PITTSBURGH — You probably know street names like Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Stanwix Street, and Penn Avenue, but did you know those names, and many more, are deep-rooted in American history?
Andy Masich is the president and CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center. He gave Channel 11 some insight into some of the streets’ stories.
“We are in the Strip District, which is the strip of land below the hill district, which is Grant’s Hill. James Grant is a British officer who was captured during the French and Indian War as the British tried to take Fort Duquesne,” Masich explained during his ride with Channel 11’s Susan Koeppen.
On Fort Duquesne Blvd, he also told her that Fort Duquesne was established by the French in 1754, and sat right at the spot we call The Point.
Grant Street in Downtown was named for that British officer, James Grant.
Masich: (He) fought against Americans in the American Revolution.
He would remain the namesake until 2015, when the Pittsburgh City Council adopted a proclamation dedicating Grant Street to the memory of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Stanwix Street was named for British General John Stanwix, who led the construction of Fort Pitt.
The car ride then took Susan and Masich to Mt. Washington.
“Mt. Washington is named for George Washington, but it wasn’t named until the 1880s. It was originally called Coal Hill,” Masich said.
If you leave Downtown and head into Oakland, you will come across Halket Street if you take a left.
Susan: When I think Halket, I think of Magee Womens Hospital.
Masich: Two hundred and fifty years ago, Sir Peter Halket was a major in the British Army, and he was killed in the battle of the Monongahela or Braddock’s defeat.
Susan: From Halket, we are about to turn right onto Forbes. Tell us the significance of Forbes.
Masich: General John Forbes is the person who named Pittsburgh. He said, ‘We can’t name it Duquesne, that sounds way too French. How about Pittsburgh?’ After William Pitt the elder, the British Secretary of State. Forbes was a Scottman and he grew up near Edinburgh. So this is a Scottish burgh, not a German berg.
The ride then took Channel 11 to Penn Avenue in Lawrenceville.
Masich: Penn Avenue was the main way people came into Pittsburgh historically.
Lawrenceville is named after Captain James Lawrence.
Masich: Who was the captain of the USS Chesapeake, which was blasted in the War of 1812, but Lawrence’s last dying words were, ‘Don’t give up the ship.’
Those words remain a Navy slogan and a rally cry to this day.
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