- Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania
Wilkinsburg is a borough in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania ,United States . The population was 19,196, at the 2000 census, having lost more than 10,000 in 60 years since 1940 when 29,853 people were enumerated. The borough was named in honor of William Wilkins, Secretary of War under President Tyler.History
Wilkinsburg was founded and developed by highly
religious Europe an immigrants. The borough has a remarkably high concentration of churches, mostlyProtestant , which is unusual in a predominantlyCatholic region of the country. Bars are prohibited within the borough limits. Wilkinsburg separated from the city of Pittsburgh in 1871. According to borough leader James Kelly, this was in order to maintain the religious integrity of the community. Wilkinsburg was known during this time by many as "The Holy City".In 1919, the world's first commercial radio station, 8XK, later relicensed as KDKA, began broadcasting here from a small garage owned by
Frank Conrad . In 1923, Wilkinsburg-basedRussia n immigrantVladimir Zworykin designed and patented theiconoscope , the photocell "eye" of early television cameras. Today, ABC affiliateWTAE-TV is located in the borough on Ardmore Blvd.In more recent years, the borough has become economically depressed, with a number of its residents living in
public housing . OnMarch 1 ,2000 , Wilkinsburg received national attention when Ronald Taylor, a man suffering fromschizophrenia , killed three people and wounded two others in a spree that occurred in part at the localBurger King andMcDonald's restaurants [http://www.digitalduke.duq.edu/justice/Taylor/lifeandc.htm] .Wilkinsburg was home to the infamous Larimer Avenue-Wilkinsburg (LAW) Gang, which was indicted by the federal government under the
RICO Act . The indictment started in 1995, when the federal government began to arrest many young black males in their late teens and early twenties [http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/1998/07/13/story1.html] .Geography
Wilkinsburg is located at coor dms|40|26|38|N|79|52|39|W|city (40.443827, -79.877371).GR|1
According to the
United States Census Bureau , the borough has a total area of 2.3square mile s (6.0km² ), all of it land.urrounding communities
*Churchill
*Edgewood
*Forest Hills
*Homewood (Pittsburgh )
*Point Breeze (Pittsburgh )
*Penn Hills
*East Hills (Pittsburgh )Demographics
Population in 1900, 11,886; in 1910, 18,924; and in 1920, 24,403.
As of the
census GR|2 of 2000, there were 19,196 people, 9,138 households, and 4,477 families residing in the borough. Thepopulation density was 8,335.1 people per square mile (3,222.4/km²). There were 10,696 housing units at an average density of 4,644.3/sq mi (1,795.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 29.25% White, 66.51% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.13% of the population.There were 9,138 households out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.3% were married couples living together, 20.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.0% were non-families. 44.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the borough the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 78.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $26,621, and the median income for a family was $33,412. Males had a median income of $26,813 versus $26,196 for females. The
per capita income for the borough was $16,890. About 15.9% of families and 18.7% of the population were below thepoverty line , including 30.8% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.References
External links
* [http://www.wilkinsburg.pgh.pa.us/ Official government site of the Borough of Wilkinsburg, PA]
* [http://www.therobotoproject.org Mr. Roboto Project]
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