This area was developed between 1850 and 1900 by immigrants who were almost exclusively German. As a result, the area was called Dutchtown, a mispronunciation of Deutschtown. Its residents created a business district on East Ohio Street and a residential district running south of it, from Cedar Street (on the western border with Allegheny Commons) to Troy Hill(on the east).[6] These buildings were very solidly built.[4]
In 1984, this area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Deutschtown Historic District.[4] The nominating petition noted that "Dutchtown is distinguished from neighboring North Side neighborhoods by its ethnic associations and intense feeling of neighborhood solidarity. It also retains the busiest original commercial district left on the North Side since the development of Allegheny Center in the 1960's." The area is also a City of Pittsburgh Historic District.[7]
Construction of Interstate 279 sliced the neighborhood in half, such that there is now an West Deutschtown (which runs from Allegheny Commons to the Interstate and contains the active business district on East Ohio Street) and an East Deutschtown (which runs from the Interstate to Troy Hill). Both sections of the neighborhood suffered as a result of the Interstate's construction: some residents moved, their homes were rented by absentee landlords to low-income tenants, and the area saw a general lack of investment.[8][9] However, neighborhood activists established the East Allegheny Community Council and gradually restored the neighborhood, especially the western portion.[10][11][12]