Recently visited the John Kane exhibit at the Heinz History Center (highly recommend getting there for the exhibit), and a segment was devoted to Skunk Hollow beneath the Bloomfield Bridge. They had a collection of newspaper headlines, and Skunk Hollow sounded like quite the wretched place in industrial Pittsburgh. Despite some brief internet research, I wasn’t able to come across many detailed sources about it. Does anyone have any more info on it or suggestions as to where I could dig deeper?

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oppiewan t1_j279hsw wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:48 AM

It's a great exhibit.

A few locals stopped the Greenfield Ave bridge from being named in Kane's honor. To those ancient bags of shit. Fuck you.

kuiil_001 OP t1_j279t9t wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:50 AM

Really? What’s the story behind that?

oppiewan t1_j27awal wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:59 AM

Not much to tell. Proposal was put forth and the usual anti everything types raised a fuss.

http://gcapgh.org/2017/04/the-greenfield-bridge-keeps-its-name/

Strongbow85 t1_j27utjz wrote on December 30, 2022 at 7:12 AM

I didn't know that was proposed, he's buried in nearby Calvary Cemetery.

oppiewan t1_j28odkv wrote on December 30, 2022 at 1:20 PM

Not enough of us did. The meeting was 2pm on a Tuesday or something.

A real shame. The "Kane Bridge" sounds like Cambridge so it would have even sounded fancy.

LostEnroute t1_j29iz71 wrote on December 30, 2022 at 5:02 PM

I think I'll just start calling it the John Kane Bridge, since Greenfield Bridge is not even official.

>NOTE: The bridge’s real name is the “Beechwood Boulevard Bridge,” nicknamed the Greenfield Bridge. The “Beechwood Boulevard” name was carved in stone (below) on the original bridge. These stones will be installed on the new bridge before it opens.

oppiewan t1_j29ki4z wrote on December 30, 2022 at 5:12 PM

Let's do it. The John Kane Bridge it is.

mrsrtz t1_j27763h wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:30 AM

The Pittsburgh Survey, 1914, Russell Sage Fdn., around page 124, has info about Skunk Hollow. It was in Bloomfield, below where the Bloomfield Bridge is, approximately, sort of below Ewing Street.

Also, that exhibition is great!

kuiil_001 OP t1_j2789ii wrote on December 30, 2022 at 3:38 AM

Thanks for passing along! But yes! Phenomenal stuff to see. The art is great, and John Kane had a fascinating story.

SWPenn t1_j28h8xl wrote on December 30, 2022 at 12:05 PM

There is a picture of Skunk Hollow in Stefan Lorant's book "Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City." It was a wretched place.

kuiil_001 OP t1_j28lq1o wrote on December 30, 2022 at 12:54 PM

One of my all-time favorite books. Have a copy right in front of me on the table, ironically enough. Will check it out now.

SWPenn t1_j28mf54 wrote on December 30, 2022 at 1:01 PM

My favorite, too. There are hundreds of books about Pittsburgh, but this is the most comprehensive.

semiaddled t1_j29egxx wrote on December 30, 2022 at 4:33 PM

Agree that it's a very good exhibit. I was there last week and learned a lot about life in Pittsburgh in the late 1800s-early 1900s for immigrant workers.

LostEnroute t1_j29szdr wrote on December 30, 2022 at 6:05 PM

There was a pretty significant chemical spill from a train derailment down there in the 1980s. I have some saved TV footage somewhere, but it's probably available on YouTube.