Notes:Ferguson Street

From Pittsburgh Streets

Also the following:

Whereas information has been laid before Councils, by the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, that the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, through its employees continue their obstructions on Ferguson street, at the junction of Morton street, in the Ninth Ward, greatly to the injury of said Hospital, and entirely regardless of the action of the Councils on the subject.—Therefore

Resolved, That the Street Commissioner of the 1st District be, and he is hereby directed to remove, or have removed, any locomotive, engine, tender, or car, whenever they shall obstruct said junction of Morton and Ferguson streets, in the form and manner that nuisances are removed, and at the expense of said Pennsylvania Railroad Company.

Read three times and adopted.

  • 1854-04-19: Act of Assembly (Source:Digest-1860, pp. 53–54): "Sec. I. That any ordinance passed or to be passed by the select and common councils of the city of Pittsburgh, for changing part of the course of Ferguson street, and vacating and opening the same, and any such ordinance for vacating and closing Bell's alley, or any part thereof, is hereby allowed, ratified and confirmed in such manner as to make the opening, changing, vacating and closing aforesaid, legal and valid, and the title to any street or alley so vacated is hereby confirmed to the Pennsylvania rail road company, so long as they are owners of the adjoining property."
    • 1854-04-19 (Newspapers.com 85638328): "Mr. Porter called up the bill authorizing the councils of Pittsburgh to change the location of Ferguson street, and vacating Bell's alley.—Passed finally."
  • 1854-06-06, Source:Special-meeting-of-select-council: "A resolution was introduced authorising the opening of a street 40 feet wide, parallel with Liberty street, and between Liberty street and the Hill, in the Fifth and Ninth Wards. Referred to Committee on Ordinances. ¶ This street is to be opened and graded at the expense of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and is to be a substitute for Ferguson street, which is occupied by the buildings at the outer depot."
  • 1855-07-30, Source:Ferguson-street-ninth-ward:

Ferguson Street, Ninth Ward.—On the 28th of July, 1854 [sic], the City Councils granted authority to the Pennsylvania Railroad to vacate a portion of Ferguson street, in the Ninth Ward, on condition that the Company make a new street in its place. The street was vacated, and the Company occupied it with their tracks. The Company then came to the conclusion, it seems, that their charter would not permit them to make the new street, except by the usual method of appointing viewers and assessing damages done to the property on the line of the street. John H. Hampton, Esq., applied to the Court of Quarter Sessions, on Saturday, for the appointment of viewers to assess damages. The Court granted the order, and appointed Ed. Campbell, Jr., Jas. W. Biddle, Henry Chalfant, James Kelly, and John Gilfillan, Jr., said viewers.

  • 1872-05-13: "Important document: Proposition from the Pennsylvania Railroad," Source:Municipal-record-1872, pp. 42–43; Source:Important-document
    • 1872-10-31, Source:Ordinance-1872-167: "Sixth. Upon the completion of said bridge, as provided in preceding section, and the grading and paving of the approaches thereto, the city agrees to vacate Twenty-eighth (or Morton) street as laid out southwardly from the southerly line of Sassafras alley, and also the following streets now upon the plan of the city, whether open or unopened, namely: Lumber street, from Liberty street to Ferguson street; Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth and Thirty-first streets, from Sassafras alley to Ferguson street, and old and new Ferguson streets from the westerly line of Lumber street to Thirty-second street."
  • 1872-07-25: "Interesting railroad case: O'Hara vs. the Pennsylvania Railroad Company—important discoveries in regard to the City District Plan—inaccuracy of official records—an award in O'Hara's favor of $116,000" (Newspapers.com 85999274)
  • 1876-01-19: "The most important matter connected with the success of the [Western Pennsylvania] Hospital is the happy termination of the long pending controversy with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which for years past has been a source of discontent and reproach. By a contract mutually satisfactory, the perils of the Ferguson street crossing will soon end, by the erection on the part of the railroad company of a suitable iron bridge with safeguards, from Sassafrass alley to the grounds of the Hospital, at the proposed junction of Jones and Brereton avenues." Pittsburgh Commercial (Newspapers.com 89553031), Daily Post (Newspapers.com 86510218)
  • 1879-05-27: Source:Ordinance-1879-4, "An ordinance modifying the contract entered into by and between the City of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, dated 31st day of October, 1872," Source:Municipal-record-1879, pp. 259–260
  • 1879-07-31, Source:Local-briefs-1879-07-31: "The contract for the masonry work of the Twenty-eighth street bridge, over the Pennsylvania railroad has been awarded to Mr. James Watt of this city."
  • 1879-08-13, Source:Local-briefs-1879-08-13: "The work of preparing the ground for the approaches to the Twenty-eighth street bridge over the P. R. R. tracks has been commenced."
  • 1879-10-29 (Newspapers.com 85545269): "Work is progressing rapidly on the Twenty-eighth street bridge."
  • 1880-09-28 (Newspapers.com 85554966): "Common Council. ¶ . . . ¶ Mr. Perry, an ordinance for the opening of Jones avenue, from Arch street to Twenty-eighth street bridge."
  • 1880-11-09 (Newspapers.com 86359213): "John Wizer—I live at 1063 Penn street. I was watchman at the new Twenty-eighth street bridge last year."
  • 1927-03-31: Source:Ordinance-1927-251, "An ordinance vacating Ferguson street, in the Sixth Ward of the City of Pittsburgh, from Thirty-second street to Thirty-third street"
    • ". . . as shown on the Springfield Farm Plan of record in the Recorder's Office of Allegheny County in Plan Book Volume 6, page 180 and on the City District Plan approved by the Court of Quarter Sessions July 17, 1843, on file in the Bureau of Engineering, Division of Surveys . . ."

To do

Articles about history.

  • 1916-12-03: Source:Fleming-railroad-entry
  • 1936-09-26: "Vast Pennsy network converges here" (Newspapers.com 88920725): "The Pennsylvania Railroad originally came into the city down the center of Ferguson street which was located between Liberty avenue and the hillside, thence diagonally across the center of Liberty avenue at Seventeenth street. It extended down the center of Liberty avenue from that location to the wharf along the Monongahela river at the Point, where Pittsburgh's first freight station was located. The original Pennsylvania Railroad passenger station was located in a white lead warehouse on the northwest corner of Liberty avenue and O'Hara street, now Twelfth street."
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