Wilkins Avenue
| Wilkins Avenue | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhoods | Point Breeze, Squirrel Hill North |
| Origin of name | William Wilkins |
| Wilkins Street (1881–1915) | |
| Origin of name | William Wilkins |
Wilkins Avenue is labeled in an 1851 map of Allegheny County.[1]
Most sources say that Wilkins Avenue is named for a judge, which points to William Wilkins (1779–1865).[2][3][4][5]:61 Wilkins was unanimously elected the first president of the Pittsburgh common council (1816–1819).[6][7]:58 As third president judge of the Court of Common Pleas (1820–1824), he succeeded Samuel Roberts, after whom Roberts Street is named, and was followed by Charles Shaler, eponym of Shaler Street.[7][8]:103–104,119[9] Wilkins' second wife was Matilda Dallas, who may be the eponym of Dallas Avenue.[8]:104[5]:66[10] See also Bates Street.
In a 1916 Post-Gazette column with some early Pittsburgh city history, George T. Fleming includes Wilkins Avenue as a street named after a "Pittsburgh pioneer." He had mentioned William Wilkins a few paragraphs earlier as president of the common council, but had also mentioned Charles Wilkins, son of General John Wilkins and the city's first recorder; the column is ambiguous about which man is commemorated by the street.[6]
The street name was officially established as Wilkins Street by a city ordinance in 1881.[11] It became Wilkins Avenue by another ordinance in 1915.[12]
See also
- Wilkins Street, for other streets that have had that name
References
- ↑ Sidney & Neff and S. McRea. Map of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, with the Names of Property-Holders. Philadelphia, 1851. LCCN 2012592150. [view source] sidney-neff
- ↑ Annie Clark Miller. Early Land Marks and Names of Old Pittsburgh: An address delivered before the Pittsburgh Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution at Carnegie Institute, Nov. 30, 1923, p. 34. Pittsburgh Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, 1924. Historic Pittsburgh 00awn8211m; Internet Archive earlylandmarksna00mill. [view source] miller
- ↑ Margaret Carlin. "How our streets got their names." Pittsburgh Press, Feb. 6, 1966, Pittsburgh's Family Magazine, p. 10. Newspapers.com 149098376. [view source] carlin
- ↑ Joe Browne. "Streets are index of local history." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 28, 1983, p. 37. Newspapers.com 89790718. [view source] browne-streets
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bob Regan. The Names of Pittsburgh: How the city, neighborhoods, streets, parks and more got their names. The Local History Company, Pittsburgh, 2009, ISBN 978-0-9770429-7-5. [view source] regan
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 George T. Fleming. "Growth of city in century is great: Celebration of charter anniversary directs attention to progress made: Noteworthy events." Pittsburgh Gazette Times, Mar. 12, 1916, sec. 5, p. 2. Newspapers.com 85766545. [view source] fleming-growth
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 History of Pittsburgh and Environs, vol. 2. American Historical Society, New York and Chicago, 1922. Google Books 3staAAAAYAAJ, TPUMAAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 011262563; Internet Archive historypittsbur00yorkgoog, historypittsbur02socigoog. [view source] history-pgh-environs-2
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 A. A. Lambing and J. W. F. White. Allegheny County: Its early history and subsequent development. Snowden & Peterson, Pittsburgh, 1888. Google Books 6bY-AAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 008957728, 100693049; Historic Pittsburgh 00aee8946m; Internet Archive centennialhistor00lamb; LCCN 18008828. [view source] lambing
- ↑ Erasmus Wilson, ed. Standard History of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. H. R. Cornell & Co., Chicago, 1898. Google Books 1dcwAQAAMAAJ; Historic Pittsburgh 00hc03974m; Internet Archive standardhistoryo00wils. [view source] wilson-erasmus
- ↑ Lillian Thomas. "City plays the name game." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mar. 26, 2001, pp. C-5, C-8. Newspapers.com 90410524, 90410540. [view source] thomas-city
- ↑ "An ordinance establishing the names of avenues, streets, lanes and alleys of the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 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 (Internet Archive pghmunicipalrecord1880). [view source] ordinance-1881-33
- ↑ "An ordinance changing the names of certain avenues, streets and ways in the City of Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1915, no. 117. Passed Apr. 28, 1915; approved Apr. 29, 1915. Ordinance Book 26, p. 615. In Municipal Record: Minutes of the proceedings of the Council of the City of Pittsburgh for the year 1915, appendix, pp. 99–103, Arlington Printing Co., Pittsburgh, 1915 (Internet Archive Pghmunicipalrecord1915). Reprinted in the Pittsburgh Post, May 7, 1915, sporting section, p. 4 (Newspapers.com 88028157), May 8, p. 15 (Newspapers.com 88028802), and May 10, p. 11 (Newspapers.com 88030672). [view source] ordinance-1915-117
