About the Historic Bellefield Neighborhood
While many of us recognize the bustling neighborhood of Oakland and the University’s Bellefield Hall, few know about the historic Bellefield neighborhood. In its history, a significant number of Oakland residents referred to parts of Oakland by different names, which were known as “sub-neighborhoods”. Bellefield is one of the four sub-neighborhoods that make up Oakland, including Schenley Farms, South Oakland, and Terrace Village (“An Atlas of the Oakland Neighborhood of Pittsburgh 1977” 4).
Bellefield was originally a farm in the early 19th century and was owned by Neville B. Craig, the editor of the Pittsburgh Gazette from 1821 to 1841. Craig named the farm after his wife, Isabelle Wilson, and the name has stuck ever since. Due to the rapid pace of industrialization in the mid-1800’s, a glass manufacturer known as Dithridge purchased Craig’s “Bellefield” in 1851 to begin housing projects in the area.
By the 1860’s, the farm was transformed to a commercialized residential area, complete with a rail transport system (“An Atlas of the Oakland Neighborhood of Pittsburgh 1977” 5). At the turn of the century, a businessman known as Frank Nicola constructed a building on Forbes Avenue and named it the Schenley Park Hotel. In 1956, the hotel was bought by the University of Pittsburgh and renovated to a student union building while preserving its belle ėpoque architecture (“Campus Tour”).
Today, it is known by students as the William Pitt Union (WPU). Despite the extensive history of Bellefield from a simple farm to prosperous neighborhood, it has largely been forgotten by the public. With its status as a sub-neighborhood, it is likely that what was Bellefield is now simply known as part of Oakland and little else. Today, Bellefield is considered one of several “vanishing neighborhoods” in the Pittsburgh area. Still, it is useful to look at these neighborhoods from a historic perspective in order to appreciate this space in the present.
Works Cited:
An Atlas of the Oakland Neighborhood of Pittsburgh 1977. Pittsburgh Neighborhood Alliance, 1977.
“William Pitt Union.” Pitt Campus Tour, www.tour.pitt.edu/tour/william-pitt-union.
Vanished Schools of a Vanishing Neighborhood
Since Bellefield is considered a “vanishing neighborhood,” it can be viewed as an area that is somewhat known by residents yet on the cusp of being completely forgotten. We might acknowledge its existence as a sub-neighborhood in Oakland, but we have forgotten its significance to the city of Pittsburgh. With this in mind, it is worth looking backwards and to see Bellefield from a historic perspective, as it was lived in the past.