A Historic Vision: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Season of Wonder
Adam W. McKinney—PBT’s first Black artistic director—leads the company into its 2026–27 Season of Wonder, backed by a $1 million Mellon Foundation grant and five major productions ahead.
Read Full Story →Pittsburgh’s National Opera House Secures Massive $1.75 Million Mellon Foundation Grant
One of the largest single arts investments in Pittsburgh’s recent history marks a pivotal moment for the institution—expanding free tickets, new productions, and bringing opera into Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Read Full Story →All Eyes on the Hill
Hill District Redevelopment: Where Do We Stand Now? What’s been built, what’s been promised, and what happens next for Pittsburgh’s most closely watched neighborhood.
Read Full Story →New Science Hub Opens in Hill District
The Citizen Science Lab celebrated the opening of its permanent home at the historic MLK site—a milestone for free STEM education in Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
Read Full Story →Hidden Gems & Neighborhood Nuggets
Hidden Gems & Neighborhood Nuggets
The stories behind Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods — rotating weekly.
- ▸Once known as "Little Harlem" — Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong all performed here.
- ▸Before the Civic Arena was built, more than 8,000 residents and hundreds of Black-owned businesses were displaced.
- ▸Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson was born and raised here; many of his plays are set in the Hill.
- ▸The neighborhood was once home to more than 400 Black-owned businesses.
"The cultural heartbeat of Black Pittsburgh."
- ▸One of the city's richest traditions of neighborhood activism and youth leadership.
- ▸Nationally recognized athletes, musicians, educators, and public servants trace their roots here.
- ▸Community gardens and urban farms are transforming vacant lots into spaces for fresh food and education.
Homewood has more churches per square mile than many Pittsburgh neighborhoods, reflecting its deep faith-based community traditions.
- ▸One of Pittsburgh's fastest-growing arts neighborhoods.
- ▸The annual Penn Avenue Arts Crawl brings thousands of visitors to local galleries, studios, and businesses.
- ▸Former warehouses have been transformed into artist studios, performance spaces, and creative businesses.
- ▸Among Pittsburgh's greenest neighborhoods — parks, wooded hillsides, and river views.
- ▸Home to one of the city's largest concentrations of Black homeowners.
Many residents can see both the Allegheny River and surrounding hills from neighborhood overlooks.
- ▸Surrounded by Pittsburgh but an independent borough — with its own mayor and municipal government.
- ▸One of the region's most architecturally significant collections of Victorian homes.
- ▸A growing hub for entrepreneurs, artists, and community redevelopment initiatives.
Historic Penn Avenue contains buildings dating back more than 100 years.
- ▸Once one of Pennsylvania's busiest shopping districts outside Philadelphia.
- ▸Today one of Pittsburgh's fastest-changing neighborhoods — blending new development with historic architecture.
- ▸Contains more than a dozen distinct neighborhoods.
- ▸Home to PNC Park, the National Aviary, and many of Pittsburgh's most visited attractions.
- ▸Was once the independent city of Allegheny City before being annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907.
- ▸Pittsburgh and its region have more than 700 bridges — earning the city its nickname, "The City of Bridges."
Know Something We Should Cover?
Pittsburgh Urban Media runs on community intelligence. If something is happening in your neighborhood — a development meeting, a community win, an injustice that needs a spotlight — we want to hear from you.
Send Us a TipThe Burgh Briefing
Neighborhood news from across Black Pittsburgh, delivered every Wednesday morning.