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August Wilson’s Hill District Tour

August Wilson’s Hill District Tour. Community and University Honors Social Justice Seminar Spring 2013. 1712 Bedford Avenue – Site of Fences. Thought to be the site of Fences (set in 1950s) Former home of famous boxer Charlie Burley Wilson’s grandmother’s h ouse.

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August Wilson’s Hill District Tour

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  1. August Wilson’s Hill District Tour Community and University Honors Social Justice Seminar Spring 2013

  2. 1712 Bedford Avenue – Site of Fences • Thought to be the site of Fences (set in 1950s) • Former home of famous boxer Charlie Burley • Wilson’s grandmother’s house

  3. 1727 Bedford Avenue –Wilson Childhood Home • Frederick August Kittel, Jr., one of seven children, lived in the rear of this building • Front half of the building was a storefront • Setting of the play Seven Guitars, set in 1948 • Daisy Wilson Artist Community to refurbish the home

  4. Miller African Centered Academy • Once the McKelvy School • Pernell’s school in King Hedley II • Former home of the Pittsburgh Crawfords • Just over 300 students • 97% African American • 96% eligible for free or reduced-price lunches

  5. 2215 Wylie Avenue – West Funeral Home • West Funeral Home has been operating for almost a century • Mentioned both in The Piano Lesson and Two Trains Running • Thomas West, Sr., is an important character in Two Trains Running • One of the oldest continuously running businesses in the Hill District

  6. 2172 Wylie Avenue – Eddie’s Restaurant • August Wilson worked at Eddie’s • Unofficial center of Hill District’s literary and dramatic community • Inspiration for Memphis Lee’s restaurant in Two Trains Running • Many patrons operated on a tab system • Torn down in November 2007

  7. 2141 Wylie Avenue – Crawford Grill • Night spot, restaurant, jazz club, and hangout • Owned and operated by Gus Greenlee, the “Numbers King” of the Hill District • Mentioned in Fences and King Hedley II • Closed in 2002

  8. 2046 Wylie Avenue – Site of Jitney • One of many jitney stations that operated in the Hill • Still an important mode of transportation in today’s Hill District • “A perfect place for a play” – August Wilson

  9. 1839 Wylie Avenue – Aunt Ester’s House • Aunt Ester is a 285-year-old woman central to many plays of the Pittsburgh Cycle, including Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf • Came to America with earliest slaves • Aunt Ester = “ancestor”

  10. 1835 Centre Avenue – Hill House Association • Traces its heritage to the Anna B. Heldman and Sohosettlement houses, which helped immigrants and black migrants settle in the Hill District (people like August Wilson’s family) • Association created in 1964 as a product of the Civil Rights Movement • “Empowering individuals to change, become models for their family, and gradually reweave the community’s social fabric” • Headquarters completed in 1972

  11. 2007 Centre Avenue – New Granada Theater • Built in 1928, designed by Louis Bellinger • Remodeled in 1937 as movie theater and jazz club • Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Cab Calloway performed there

  12. 2145 Centre Avenue – Lutz’s Meat Market • Mr. Lutz plays a central and symbolic role in Two Trains Running • Polish, white man, a reminder that the Hill District was once a very diverse neighborhood • Sold the business after 1968 riots

  13. 2250 Centre Avenue – Weil School • Black Horizon Theater (1968) • August Wilson directed his first plays at this building • School still in use today Photo by “Teenie” Harris

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