Oakland History

The name Oakland first appeared in 1839 in a local paper called Harris' Intelligencer. The area got its name from the abundance of oak trees found on the farm of William Eichenbaum, who settled there in 1840. Oakland developed rapidly following the Great Fire of 1845 in downtown Pittsburgh, with many people moving out to suburban territory. By 1860, there was considerable commercial development along Fifth Avenue.

In 1868, Oakland Township was annexed to the City of Pittsburgh. Twenty-one years later, Mary Schenley gave the city 300 acres in Oakland for a park. Officials bought another 100 acres from her for "Schenley Park." And Mary Schenley gave another gift: land for Schenley Plaza. At Schenley Plaza, industrialist Andrew Carnegie built a library, museum and concert hall complex, which opened in 1895.

Oakland has long been considered Pittsburgh's university center. Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is the result of a merger in 1967 of Carnegie Institute of Technology, founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie and Mellon Institute, founded in 1913 by Andrew W. Mellon and Richard B. Mellon to conduct industrial research. The University of Pittsburgh, which is heir to Pittsburgh Academy, incorporated in 1787, relocated from Allegheny to Oakland in 1907, becoming the University of Pittsburgh.

Some of the most impressive architecture in Oakland is on Pitt's campus. In 1925, work began on what is still the world's tallest educational building, the 42-story Cathedral of Learning.

Baseball fans might know Oakland for the beloved Forbes Field, which was built in 1909 as the third home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and first home to the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Forbes Field was demolished in 1971, some remnants of the ballpark still stand. Pirates fans gather on the site each year on the anniversary of Bill Mazeroski's World Series winning home run on October 13, 1962.