Mexican War Streets Historic District | |
Location | Irregular pattern between Buena Vista to the north and North Ave. to Reddour St. (increase), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
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Coordinates | 40°27′21.23″N80°0′41.40″W / 40.4558972°N 80.0115000°W |
Area | 27 acres (11 ha) (original) 25.7 acres (10.4 ha) (increase) |
Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Greek Revival, Late Victorian (original) Greek Revival, Italianate, Romanesque, Second Empire (increase) |
NRHP reference No. | 75001612 and 08000845 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 28, 1975 (original) September 4, 2008 (increase) |
Designated CPHD | December 26, 1972 [2] |
Designated PHLF | 1976 [3] |
The Mexican War Streets, originally known as the "Buena Vista Tract," is a historic district that is located in the Central Northside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The district is densely filled with restored row houses, community gardens, and tree-lined streets and alleyways. The area dates to around the time of the Mexican–American War and a number of streets are named after battles and generals of the war.
During the late nineteenth century, Allegheny, Pennsylvania (later annexed by Pittsburgh), became known for its stately homes that were occupied by some of the area's wealthy families. One such area became known as the Mexican War Streets. It was developed from land owned by William Robinson Jr., an ex-mayor of the city of Allegheny, who subdivided the property into streets and lots in 1847. [4] Surveys for the development were made by Alexander Hays. [5]
A number of the streets are named after battles and generals of the Mexican–American War, including Buena Vista Street (named for the Battle of Buena Vista), Monterey Street (for the Battle of Monterrey), Palo Alto Street (for the Battle of Palo Alto), Resaca Place (for the Battle of Resaca de la Palma), Sherman Avenue (for Thomas W. Sherman), and Taylor Avenue (for Zachary Taylor). Fremont Street (currently Brighton Place) had been named in recognition of John C. Frémont.
The 27-acre (11 ha) district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 with 119 buildings deemed to contribute to the historic character of the district. [1] In 2008, the district's listing was increased to include an additional 288 contributing buildings over a 25.7-acre (10.4 ha) area. It was expanded again in 2018, when the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas overturned the decision of the Pittsburgh City Council to deny the district's expansion. [6]
The general boundaries of the Mexican War Streets Historic District are Brighton Road to Federal Street (on the east and west) and North Avenue to Jefferson Street (on the south and north). As part of the designation, all exterior alterations to buildings within the Historic District that are visible from a public street or way must be reviewed and approved by the City of Pittsburgh's Historic Review Commission. [7]
Palo Alto is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The Battle of Resaca de la Palma was one of the early engagements of the Mexican–American War, where the United States Army under General Zachary Taylor engaged the retreating forces of the Mexican Ejército del Norte under General Mariano Arista on May 9, 1846. The United States emerged victorious and forced the Mexicans out of Texas.
The Battle of Monterey, at Monterey, California, occurred on 7 July 1846, during the Mexican–American War. The United States captured the town unopposed.
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Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by the Ohio River, and is known today as the North Side. The city's waterfront district, along the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, became Pittsburgh's North Shore neighborhood.
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park near Brownsville, Texas, United States, is a National Park Service unit which preserves the grounds of the May 8, 1846, Battle of Palo Alto. It was the first major conflict in a border dispute that soon precipitated the Mexican–American War. The United States Army victory here made the invasion of Mexico possible. The historic site portrays the battle and the war, and its causes and consequences, from the perspectives of both the United States and Mexico.
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William Wallace Smith Bliss was a United States Army officer and mathematics professor. A gifted mathematician, he taught at West Point and also served as a line officer.
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California-Kirkbride is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's North Side.
Central Northside is a neighborhood in the North Side of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It has a zip code of 15212, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 6. Originally known as "The Buena Vista Tract", it is densely filled with restored row houses, community gardens and tree lined streets and alleyways.
Perry South—also known as Perry Hilltop—is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's North Side. It developed as a streetcar suburb around the turn of the 20th century, so it consists almost exclusively of residential housing, with a small business district at the intersection of Perrysville Avenue and Charles Avenue. The hill on which the neighborhood is built provides natural borders to the west, to the east and to the south.
Architectural Resources Group is a firm founded in 1980 by Bruce Judd and Steve Farneth in San Francisco, California. It began by providing professional services in the fields of architecture and urban planning with particular expertise in historic preservation. In 2000, David Wessel, a Principal of ARG, founded a separate conservation-contracting division, ARG Conservation Services which operates under the same roof as ARG. By 2005, the firm had expanded to a full-service architecture firm with 50+ employees. ARG also opened offices in Pasadena serving Southern California, and Portland, Oregon, serving the Pacific Northwest.
Buena Vista is an unincorporated community in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located just outside Pittsburgh on the Youghiogheny River. The Great Allegheny Passage rail trail runs through the community. Buena Vista was laid out in 1849 by James B. McGrew for the heirs of Daniel Greenawalt. For a time, it served as a mining town. Like many places in the US with this name, Buena Vista was named for the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican–American War.
The Resaca de la Palma Battlefield is the site in Brownsville, Texas, where American forces under General Zachary Taylor engaged Mexican forces under General Mariano Arista on May 9, 1846 in the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. A surviving undeveloped portion of the battlefield is now part of the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
Charles Augustus May (1818–1864) was an American officer of the United States Army who served in the Mexican War and other campaigns over a 25-year career. He is best known for successfully leading a cavalry charge against Mexican artillery at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma.