THE FORMATION OF THE SQUIRREL HILL URBAN COALITION

THE FORMATION OF THE SQUIRREL HILL URBAN COALITION:

CONCERNS FOR THE FUTURE

By Helen Wilson

“WE ARE CONCERNED THAT THE COMMUNITY REMAIN STABLE and that the ‘exodus to suburbia’ not become a part of the Pittsburgh pattern…we are just formulating a proposal that will recommend the formation of an Urban Coalition Group…to deal with the problems in the areas of housing, education, recreation, business, legislation, funding, human problems such as drug addiction, and urban problems such as pollution control.”

These words appear in a memo dated December 10, 1971, one of the earliest existing documents about the formation of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition (SHUC). It was sent from Elayne Rosen, the director of the Urban Affairs Foundation Committee of the United Jewish Federation (UJF) in Pittsburgh, to the directors of the Jewish Community Relations Committees of the UJF nationwide.

Since Squirrel Hill was then predominantly Jewish, the push for an Urban Coalition was driven in part by concern for the living conditions of the elderly Jewish population. But there also was a larger concern for the future of the neighborhood, a concern shaped by what was happening in Pittsburgh and other American cities.

An early SHUC planning report noted that the “nature, extent and degree of present-day blight throughout Pittsburgh has been influenced by the lack of satisfactory adjustments to previous changes in population, housing, jobs, community facilities, transportation and patterns of land development.” It went on to say that the 14th Ward Civic Association had asked the City of Pittsburgh to study Squirrel Hill and develop a plan for stabilizing it, but nothing had come of it.

By the 1970s, the deterioration of the quality of life in Squirrel Hill was a growing concern, and neighbors were worried about the City’s lack of attention to the neighborhood. Community leaders decided that they needed to act, and the result was the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition. SHUC was officially formed on July 21, 1972.

The first SHUC Street Fair was held on October 14, 1973.

In the early 1970s, many Pittsburgh communities were worried about deterioration, but what set Squirrel Hill apart from most of the other neighborhoods is that, from the time it began to be marketed as a Pittsburgh “suburb” in the late 1890s, real-estate developers strove to ensure that Squirrel Hill’s upscale reputation was upheld through attention to its amenities.

A small real-estate book from the early 1900s, Squirrel Hill Homes, put it this way: “…Squirrel Hill is to-day the very embodiment of all that is beautiful and inviting and healthful as a home spot…The homes that have been built are of a uniformly high character, houses are all back a proper distance from the street, sidewalks are wide, and lined with shade trees; everything has been planned and carried out with the one idea of enhancing the natural beauty of the district and making it an ideal residence spot.” A suburb such as Squirrel Hill, which was close to Pittsburgh’s industrial and business centers, would entice business leaders to stay in the city and not move to places outside the city’s boundaries.

This old idea of the neighborhood as a “suburb” resurfaced in 1976, although in a moment of tension. Mary Hall, then-President of SHUC, was quoted in a Pittsburgh Press article as saying that “the city’s proposed six-year capital plan treats the eastern residential area of the city as if it’s a suburb—and maybe it should be.” She half-jokingly suggested at a Pittsburgh City Council meeting that Squirrel Hill and the rest of the 14th Ward should secede because the “Squirrel Hill area has been systemically written off by municipal government.” This happened at a time when wards were more important politically than neighborhoods. SHUC’s concerns extended to the whole 14th Ward, meaning not only Squirrel Hill but also Point Breeze, Regent Square, and Swisshelm Park.

While Squirrel Hill and its neighbors never seceded, SHUC kept working. SHUC has always concerned itself with public safety, educational issues, residential quality, the vitality of the business district, and upkeep of public spaces and parks within the neighborhood’s boundaries. Ever since its formation at an anxious moment in Squirrel Hill’s history, the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition has been striving to live up to its mission statement of “Preserving, Improving, and Celebrating the Quality of Life in Squirrel Hill.” Through diligence, foresight, and hard work, it is succeeding.

Quality of life issues have always been at the center of SHUC’s mission.