New Resident Guide
Be My Neighbor!
The Board of the Mexican War Streets Society would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to this exciting and interesting historic neighborhood! While Pittsburgh has many neighborhoods-- close to a hundred-- none can equal the streetscape coherence and architectural integrity of the Mexican War Streets. We are known for our spirit of inclusion and openness. You will feel an energy radiating from the diverse group of people who populate our historic homes.
While each street has its own special feeling, all of us in the Mexican War Streets share respect for the past and hope for the future, with all working together to create bonds of friendship and community culture.
There are so many opportunities to meet your neighbors. Stroll around Lake Elizabeth, have a snack or a pint at our many quaint gathering places, enjoy coffee in one of the gardens, attend a free jazz concert at City of Asylum, or just hang out on your stoop.
We hope this gives you a nice start the process of discovering the many delights of living here.
If you have questions reach out to the Board of the Mexican War Streets Society at info@mexicanwarstreets.org. We encourage you to join the society by clicking here
Welcome!
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1. Parking on many of the streets requires a permit. This map (zoom in to section HH) shows the permit parking areas. Permits cost $20 per year per vehicle, and can be purchased here
2. Trash and Recycling pick-ups are on Fridays
3. Voter Registration matters! Click here
4. Mailboxes for outgoing mail are located at North Avenue at Monterey, and at Monterey and North Taylor
5. Post Offices are within walking distance at 435 East Ohio Street and 395 Federal Street
6. Groceries: there is a large Giant Eagle Store with Pharmacy and Dry Cleaners located nearby at 132 Ben Avon Heights Road. Pittsburgh, PA 15237. For quick essentials, Mayfly Market is right in the War Streets at 1327 Arch Street
7. Street sweeping is on the second Monday and Tuesday of each month, from April 1 until November 30, from 8:30 to 2pm. Please take care of where you park your car on these days.
8. Drug Store: There is a Rite-Aid at 802 Pennsylvania Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15233
9. Gas: There is a Valero Gas Station at 820 Pennsylvania Avenue, and a Sunoco at 310 Cedar Avenue, by Giant Eagle
10. Our local (Zone 1) Police Station is right around the corner on Brighton Road. For non-emergency issues, dial 311 or use the 311 online portal
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Bus service is available along Brighton, Federal Street and North Avenue.
On the underground subway, or “T”, transportation within the Downtown area and between Downtown and the North Side, is free. The Northside “T” stations are located on West General Robinson Street, beneath the Parking Garage and at the corner of Allegheny Avenue and Reedsdale Street by Acrisure Stadium.
Bike sharing is available through POGOH
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There are so many ways to connect in this friendly community. Below are just some of the private Facebook groups. These are a great way to ask questions about contractor and service recommendations, meet neighbors and learn about the latest happenings. The Mexican War Streets Society is also on Twitter and Instagram, and we do our best to stay current with emerging social media platforms to make sure everyone is in the loop!
Allegheny City Central & Mexican War Streets
Our sister organization, the Allegheny Central Community Association seeks to enhance quality of life for all residents, building a bright future while maintaining a connection to the historic foundation of our community. They have a successful track record of developing housing, guiding public space and public safety improvements, initiating youth programs and leading historic preservation efforts.
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The iconic sign outside the YMCA on West North Avenue and Buena Vista makes the local gym easy to find and walk to. The fully equipped fitness facility also houses a swimming pool, and there is a Crossfit on location. Present your “Be My Neighbor” card for a special deal on membership!
The Great Allegheny Passage bike trail from Pittsburgh to Washington DC is a short bike rode from the Mexican War Streets! The Three Rivers Heritage Trail is also nearby.
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Our beautiful Victorian community, once home to professionals, business owners and other upper middle-class families, has been designated an Historic District. This means that all projects involving exterior alterations to buildings within the Historic District that are visible from a public street or alley must be reviewed and approved by the City’s Historic Review Commission before the project starts. Most newcomers have lots of questions!
You are also welcome to contact our Chair of Historic Preservation Gary Lilly at gdlilly1@verizon.net.
