Wilkinsburg, PA | What Happened?

Here's some of the worst and most dangerous parts of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, a metropolitan of Pittsburgh. It's loaded with high crime, hoods, gangs, abandoned houses and buildings. Let's check it out!

[@dutchray8880]

In high school, I worked for a contractor that was based on Penn Ave. in Wilkinsburg from 1969 to 1971. In exchange for some extra work in keeping the showroom spiffed up, the owner let me stay in a small apartment on the 3rd floor of the building. He was a great boss, and I made sure the showroom never looked better. I had some of the best times in Wilkinsburg, even though it wasn't my home school district. When I drive down Penn Ave. today, I can't even recognize the building I worked and lived in for 2 years.

[@karenedwards1446]

So sad.

[@robertgarrett1593]

That's very respectful that you cover the people face when you pass by

[@williamrowlands1789]

Hard to believe after watching this that Wilkingsburg use to be a vibrant middle class community with well kept homes and good schools. I had two aunt's who use to live there until it started going to hell in the 1960's.

[@bettyjohnson8884]

I hate to see some of those big historic houses go to waste.I wish the tv show THIS OLD HOUSE could fix them up, I still see their beauty.

[@cliffordrobinson5159]

That's a lot of work to put in

[@dawnsites4232]

Same. I just posted a similar comment.

[@michaelwhite2823]

Isn't it obvious NO ONE WANTS TO BE THERE.

[@brandilowe1916]

i live here. i own mine so here i will stay. too expensive to move. seen some things but on a day to day basis, its pretty quiet.

[@ImTheJoker4u]

Same here in Mckeesport. I live on a quiet block. AINT SKEERED😠

[@jamesyman007]

My guess is lack of steel jobs when all the mills closed. Kinda like Gary, Indiana. Amazing footage. Somehow this relaxes me.

[@hoodsnhollers]

I'll have Gary, Indiana up in the near future! Thanks so much for watching!

[@jamesyman007]

@@hoodsnhollers Thats cool! I'll look forward to it.

[@StillRockinat71]

When I was very young, in the late 50s, my family lived in Wilkinsburg. We actually lived in the yellow brick double duplex shown towards the end, at around 10:45 of this video… 825 Rebecca Avenue. I went to Johnson Elementary School, from Kindergarten thru 2nd grade. My father passed away, and we moved to Indiana, PA. But to this day, I have so many fond memories of life in Wilkinsburg. It was very safe. Even as a young child, I walked the several blocks to grade school, and my older sister worked in town, and again, walked safely to and from work, even at night. My older brother graduated from Wilkinsburg High School. The neighborhood, was safe, and very friendly. My mom worked at Sears in East Liberty, and took the streetcar… very safely, to and from work,. It was necessary, because she didn’t drive, and my father was stricken with cancer. It saddens me to see not only the building we lived in, and the streets in the area…dilapidated, along with so much of the area. I know it’s been going down hill for many many years… to the point, that I’ve been told it’s not even safe during the daytime. Makes one wonder… what brought it to the state that it’s bin.

[@StillRockinat71]

Actually… it’s 10:27 in the video… sorry!

[@michaelwhite2823]

I always wanted to hear a story from people who lived in these places during the goid times. Thank you.

[@michaelwhite2823]

Love how the video starts with a BMW and Cadillac. Priorities!

[@davidmcclellan9621]

Even in broad daylight, I can remember feeling scared walking alone on Penn Avenue in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County 😬😬😬.

[@timtnr.6177]

Nothing even close to the hoods of Cleveland Ohio, I witnessed a car without tires flying down St. Clair Ave. About 40 mph. In 1993!, it crashed into a pole, driver got out and ran. Crazy

[@hoodsnhollers]

I did East Cleveland you can check that video out on my channel. Will be uploading cleveland soon.

[@OvercomeEverythingJosh]

@@timtnr.6177 They both are relative. Both were industrial areas that collapsed. My family is from Wilkinsburg and Detroit and spent a decade visiting family friends in Cleveland. Youngstown just as bad as Cleveland just not as big.

