Chatham Village

Chatham Village Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark
Some houses in the Chatham Village Historic District
Location:	Roughly bounded by Virginia Ave., Bigham St.,Woodruff St., Saw Mill Run Blvd., and Olympia Rd., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Coordinates:	40°25′52″N 80°1′1″W / 40.43111°N 80.01694°W / 40.43111; -80.01694Coordinates: 40°25′52″N 80°1′1″W / 40.43111°N 80.01694°W / 40.43111; -80.01694
Area:	46 acres (190,000 m2)
Built:	1932 to 1936
Architect:	Clarence Stein and Henry Wright
Architectural style:	Georgian Colonial Revival, Classical Revival
Governing body:	Chatham Village Homes, Inc. (Private)
NRHP Reference#:	98001372
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	November 25, 1998 [2]
Designated NHLD:	April 5, 2005[3]
Designated PHLF:	1990[1]

Chatham Village is a community within the larger Mount Washington neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh, and an internationally acclaimed model of community design. Chatham Village Historic District, is a historic district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is roughly bounded by Virginia Ave., Bigham St., Woodruff St., Saw Mill Run Blvd., and Olympia Rd. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2005.^[3][4]

History

Chatham Village was built 1932-1936, and was designed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright on the principles of the Garden City Movement of the early 20th century. It is in the Georgian Colonial Revival style. It was built to show that affordable housing for the working class could be attractive and safe, however it quickly became a middle- and upper-class neighborhood because it was so attractive. The funding was provided by Pittsburgh's Buhl Foundation.

Relevance

In 2007, Chatham Village was included in the American Planning Association's list of Great Neighborhoods as part of its Great Places in America program, which recognized 10 neighborhoods from across the nation for good design, function, sustainability, and community involvement.^[5]

The Homes

View of the back of some homes (with deeply recessed garages) fronting on the street

The homes are red-brick-and-slate-roof townhomes. They are situated in clusters toward interior courtyards with their rears facing the loop roads around the property. The homes do have rear-access integral garages in the basements but these are recessed several feet to greatly reduce the visual impact.

The community is regarded as one of the best-preserved examples of the Garden City concept by city planners, architects, and landscape architects. It is also a National Historic Landmark, on the National Register of Historic Places, and is on the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks.

The Bigham House, built in 1844, now known as Chatham Hall

Chatham Hall

The complex includes the former home of Thomas Bigham, originally built in 1844, and renovated for use as a community clubhouse, known as Chatham Hall. Thomas James Bigham (1810-1884) was an abolitionist lawyer, and his house was "purportedly a station on the Underground Railroad".^[6]

Gallery

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  The garage side of some townhouses in Chatham Village

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  View of shared green space in front of some homes

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  A garage area for those whose townhouses don't have built-in garages

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  A castle-like wall around a parking area

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  A garden building with an overhead trellis around part of it

References

1. ^ Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009. Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. http://www.phlf.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/Historic-Plaques-2010b.pdf. Retrieved 2011-07-30. 
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. no date specified. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
3. ^ ^{a b} [http://www.nr.nps.gov/iwisapi/explorer.dll?IWS_SCHEMA=NRIS1&IWS_LOGIN=1&IWS_REPORT=100000044^{[dead link]} "Chatham Village"]. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://www.nr.nps.gov/iwisapi/explorer.dll?IWS_SCHEMA=NRIS1&IWS_LOGIN=1&IWS_REPORT=100000044^{[dead link]}. Retrieved 2008-02-06. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Edith B. Wallace and Paula S. Reed (December 12, 2003). National Register of Historic Places Registration: Chatham VillagePDF (681 KB). National Park Service. 
5. ^ "Neighborhood in Mt. Washington cited as one of nation's top 10.". Pittsburgh Truibune-Review (October 3). 2007. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_530594.html. Retrieved 2008-11-05. 
6. ^ African American historic sites survey of Allegheny County, Eliza Smith Brown, Daniel Holland, et al., page 173 (1994, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania . ISBN 0-89271-064-0. )

External links

• Chatham Village Website [1]
• 2005 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article on the community