Scott Place

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Not to be confused with Scott Street, a former street where PPG Paints Arena is today.
Scott Place
Neighborhood Central Business District
Origin of name Probably Thomas Scott
Scott Alley (until 1895)
Origin of name Probably Thomas Scott

This alley appears in the 1830 map of Jean Barbeau and Lewis Keyon, labeled simply "Alley," between Barkers Alley (today's Barkers Place) and Irwin Street (today's Seventh Street).[1] George H. Thurston's Pittsburgh directory of 1856 has several listings with an address of "Scott ay" or "Scott's ay," though Scott Alley itself is not listed in the Pittsburgh street directory there.[2] Scott's Alley is first listed in Thurston's street directory in his 1862 edition.[3] The alley is labeled Scott Alley in the Hopkins atlas of 1889.[4]

Bruce S. Cridlebaugh says that it is named for Dr. Hugh Scott, postmaster in 1805.[5] On the other hand, one of the earliest mentions of this alley is a legal notice from 1858 pertaining to the vacation of another alley. The alley to be vacated is described as "an alley ten feet in width, leading from Scott's alley to Irwin street, over the ground of Thomas Scott."[6] This suggests that the alley may be named for this landowner. Compare nearby Cecil Place, Barkers Place, Maddock Place, and Irwin's Alley (today's Eighth Street), which were similarly named for people living at those locations.

The name was changed from Scott Alley to Scott Place in 1895; other downtown alleys were similarly renamed.[7]

References

  1. Jean Barbeau and Lewis Keyon. Map of Pittsburgh and Its Environs. N. B. Molineux, Pittsburgh, 1830. Historic Pittsburgh DARMAP0576; https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/36c3ab00-57aa-0136-8f4f-08990f217bc9. [view source]barbeau
  2. George H. Thurston. Directory for 1856–'57, of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Cities, Birmingham, East Birmingham, South & West Pittsburgh, Temperanceville, Manchester, Duquesne and Lawrenceville Boroughs, East Liberty, and Parts of Pitt and Collins Townships. George H. Thurston, Pittsburgh, 1856. Google Books HwYuAAAAYAAJ; HathiTrust 011562263; Historic Pittsburgh 31735038289074. [view source]thurston-1856
  3. George H. Thurston. Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Cities: And the adjoining boroughs of Birmingham, East Birmingham, Lawrenceville, Manchester, Duquesne, West Pittsburgh, South Pittsburgh, Monongahela, and Temperanceville; also, the villages of Brownstown, Minersville, East Liberty, Hatfield, Woodville, Troy Hill, Mt. Washington, Spring Garden, East Pittsburgh and Oakland; together with parts of Pitt, Collins, Peebles, St. Clair, M'Clure, Reserve, Chartiers and Shaler Townships, for 1862–63. George H. Thurston, Pittsburgh, 1862. Historic Pittsburgh 31735038289116. [view source]thurston-1862
  4. Atlas of the City of Pittsburgh, vol. 1. G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, 1889. http://historicpittsburgh.org/maps-hopkins/1889-volume-1-atlas-pittsburgh; included in the 1890 layer at Pittsburgh Historic Maps (https://esriurl.com/pittsburgh). [view source]hopkins-1889-vol-1
  5. Bruce S. Cridlebaugh. "Field notes: Changing Pittsburgh street names—from downtown to Lawrenceville." Pghbridges.com: Bridges & tunnels of Allegheny County & Pittsburgh, PA, Feb. 9, 2000. http://pghbridges.com/articles/fieldnote_pghstnames.htm. [view source]cridlebaugh
  6. Thomas A. Rowley. "In the matter of the Petition of certain citizens of the Fourth Ward, Pittsburgh, to vacate a certain alley near the corner of Penn and Irwin streets: In the Court of Quarter Sessions, of Allegheny county." Pittsburgh Morning Post, July 5, 1858, [p. 3]. Newspapers.com 88178385. [view source]rowley
  7. "An ordinance changing the names of Cecil alley to Cecil place, Barkers alley to Barker place, Scott alley to Scott place, Maddocks alley to Maddock place, and Garrison alley to Garrison place." Pittsburgh city ordinance, 1895, no. 386. Passed Mar. 18, 1895; approved Mar. 21, 1895. Ordinance Book 10, p. 227. Reprinted in the Pittsburg Press, Apr. 8, 1895, p. 8 (Newspapers.com 141562334), Apr. 9, p. 7 (Newspapers.com 141562391), and Apr. 10, p. 9 (Newspapers.com 141562481). [view source]ordinance-1895-386