Bloomfield (Pittsburgh)

Bloomfield is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh; it is located three miles (5 km) from the Golden Triangle, which is the city's center, and is represented on Pittsburgh City Council by Patrick Dowd and Bill Peduto. Bloomfield is referred to as Pittsburgh's Little Italy. Pittsburgh architectural historian, Franklin Toker, has said that Bloomfield "is a feast, as rich to the eyes as the homemade tortellini and cannoli in its shop windows are to the stomach." The residents are diverse as the neighborhood has a combination of working class Italian-Americans, various other European populations, African-Americans, and a substantial population of college students. It is a decidedly urban neighborhood, with narrow streets and alleys packed with rowhouses. Liberty Avenue is the neighborhood's main business thoroughfare.

Location

Bloomfield is a plateau above the Allegheny River, and is bordered by Penn Avenue on the north, the East Busway on the south, 40th Street on the west, and Gross Street on the east. This last boundary is somewhat disputed – most residents believe that Bloomfield abuts the neighborhood of Friendship at Gross Street, where the provincial frame rowhouses give way to stand-alone brick Victorian homes that grow larger on each street heading east. The City of Pittsburgh, however, claims that Bloomfield extends east as far as Graham Street. The East Busway is set in a valley that separates Bloomfield from Polish Hill, the Hill......
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