Beltzhoover

Beltzhoover is a Pittsburgh neighborhood on the southern edge of the city, bordered by Allentown, Bon Air, Knoxville, Mt. Washington, Beechview and Brookline.  It is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, and originally farmland.

The area was named for Melchior Beltzhoover, who moved to the area in the late 1700’s with his family.  The family were farmers originally, and purchased 248 acres of hilltop.  They build a homestead at Climax Street and Curtain Avenue in 1794 and diversified into several different businesses, including a coal mine, a tavern and a ferry across the Monongahela river.  The property included all of present day Beltzhoover, Allentown and Knoxville… it even spread into parts of Mt. Washington and Mt. Oliver.

The home is still standing today, and was built with stone quarried in the nearby hills.  It is one of six buildings still standing in the Pittsburgh area that predate Pittsburgh’s incorporation as a city in 1816.  The home remained in the family for 80 years until 1875.

Today, while the neighborhood has fallen on hard times, there is a revitalization effort underway by the Beltzhoover Concerned Citizens Development Corporation, the Hilltop Housing Initiative and the URA.