other words, the most easterly line upon which a connection of easy gradient can be secured between the two valleys. The improvement of Forbes Street as the main artery of a large eastbound thoroughfare system, the location of the traffic artery to the South Hills region—the high-level bridge and tunnel—and the location of the proposed Municipal Building and Civic Center, which are all recommended in Parts I and II of this report, must inevitably add greatly to the importance of this region behind the Hump as a distributing point for traffic. Sixth Avenue, especially the diagonal portion, Fifth Avenue and Diamond Street are the thoroughfare lines to this point. Considered together with other improvements of the down town district, Diamond Street becomes perhaps the most important line over the Hump. From the point of view of the city as a whole, any plan for cutting the Hump which does not secure reasonable gradients on these thoroughfares must be regarded as ineffective.