Riding the 81
This tour draws your attention to the historically-significant sites along your trip between downtown and several city neighborhoods.
Start at the historic site that’s closest to you! If you’re traveling outbound on the 83 route, click “Next” to follow along. If you’re traveling inbound, click “Previous.”
Letsche Education Center
A Non-Traditional Approach to Education
The Letsche Education Center, built in 1905 as the Letsche Elementary School, is an art deco building designed by architect Marian M. Steen. Originally occupying the lot at 1530 Cliff Street, a 1941 addition expanded the school to 1527 Bedford Avenue. In April of 1975, Pittsburgh's Board of…
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St. George Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Church
This small, yellow brick church, topped with a traditional orthodox onion dome, served as a spiritual home for Pittsburgh's Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian communities from 1917 to 1959. It was during this time that August Wilson, who wrote the famous "Pittsburgh Cycle," frequently spent time on…
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Irene Kaufmann Settlement
Born from tragedy to provide comfort and community to thousands of Hill District families
A Refuge in the New Industrial City
Industrial growth between the 1890s and 1920s transformed Pittsburgh’s population. Predominantly poor, non-English-speaking immigrants of diverse cultures poured into densely-packed, dilapidated neighborhoods that were often unprepared to provide basic needs.…
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Halfway Art Gallery
The Halfway Art Gallery was a short-lived but pivotal cultural institution in the Hill District. The gallery's origins can be traced to 1966, a time when the neighborhood was undergoing significant social and political changes. The gallery emerged from the vision of local activists and artists…
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Ellis Hotel
Green Book-listed lodging and nightspot
This now vacant lot was once the site of the Ellis Hotel, a safe haven for traveling Black artists and celebrities, and a hub of culture for the local Hill community.
Originally established by James and Frank Ellis in Pittsburgh's South Side, the hotel eventually relocated to this Centre Avenue…
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Lutz's Meat Market
The building at 2145 Centre Avenue was, for many years, the home of Lutz’s Meat Market, and the owner’s name is still visible on the building’s cornice.
German immigrant Charles Lutz founded the meat market in 1894 across the street from where he would eventually build a three-story building on…
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