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The Mexican War Streets has something fun happening in every season, and many of these events draw visitors from around the world! Exact dates and other year-to-year changes will occur, so keep your eye on social media and our Events page for specifics. Most events are also communicated via the Facebook sites and in Mexican War Streets Society general meetings. Become a member to stay on the invite list for all events!
Winter
● December:
o Annual Mexican War Streets members holiday party, usually hosted by Dennis Vodzak at his Day Mansion on North Avenue
o Holiday Decorating Contest, where we all get to deck the halls and light the lights to compete for prizes
o Luminaria on Palo Alto Street, Christmas Eve
● February/March: Mexican War Streets Progressive dinner. Travel with a group of your neighbors from one lovely home to another for each course of a sumptuous dining experience. Some of the individual streets also have their own progressive dinner.
Spring
● June: Mexican War Streets yard sale. Bring your treasures, arts and crafts out to the sidewalk as people from all over come to admire the Victorian homes, find bargains and enjoy food trucks and other fun
● Mechanics Retreat: Garry Moorer leads a group of volunteers in maintaining this lovely garden on the corner of Jacksonia and Buena Vista, near Commonplace Coffee. They gather weekly during the growing season to socialize and beautify. Have a green thumb? Contact Garry at gmoorer@gmail.com
● The City of Asylum Alphabet Reading Garden on Monterey Street gates welcomes visitors with a gate that proclaims “Joy is an Act of Resistance”. The gate code is 412412#
Summer
● The Olde Allegheny Community Gardens: Two city blocks of garden plots between Sherman and Arch Streets provide a bounty of flowers and vegetables to the urban farmers that tend them. Contact Peggy Habet at oldealleghenycg@gmail.com if you are interested in a plot
● September: The Mexican War Streets House tour has been going strong for more than 50 years, bringing admirers from all over the world to take a peek inside our finest homes. This event raises money for the Mexican War Streets Society so we can maintain the charm of our neighborhood
● Stoop Night: Stooping is a longtime tradition, and on warm evenings, Thursdays are the official stoop night. Folks will emerge and sit on their stoops, perhaps with a glass of wine. As the evening wears on people will stop by to visit
● First Freitag in nearby Deutschtown features shopping, music, games and fun on the first Friday of each month in summer.
● A Block Party often takes place around the Fourth of July
Fall
● Halloween: This turns out to be a community-wide party as hundreds of children and their parents show off their spookiest costumes
Year Round
● Mexican War Streets Society Community Meetings are held bi-monthly. We encourage everyone to join and attend. Membership is $20 per person, which goes to support community projects and maintenance, and puts you on the VIP list for the best holiday party in the city! Join here
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This is just a partial listing of fun to be had all summer in Allegheny Commons Park, Pittsburgh’s oldest park. The area around Lake Elizabeth is West Commons, and the park that stretches from Allegheny General Hospital to the Sue Murray Swimming pool along Cedar Avenue is known as East Commons.
West Commons
● Water Lantern Festival
East Commons
● Veg Fest
● Northside Farmers Market, every Friday May-November
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All of Pittsburgh is known as a foodie destination, and our community has so much to offer.
The establishments directly below are part of our “Be My Neighbor” initiative. Present your card for a special discount during your few months in your new home. Are you new and want a card? Email Don Kosy, our ambassador to the War Streets at don.kosy35@gmail.com
Commonplace Coffee is nestled in the Historic District at the corner of Buena Vista and Jacksonia Streets, with outdoor seating across the street at the Mechanics Retreat.
Happy Day Dessert Factory at 906a Western Avenue serves Premium Homemade Hard Ice Cream as its signature product in addition to Water Ice, Frozen Soft Custard, Stackers, Ice Shakes, Twisters milk shakes, sundaes, fresh baked cookies, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cakes, frozen pies, and more!
Livefresh Juicery at 845 Western Avenue is designed to deliver you the most refreshing and nutritional experience with100% natural and 100% tasty cold pressed juices, fresh fruit smoothies, and signature açaí and smoothie bowls. Enjoy a vegan friendly, gluten free, and delicious menu every day of the week.
