View of Ross Street, from Diamond Street to Fifth Avenue, in the Hump District. The shot captures the Bridge of Sighs connecting the Allegheny County Courthouse and the Allegheny County Jail. The bridge was once used to transport prisoners from the courthouse to the jail and is modeled after a bridge in Venice, Italy with the same name. The "hump" cut took place in the area of Downtown known as Grant's Hill. The project began with planning in 1909 and ended with the final cut in 1913. It changed the gradient of Grant Street, Diamond Street, and Oliver, Fifth, Sixth, Webster and Wylie Avenues. Please see, Frederick Law Olmstead, Pittsburgh Main Thoroughfares and the Down Town District: http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/text/text-idx?c=pitttext&view=toc&idno=00aep1324m for more information.
Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection, 1901-2002, AIS.1971.05, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
Original URL
Subjects
Streets--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh--Maintenance and repair.; Commercial buildings--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.; Pedestrians--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.; Municipal buildings--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.; Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail (Pittsburgh, Pa.).; Bridge of Sighs (Pittsburgh, Pa.).; Ross Street (Pittsburgh, Pa.).; Downtown (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
Identifier
715.133513.CP
Rights
Public Domain - Anybody may use this photo for any purpose
