Pearson Way
| Pearson Way | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood | Central Lawrenceville |
| Origin of name | Pearson family, including Alfred L. Pearson |
| Fate | Vacated in 1962 |
| Pearson Alley (until 1914) | |
| Origin of name | Pearson family |
This former alley ran from 43rd Street to 44th Street, parallel to and southeast of Summit Street. It was laid out in 1850 in a plan of lots by James Robinson and William Forsyth, though that plan did not give it a name.[1] It was named Pearson Alley by 1871, in which year Pittsburgh City Councils passed an ordinance for the grading and paving of the alley.[2] It appears, unlabeled, in the 1872 Hopkins atlas, which shows a number of properties just southeast of the alley owned by members of the Pearson family: George Pearson, J. M. Pearson, E. F. Pearson, Joseph Pearson, General Alfred L. Pearson, and William Pearson.[3]
An 1881 city ordinance that established the names of all streets and alleys in Pittsburgh lists "Pearson alley, from Forty-third street to Forty-fourth street, Seventeenth ward,"[4] and Pearson Alley was also listed in a similar 1910 ordinance.[5]
Pearson Alley became Pearson Way in 1914 when another ordinance changed all alleys in Pittsburgh to ways.[6]
In a 1916 newspaper article about Pittsburgh streets named for war heroes, George T. Fleming wrote: "Alfred L. Pearson, once a noted attorney at the local bar, went to the [Civil War] as captain of Company A of the One Hundred Fifty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers, a regiment organized by the late Col. Edward Jay Allen, who commanded it until after Gettysburg. Pearson went through all the grades to brevet major general and was the third colonel of the One Hundred Fifty-fifth Regiment. . . . Both [J. Bowman] Sweitzer and Pearson were gallant soldiers, earning their stars by 'distinguished and meritorious services in action.' Both are without local commemoration."[7] Apparently Pearson Way was too obscure for Fleming to notice it and make a connection.
Pearson Way was vacated by a city ordinance in 1962.[8]
Another unnamed alley was laid out in the 1850 Robinson and Forsyth plan, running from 42nd Street to 43rd Street (to use the modern street names), across 43rd Street from the alley that became Pearson Way.[1] This alley could easily have been part of Pearson Way, but it seems that Pearson Way was almost universally considered to run between 43rd and 44th Streets only. This narrow alley between 42nd and 43rd Streets still exists today, though it is apparently nameless.
References
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 "Jas. Robinson & Wm. Forsyth's plan of building lots situated in the Borough of Lawrenceville: Laid out in Nov. 1850 by J. S. Devlin, C. E." Laid out Nov. 1850; recorded Aug. 25, 1851, Plan Book 1, p. 54. Allegheny County Recorder of Deeds 3778296. [view source] robinson-forsyth-plan
- ↑ "An ordinance authorizing the grading of Pearson alley, from 43d street to 44th street." Pittsburgh city ordinance. Enacted Sept. 11, 1871. In The Municipal Record: Containing the Proceedings of the Select and Common Councils of the City of Pittsburgh: 1871, vol. 4, no. 19, Pittsburgh Daily Gazette, Pittsburgh, 1871 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1868_20200904_2014; https://pittsburgharchives.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_cc97781d-acb7-45e2-bca5-774ab3f8cb8e/). [view source] ordinance-1871-pearson
- ↑ Atlas of the Cities of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, and the Adjoining Boroughs, pp. 58–59. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1872. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1872-atlas-pittsburgh-allegheny; 1872 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source] hopkins-1872
- ↑ "An ordinance establishing the names of avenues, streets, lanes and alleys of the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1880–1881, no. 33. Passed Feb. 28, 1881; approved Mar. 4, 1881. Ordinance Book 5, p. 212. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Select and Common Councils of the City of Pittsburgh, for the Year 1880, pp. 213–234, Herald Printing Company, Pittsburgh, 1881 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1880). [view source] ordinance-1880-1881-33
- ↑ "An ordinance establishing the names of the avenues, streets, lanes and alleys in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1909–1910, no. 716. Passed Mar. 31, 1910; approved Apr. 5, 1910. Ordinance Book 21, p. 359. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the [Select and Common Councils] of the City of Pittsburgh for the Years 1909–1910, appendix, pp. 328–381, Devine & Co., Pittsburgh, 1910 (Google Books doQzAQAAMAAJ; HathiTrust uiug.30112108223832; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1909). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Apr. 29, 1910, pp. 12–16 (Newspapers.com 86616256, 86616285, 86616314, 86616333, 86616343), and Apr. 30, pp. 12–16 (Newspapers.com 86616643, 86616672, 86616694, 86616726, 86616748). [view source] ordinance-1909-1910-716
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the name 'alley' on every thoroughfare in the City of Pittsburgh to 'way.'" Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1914, no. 402. Passed Nov. 10, 1914; approved Nov. 16, 1914. Ordinance Book 26, p. 360. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the Year 1914, appendix, p. 226, McClung Printing Co., Pittsburgh (HathiTrust uiug.30112108223899; Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1914). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, Nov. 23, 1914, p. 11 (Newspapers.com 86505785), and Nov. 24, p. 12 (Newspapers.com 86505809). [view source] ordinance-1914-402
- ↑ George T. Fleming. "Streets named for heroes of war: Nearness of Memorial Day brings thoughts of events of the Sixties: Well known leaders." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, May 28, 1916, sec. 5, p. 2. Newspapers.com 85468043. [view source] fleming-heroes
- ↑ "An ordinance vacating Pearson Way, between Forty-third Street and Forty-fourth Street, in the Ninth Ward of the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1962, no. 273. Passed Aug. 10, 1962; approved Aug. 15, 1962. Ordinance Book 64, p. 592. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the Proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh: For the Year 1962, appendix, pp. 208–209, Park Printing, Inc., Pittsburgh (Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1962). [view source] ordinance-1962-273
