New Kensington, Pennsylvania

New Kensington, Pennsylvania
New Kensington, Pennsylvania Location within the state of Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°34′6″N 79°45′30″W / 40.56833°N 79.75833°W / 40.56833; -79.75833Coordinates: 40°34′6″N 79°45′30″W / 40.56833°N 79.75833°W / 40.56833; -79.75833
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Westmoreland
Founded	1891
Government
– Mayor	Tom Guzzo (D)
Area
– Total	4.2 sq mi (11.0 km2)
– Land	4.0 sq mi (10.3 km2)
– Water	.3 sq mi (.7 km2)
Elevation	1,110 ft (338.3 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	14,701
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)

New Kensington is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania situated along the Allegheny River 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 14,701 at the 2000 Census. The mayor of New Kensington is Tom Guzzo (D), elected in 2009. He succeeded Mayor Frank E. Link (D), elected in 2001.

History

New Kensington was founded in 1891. In 1890, the Burrell Improvement Company considered the advantages of the level land south of its home in Lower Burrell, and deemed it a prime location for a city and named the area "Kensington" (later changed to "New Kensington" for postal purposes, because Pennsylvania already had another city with that name). In an attempt to make New Kensington comparable to Pittsburgh, the streets were named with numbers. Avenues ran parallel to the river, while streets were perpendicular. 4th and 5th were the main commercial streets.

Once the land was surveyed, a public sale was held on June 10, 1891. Thousands of people flooded the area and investors began bringing industry with them. The first large company was the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, which later became Alcoa. They acquired a 3.5-acre (14,000 m²) property that allowed the company to exploit the closeness to the riverfront.

Eventually, such other companies as Adams Drilling, Goldsmith and Lowerburg, New Kensington Milling, New Kensington Brewing, Logan Lumber, Keystone Dairy, and many more were built late in the nineteenth century and continuing into the early twentieth century. Early achievements included a railroad station, the 9th Street bridge, a passenger boat that navigated the Allegheny River, a street car line that ran to Natrona via the West Penn Railways, the Kensington Dispatch newspaper, a fire department,hotel, opera house, and a local chapter of the YMCA.

In 1941, New Kensington became the site of a modern workers' housing project—named the Aluminum City Terrace—designed by Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius, which set new standards for federal housing design. Breuer and Gropius ascribed to the famous Bauhaus School of Design in Germany. Intended for Alcoa defense workers, it was subsequently used to rehouse displaced residents from other parts of the city. In 1948, tenants from the Terrace decided to purchase the housing project from the U.S. government to form a co-op, managed by a Board of Directors, elected by representatives from the 250 units. Relatively low-cost monthly fees continue to cover the costs of running the Terrace.

Today, New Kensington contains the neighborhoods of Parnassus, Mount Vernon, Valley Heights, Valley Camp, Pine Manor, and 40 Acres.

Demographics

In 1900, 4,665 people lived in New Kensington, Pennsylvania; in 1910, 7,707; in 1920, 11,987 in 1930 and 24,055 in 1940.

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 14,701 people, 6,519 households, and 3,963 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,703.9 people per square mile (1,429.7/km²). There were 7,309 housing units at an average density of 1,841.5 per square mile (710.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.85% White , 9.84% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population.

There were 6,519 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,505, and the median income for a family was $37,952. Males had a median income of $31,164^{[citation needed]} versus $11,683 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,152. About 8.5% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

New Kensington maintains its own public works, fire department, police force and emergency rescue team, and water authority. Recreation facilities operated by the city include Memorial Park and Masa Harbison Park. People's Library of New Kensington offers public library services. Public transportation is provided by the Port Authority of Allegheny County and Westmoreland County Transit Authority. There are thirty churches representing several denominations throughout the city. The Westmoreland County Housing Authority administers the Kensington Manor, East Ken Manor, and Valley Manor public housing projects within the city limits as well.

Education

The city is served by the New Kensington–Arnold School District, with facilities at Valley High School, Valley Middle School, H. D. Berkey Intermediate School; and Greenwald Memorial, Fort Crawford, and Martin elementary schools. Parochial schools include Mary Queen of Apostles, Harvest Baptist Academy (K–12), Mount St. Peter, St. Mary, and St. Joseph. A branch campus of Pennsylvania State University was established in New Kensington in 1958. Since 1966, the campus has been located in suburban Upper Burrell Township, but retains the name Penn State New Kensington. In 2008, a satellite campus of Westmoreland County Community College opened in downtown New Kensington.

Media

Two radio stations, WGBN-AM and WBZZ, are both licensed to New Kensington, but serve Pittsburgh almost exclusively.

Usage in popular culture

New Kensington is featured in P.O.D.'s "Youth of the Nation" music video. The PA 56 Arnold directional sign is visible as the car in the video travels eastbound over the 9th Street Bridge (C.L. Schmitt Bridge).

The city was also one of the filming locations for the movie Dogma, staring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.^[2]

Notable people

See also: List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area

• Eddie Adams – photographer
• Ray DiPalma – poet
• Jeffrey A. Hart – academic
• Stephanie Kwolek – inventor
• William Thomas McKinley – composer
• Greg Meisner – University of Pittsburgh; LA Rams (1982–91); Kansas City Chiefs (1992–93)
• Louie Pessolano – Villanova University; Staten Island Stapletons (1929–30)
• Willie Thrower – Michigan State University; Chicago Bears (1953–54) Post WWII, first African American QB to be in NFL

See also

• List of crossings of the Allegheny River
• Mount St. Peter Church

References

1. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120655/locations

External links

• City of New Kensington Official website