Along the banks of the Monongahela sits a remnant of industry and an example of the regions resilience. Purchased under the Stanwix Treaty, the large wooded tract of land filled with hazelnut trees and enormous Native American burial mounds became a bustling home to farmland, ship captains and industry. Once known as Scotch Bottoms due to the lands first settlers, the mills of J&L Steel and later LTV Steel brought in constant flow of eastern European immigrants, primarily Hungarian, Slovak, Italian and other Slavic groups. The Indian burial mounds were so large it is said there were enough stones to pave the entirety of Second Avenue, the main road that links Hazelwood to the rest of the city. As industry grew the town reached its pinnacle much like its cousin down the river, Braddock. Businesses, attractions and occupied homes filled the streets as the railroads in town saw immense traffic. The railroad was originally built inland to preserve the natural beauty of the riverbanks, essentially splitting the neighborhood into two sections. As the steel industry began to fail in the 1980's and with the construction of the Civic Arena in the 1960's causing the displacement of thousands of low income residents, Hazelwood met the same demise as many neighborhoods and boroughs along the three rivers. With LTV Steel closing in 1999, I have always remembered Hazelwood as a thriving neighborhood lost to history, covered in grime and rust, the way I saw it as I passed through it on the way to my grandparents house in the South Hills. In typical Pittsburgh fashion, residents, local politicians and innovators revive distressed areas through resilience, devotion and revitalization. The expansive brownfield has been rezoned for development of the Almono Site. Created by RIDC (Regional Industrial Development Corperation) who have redeveloped much of the regions former brownfields, the Almono Site will be home to a technology park, housing units millions of square feet of office space and an extension of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail reconnecting Hazelwood with the rest of the city through productivity and resilience. Hazelwood is the quintessential example of a Pittsburgh neighborhood, born through native american history, farmland, wealth, philanthropy and most importantly industry only later to be left to fend for itself after the collapse of industry and succeed mightily. Although there is a long road ahead, the banks of the Monongahela from Hazelwood all the way to Point State Park are reaching their former glory, just without the smog.
The following pictures were taken along 2nd Avenue looking towards Downtown along the old LTV Steel site.
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