Dormont (Mountain of Gold in French) is a borough in Allegheny County just south of the city of Pittsburgh. It’s proximity to Downtown Pittsburgh allows it a diverse population of young professionals, families and retirees. West Liberty Avenue, the main thoroughfare through the area leads to a pedestrian friendly business district with coffee shops, restaurants, retail and businesses. Dormont is also famous for one of the largest municipal pools in Pennsylvania, the Dormont Pool.
The history of Dormont begins as the Delaware and Shawnee Native American Tribes let it go in 1768 in a transaction including the area in the borough and Fort Stanwix. Originally part of Cumberland County, Pitt Township in Bedford County and Penn Township in Washington County, Dormont finally became part of St. Clair Township, Allegheny County in 1788. An order of incorporation in 1909 made Dormont the first independent municipality in the South Hills.
Once the borough of Dormont was incorporated in 1909, at least 30 different streets were given new names. Today, all but two of Dormont’s streets are designated as avenues, the exceptions being Memorial Drive and Park Blvd. Two of Dormont’s mainline streets, Scott Road and McFarland Road, are two-lane “borough line” streets in which one lane is located in Dormont and the other in Mt. Lebanon. The northern stretch of another “borough line” street, McNeilly Avenue, runs through Dormont on one side and the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Brookline on the other. Before the incorporation and street name changes, Dormont actually had three designated “streets”: Beech St. (Dwight Ave.), Sycamore St. (Philadelphia Ave.), and Sylvester St. (Texas Ave.). (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Today Dormont offers it’s residents and visitors many amenities. The aforementioned Dormont Pool, two parks, basketball and tennis courts, two Little League fields, a fine library, an impressive volunteer-built children’s playground, as well as seasonal activities for both children and adults. “Dormont Day,” the annual Fourth of July park-wide event, is the highlight of the summer season and features all day family entertainment beginning with the 8:00 a.m. Twenty-One Gun Salute and culminating with one of the most spectacular fireworks displays for a community of this size. During the day, park goers are treated to live music, picnics, food booths, games, pony rides, and Little League All-Star games.
