Fourth Avenue Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
historic district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Fourth Avenue Historic District is a historic district in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The district was the center of finance and banks for the city during the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century.
Many structures still exist from that era, including the location of the Pittsburgh Stock Exchange on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Smithfield Street from 1864 to 1903, the now vacant lot of its location at 229 Fourth Avenue from 1903 to 1962 and the still standing structure of the Exchange from 1962 until it closed in 1974. It is roughly bounded by Smithfield Street, Third Avenue, Market Square Place, and Fifth Avenue.
The period of significance for the District is from 1871, when the initial phase of the Dollar Bank building construction was finished, to 1934, 50 years before preparation of the nomination to the NRHP.
Some of its structures are:
Dollar Bank, 340 4th Ave. (1871)
Pittsburgh Stock Exchange, 333 4th Ave.
Arrott Building, 401 4th Ave. (1902)
Benedum-Trees Building, 223 4th Ave. (1905)
The Carlyle, 306 4th Ave. (1906)
Skinny Building, 241 Forbes Ave.
“Fourth Avenue Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)” enters the record as historic district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Fourth, Avenue and Historic can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Fourth Avenue Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Fourth, Avenue and Historic provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5476002. Authority coordinates are 40.439, -80.001. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1864, 1903, 1962 and 1974.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Fourth Avenue Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Fourth Avenue Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) primary sources, Fourth Avenue Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) archive and Fourth research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fourth Avenue Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Fourth Avenue Historic District (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.