What was built
- Established or development period
- 1900s–1920s
- Peak period
- 1930s–1950
- Who built the community
- Great Migration families, Black steelworkers, entrepreneurs and musicians.
- Black population
- Roughly 55,000 residents in the greater Hill at its peak.
- Businesses
- More than 400 businesses in the Lower Hill alone before clearance.
- Financial institutions
- Not yet documented
- Churches
- Numerous Black congregations, several demolished.
- Schools
- Not yet documented
- Hospitals
- Not yet documented
- Newspapers
- The Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most influential Black newspapers in the country.
- Entertainment & cultural institutions
- The Crawford Grill, the Hurricane Club, the Negro League Pittsburgh Crawfords and the world of August Wilson's plays.
- Other community institutions
- Not yet documented
- Black land & property ownership
- A mix of Black home ownership and tenancy in aging housing stock denied maintenance capital by redlining.
- Economic significance
- A nationally significant Black cultural and journalistic center.
What happened
- What happened?
- Between 1956 and 1961, the Lower Hill was cleared for the Civic Arena and associated redevelopment. About 95 acres were demolished, roughly 1,300 families, approximately 8,000 people, overwhelmingly Black, were displaced, and more than 400 businesses were lost. Promised replacement housing was never built.
- Trigger or precipitating event
- The Lower Hill redevelopment project and Civic Arena construction.
- Underlying historical context
- Federal urban renewal funding and a city redevelopment authority pursuing a cultural-district vision.
- Method of destruction / displacement
- Urban Renewal · Eminent Domain · Government Acquisition
- Date or period of destruction
- 1956–1961
- Confirmed / documented deaths
- Not yet documented
- Estimated deaths
- Not yet documented
- People displaced
- Approximately 8,000 people in about 1,300 households.
- Homes destroyed
- Roughly 1,300 dwelling units.
- Businesses destroyed
- More than 400 businesses.
- Acres or property lost
- Approximately 95 acres cleared.
Afterward
- What happened to the land?
- The Civic Arena and its parking lots; the arena itself was demolished in 2011–2012.
- Was compensation paid?
- Condemnation payments to owners; renters received relocation assistance widely documented as inadequate.
- Was the community rebuilt?
- No, the promised replacement housing was never built.
- What was rebuilt?
- Not yet documented
- Destroyed or displaced again?
- Not yet documented
- Second displacement date
- Not yet documented
- Second displacement cause
- Not yet documented
- What exists there today?
- The former arena site is under redevelopment with community-benefits agreements; the greater Hill retains historic institutions.
- Descendant, reparation & restoration efforts
- The Hill District Consensus Group, community-benefits agreements on the arena site and the August Wilson House.
- Historical significance
- A textbook case of urban renewal clearing a thriving Black district for a civic project that never delivered the promised return.
Sources
- Source lookupFind
Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, Lower Hill project records
- Source lookupFind
Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh Courier photographs (Teenie Harris Collection)
- Source lookupFind
Carnegie Museum of Art, Teenie Harris Archive
- Source lookupFind
Mindy Thompson Fullilove, Root Shock (One World/Ballantine, 2004)
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Last verified: 2026-09-20. This is a living historical collection. Additional communities and documentation will be added as research and verification continue.