Here’s an interesting piece of history and a Pittsburgh fun fact: a small dead-end street in Shadyside is one of a handful of streets left in the world that is still paved in wooden blocks. Roslyn Place, off Ellsworth, isn’t concrete or even cobblestone, it features a unique surface known as Nicolson pavement.
Preservation Pittsburgh nominated Roslyn Place for historic designation last fall. You can read the entire application for historic designation here.
Some other articles about Roslyn Place and it’s unique wooden pavement…
- Shadyside’s Roslyn Place a quirky, wood-block Pittsburgh wonder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 17, 2017
- Surviving On Charm: Pittsburgh’s Last Wooden Street, WESA, May 29, 2015
- The Surprising Story of Pittsburgh’s Last Wooden Street, Pittsburgh Magazine, September 2015
Where else can you find wooden streets?
There are just a few of these wooden streets that still exists…
- Chicago still has a few wood block alleys. (More photos on Forgotten Chicago).
- St. Louis: 10th street between Olive and Locust Streets
- Philadelphia: 200 block of Camac Street
- Cleveland: Hessler Court