Mayfly Market: 1327 Arch Street, carries grocery staples, gourmet deli goods, produce and baked goods, right within the War Streets
Refucilio Vineyards of Argentina has a tasting room at 907 Western Avenue offering an array of light food to accompany an extensive selection of fine wines from the Uco Valley.
Are you a local establishment that would like to be on this list? Contact Don Kosy at don.kosy35@gmail.com
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There is a seemingly endless list of options for delicious food nearby, and the list grows daily. Ask your neighbors where their favorites are, or click here.
Deutschtown
The options for eating and drinking within walking distance extends to the riverfront and across East Commons to East Ohio Street! Deutschtown is quickly becoming a destination dining spot. Click here to learn more about shopping, dining and fun in this nearby community.
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The Mattress Factory at 509 Sampsonia Way was founded in 1977, by artists, to support artists working in residence to create site-specific installations. Since then, the museum has presented and commissioned new installation and performance works by more than 750 artists. The museum supports established and emerging artists through a residency program that provides leadership, guidance, resources and opportunities to create artwork that is unconventional, challenging and thought-provoking. The museum’s flexibility and inventiveness allows artists to respond to developments in technology, explore audience interaction, and challenge traditional artistic ideals and practice. The landmark sculpture “Acupuncture” lights up each evening on the rooftop.
City of Asylum at 40 West North Avenue houses a bookstore, restaurant, 40 North and bookstore. City of Asylum hosts literary readings and musical performances free of charge as part of its commitment to support artistic freedom.
Randyland at 1501 Arch Street is the most colorful spot in Pittsburgh. Randyland started in 1995 when Randy Gilson purchased a few rundown buildings with a credit card, and started turning them into an incredible art center. Over the years the installations have grown and the property has become a local treasure that receives national and international attention. Stop by, Randy often comes out to say hello to visitors
National Aviary located in Allegheny Commons Park off Arch Street, is America’s only independent indoor nonprofit zoo dedicated to birds. Located in Allegheny Commons Park on Pittsburgh’s historic Northside, the National Aviary is home to more than 500 birds representing more than 150 species from around the world, many of them threatened or endangered in the wild. The Aviary’s large walk-through habitats create an experience unlike any other—an intimate, up-close interaction between visitors and free-flying birds, including opportunities to hand-feed and meet many species rarely found in zoos anywhere else in the world.
The Children’s Museum at 10 Children’s Way is an interactive adventure founded in 1983 in the old Allegheny Post Office and also occupies the neighboring Buhl Planetarium building and old Carnegie Library space.
The Warhol Museum at 117 Sandusky Street occupies a 7-story building in the city’s new Pop District. The museum tells Andy Warhol’s story and explores his legacy through the largest collection of Warhol art and archives in the world.
The Moonshot Museum at 1016 North Lincoln Avenue is a museum like no other. You'll see real lunar spacecraft under active assembly, go on your own simulated lunar mission, and find your place in the future of space exploration.
The Carnegie Science Center at 1 Allegheny Avenue is Pittsburgh’s most visited museum, featuring four floors of interactive exhibits, a submarine, the Buhl Planetarium and the Rango theater
The New Hazlett Theater occupies the historic Carnegie Hall at 6 Allegheny Square East. This nonprofit theater thrives as a community asset that presents a variety of performance art disciplines and serves as an incubator for new talent.
Stage AE (American Eagle) at 400 North Shore Drive, is a multi-purpose entertainment complex located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It contains an indoor concert hall and an outdoor amphitheater.
Bicycle Heaven at 1800 Preble Avenue is the largest transportation museum in the world dedicated to bicycles. The museum was founded by Craig Morrow and comprises his personal collection gathered over decades. It is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The museum is an active bike sales and repair shop
Sports
Walking distance from your new home PNC Park, home of the Pirates and Acrisure Stadium (we still call it Heinz Field) where the Steelers and the Pitt Panthers play. The Penguins are a short subway ride away at PPG Paints Arena. All of these venues are also major concert destinations.
