Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated as a single neighborhood.
Neighborhoods
Squirrel Hill North has five borders: the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Shadyside to the north, Point Breeze to the east, Squirrel Hill South to the south, Central Oakland to the southwest, and North Oakland to the west. Squirrel Hill South has nine land borders with the Pittsburgh, PA neighborhoods of Squirrel Hill North to the north and northwest, Point Breeze to the northeast, Regent Square to the east, Swisshelm Park to the southeast, Glen Hazel and Hazelwood to the south-southwest, Greenfield to the southwest, and South Oakland and Central Oakland to the west. Across the Monongahela River to the south-southeast, Squirrel Hill South runs adjacent to Homestead.
History
The name “Squirrel Hill” may have been given to the area by the Native Americans who lived nearby. The neighborhood most likely was named for the abundance of black squirrels. The growth and development of Squirrel Hill were initially focused on the riverfront along the Monongahela River. The first recorded house was built in 1760 by a soldier at nearby Fort Pitt, Colonel James Burd, at Summerset on the Monongahela River. Squirrel Hill’s next house was built by Ambrose Newton sometime in the 1760s. This house is still standing and located in Schenley Park along Overlook Drive (near the ice skating rink). Its first “business district” was the intersection of Brown’s Hill Road and Beechwood Boulevard.
Culture
Squirrel Hill’s business area along Forbes and Murray avenues is referred to as “upstreet” (a contraction of “up the street”) by locals. In addition to the many retail businesses in the neighborhood, there are several longtime, non-profit organizations, including a branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, the Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Pittsburgh, the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh, and the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition. Many annual events are hosted in Squirrel Hill by various community organizations.
Parks
Squirrel Hill contains several nature-related points of interest. They include the Chatham University Arboretum, originally belonging to Andrew Mellon; Schenley Park; and Frick Park. In 1889, Schenley Park was established on land donated by Mary Schenley, whose grandfather owned considerable land in the area. The original size of the park was 120 acres (0.49 km2), though it eventually expanded to 456 acres (1.85 km2) over the years. Bed Bug Exterminator Pittsburgh
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