| Upper Lawrenceville |
Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Population (1990): 3328[1] |
| Population (2000): 2899[1] |
| Area: 0.405 sq mi (1.05 km2)[1] |
| Central Lawrenceville |
Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Population (1990): 5867[1] |
| Population (2000): 5106[1] |
| Area: 0.963 sq mi (2.49 km2)[1] |
| Lower Lawrenceville |
Neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Population (1990): 2650[1] |
| Population (2000): 2585[1] |
| Area: 0.43 sq mi (1.1 km2)[1] |
Lawrenceville is one of the largest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located northeast of downtown, and like many of Pittsburgh's riverfront neighborhoods, it has an industrial past. Lawrenceville is bordered by the Allegheny River, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip District and Stanton Heights. The city officially subdivides the neighborhood into three component parts, Upper Lawrenceville, Central Lawrenceville, and Lower Lawrenceville, but these distinctions have little practical effect. Accordingly, Lawrenceville is almost universally treated as being a single large neighborhood. The three areas combined also afford it the nickname "L.A." or Lawrenceville Area.
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Lawrenceville was founded in 1814 by William Foster, father of composer Stephen Foster, who was born there in 1826. It is named for Captain James Lawrence, hero of the War of 1812, famous for his dying words, "Don't Give Up The Ship!" Lawrenceville was selected as home to the Allegheny Arsenal, due to "The area's accessibility to river transportation and its proximity to what was then the nation's only iron producing district". Lawrenceville was annexed to the city of Pittsburgh in 1868. One of the original buildings, a log home built in the 1820s, survives at 184 38th Street.[2]
As seen on older maps, two sizable islands once sat opposite Lawrenceville in the Allegheny river: Herrs Island (now known as Washington's Landing), which stretched from roughly 28th street to 37th street, and McCullough's Island (sometimes labeled Wainwright's Island or "Good Liquor" Island), which stretched from roughly 35th street to 40th street.[3] Washington's Landing is named after an event in 1753 in which George Washington was thrown from his raft while crossing the Allegheny River and scrambled to safety on a nearby island. However, Washington did not actually land on Washington's Landing—he landed on McCullough's Island.[4] Although Washington's Landing still exists, McCullough's Island, which sat much closer to the mainland, does not. It is not clear what happened to McCullough's Island. It is possible that it simply eroded away into nothing, or—considering how narrow the channel was between it and Lawrenceville—it might have been incorporated into the mainland.[4][5]
Today, Lawrenceville is undergoing a revitalization, and has been noted by The New York Times as a "go-to destination".[6] Transplanted young hipsters and those who have lived in Lawrenceville for their entire lives dwell side by side, as the neighborhood's affordable housing has become a major draw for those looking to renovate an older home at a reasonable cost. As of 2007, real estate price appreciation was the second highest in the city, after the South Side, according to Carnegie Mellon University.[7]
Lawrenceville is part of Pittsburgh's 16:62 Design Zone,[8] and art galleries have opened up all along Lawrenceville's main artery, Butler Street, and the surrounding area, along with clothing boutiques, furniture stores, and a number of new restaurants, coffee shops, and bars.
It has a zip code of 15201 (15224 is also Lawrenceville between 39th and 40th streets between Penn and Liberty), and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 7 (North Central East Neighborhoods). Lawrenceville is home to 6 engine and 6 truck. This is one of 29 fire stations in the city of Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire has discussed closing the truck company which would leave the neighborhood without an aerial in the immediate area.
The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC opened a new facility in Lawrenceville on May 2, 2009, moving all patients from Oakland[9].
A short film set and shot in Lawrenceville, Mombies, is one story in the film[10]. Some of the scenes for the movie Love and Other Drugs (2009), starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, were taped in Lawrenceville.