Historical Highlight: Pittsburgh’s Bustling Market Square
Written by Briana Bindus
Market Square is home to over 10 restaurants, including Pittsburgh’s oldest bar and restaurant, the Original Oyster House, which dates back to 1870. The square holds Pittsburgh’s annual Peoples Gas Holiday Market, right next to the pinnacle of outdoor holiday ice skating at PPG Place. This space also holds the Market Square Farmers Market, with 35+ vendors, from May-October each year.
Market Square has been an attractive space since it was created in 1784 by two Philadelphia surveyors. Originally called “The Diamond,” this area was chosen because it is the point where the Allegheny and Monaghahela Rivers connect to form the Ohio River. By creating a space where these two rivers merge, they were setting the tone for community members to use this as a space to connect, too.
Ten years after its establishment, the city of Pittsburgh constructed the first Allegheny County Courthouse on one half of the diamond – leaving the other half to fill with vendors in a half-circle stall market. It became home to the first newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains in 1786, which was then called, “The Pittsburgh Gazette,” but today, is better known as the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Eventually, Market Square was converted into just a market district when a new courthouse was built in 1841 just four blocks away on Grant Street.
After the Great Fire of Pittsburgh in 1845, the city was on edge and wanted to protect the heart of the city in Market Square. By 1852, two booming brick buildings, known as the Diamond Market Houses, were built to replace the wooden market structures.
In 1914, Market Square was remade yet again with the construction of the New Diamond Market. The new building, which was built into an H-shape to let traffic pass through, contained a range of attractions, including a market, exhibition hall, boxing ring and roller-skating rink.
By 1961, the New Diamond Market was once again transformed into an open plaza with four quadrants. In 1972, Market Square earned the city’s first title of a historic district. Later, in the 1980s, buildings were removed to make way for PPG structures.
By 2009, Market Square transformed into the communal area we know and love today with the removal of an intersection through the middle, creating a car-free space for pedestrians. Now, there are a constant range of activities going on in the square, including locally-sourced sweet treat options like Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream, and modern bar joints like the Space Bar.
