Nunnery Hill Incline
| Nunnery Hill Incline | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Locale | Fineview, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates | 40°27′36″N 80°00′22″W / 40.460°N 80.006°W |
| Service | |
| Type | Funicular |
| History | |
| Opened | 23 June 1888[1] |
| Closed | 13 September 1895 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 1,100 feet (340 m)[1] |
| Track gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm)[1] |
| Minimum radius | 250 feet (76 m)[2] |
The Nunnery Hill Incline was a funicular located in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, in what is now the Fineview neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
History and notable features
[edit]Designed by Samuel Diescher, this incline operated from 1888 until 1895, running between its base station on Federal Street to its upper station on the currently-named Meadville Street. It was one of only a few inclines with a curve in its track.[3][4]
The name of the hill derived from a short-lived settlement of Poor Clares earlier in the century.[5]
The incline suspended operations without warning on September 13, 1895, to the consternation of many of the hill's residents.[6] It did not resume business.[7] By 1901, it was being dismantled.[8]
Remnants of the incline, including the red brick lower station and a stone retaining wall along Henderson Street, have been the focus of recent preservation efforts.[9]
Both structures received City of Pittsburgh historic designations in 2011.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Passenger Railways of the State of Pennsylvania". Philadelphia Securities (1893–94 ed.). Philadelphia: The Securities Press. 1893. p. 471.
- ^ "The Inclined Planes". The Street Railway Journal Souvenir: 39. October 1891.
- ^ "Plate 4" (Map). Real estate plat-book of the city of Allegheny. Philadelphia: G. M. Hopkins & Co. Vol. 2. 1890 – via Historic Pittsburgh.
- ^ Diescher, Samuel (June 1897). "American Inclined Plane Railways". Cassier's Magazine. 12 (2): 89.
- ^ History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Vol. 1. Chicago: A. Warner & Co. 1889. p. 406.
- ^ "Suspended Operation". The Pittsburg Press. 15 September 1895. p. 7.
- ^ "Weary of Climbing". The Pittsburg Press. 21 September 1895. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
"Nunnery Hill Residents". The Pittsburg Press. 6 March 1896. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
"Nunnery Hill People". The Pittsburg Press. 22 January 1897. p. 11 – via Google News Archive.
"Hillites Want Street Railway". Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette. 22 February 1900. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com. - ^ "A Lively Time Is Expected". The Pittsburg Press. 8 May 1901. p. 1.
- ^ LaRussa, Tony (4 November 2010). "Historic designation urged for rest of Fineview incline". TribLive. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ "City of Pittsburgh - File #2011-1263". Retrieved 1 July 2017.
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