[@philscholze6528]

My mother grew up in Wilkinsburg. I remember the crowded streets...Wood St, Penn Avenue. Streetcars, bakeries, CHURCHES, beautiful, big houses. Now look at it. Everyone has rolled over in their Graves! Shameful.

[@Dharmanarchist]

Sadly the feral decay in Wilkinsburg has crept east destroying Penn Hills and next up Monroeville.

[@laurensjanbulthuis]

I like the shots you make from the side of your car! Those are so much better than the shots when you see the road in front of you. Also great quality! This differs you from the rest! 💯👌🏻

[@hoodsnhollers]

Thank you so much! I was wondering if people like the side shots and side angle as well. I compare the footage while editing and there’s quite a difference but yes I was curious what everyone thought about that !

[@laurensjanbulthuis]

@@hoodsnhollers Good to hear you like my feedback! Keep it up!😃👍🏻👊🏻

[@OvercomeEverythingJosh]

My family is from and lives in Wilkinsburg, high tax rates, no jobs, currupt police, awful school, gangs in the 80s and 90s and gentrification down the road in east liberty. That and it’s not technically part of Pittsburgh so there isn’t funding from the city.

[@mayavenuemisfit814]

I've heard that there's talk of the city trying to take over Wilkinsburg and make it a Pittsburgh neighborhood as opposed to its own borough, as it is now.

[@lindapietrasz8070]

Near where I spent grades 7-12 in Turtle Creek and where I had my puppy love boyfriend and high school love. Those are days well-missed. ❤️

[@ImTheJoker4u]

All the areas around Pittsburgh suffered the same fate when the mills closed. No jobs, no money. Those who could, left, those that were left were retired, and when they died, the property became vacant.

[@OvercomeEverythingJosh]

Exactly

[@elizabethorsillo7187]

It’s interesting to see an occupied home here and there in the midst of all the blighted homes.

[@kristinadospoy7347]

I've always wondered what Wilkinsburg looked like whenever I went to Pittsburgh for Pens' games, doctor's appointments. This is heartbreaking to see!

[@terry94131]

Once the grapevines and virginia creeper take hold, it's over. Your videos are like watching an episode of "Life After People." It's unfortunate that so much of Wilkinsburg is collapsing when revitalization is creating many good jobs nearby in the East End of Pittsburgh. Note: Wilkinsburg is not part of Pittsburgh, but the possibility of PGH absorbing it has been discussed. Wilkinsburg High School students now attend Pittsburgh schools.

[@kristinadospoy7347]

What happened to the high school in Wilkinsburg?

[@Stuckneutral]

I grew up there in the 50s and early 60s and I don't remember any of this. I know I've walked every street in Wilkinsburg at one time or another and had many friends scattered all around those streets. It breaks my heart to see what became of it.

[@dianewilson5516]

There seems to be a sense of abandonment and decay in a lot of these areas. It makes me wonder what it looked like in better times, and what must have happened since then. It's really sad!

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

Lots of towns in and around Pittsburgh are exactly like this. It’s horrible. Most of the steel belt is a carbon copy of this video. Jobs left, politicians made promises and the citizens paid the price. If anyone has never been to Gary, Akron, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton… it’s worth the trip to put your perception of reality into check. You will appreciate everything you have much more.

[@StillRockinat71]

Your comment, drove me to put a comment… out in the main comments… about what it used to be like. It used to be a very nice, very safe place to live. Very sad!

[@markfurman4386]

City needs half a dozen lawn care/property cleanup guys with trucks and trailers filled with mowers, weed whackers, chainsaws, hedge trimmers, edge trimmers, ladders for the tall stuff, and helpers to drag branches, fill yard waste bags, rake, etc. Set them loose on all the abandoned properties.

[@typicalrockhound9887]

How can soneone just let a home rot like that ...

[@georgehimon1445]

While I was in school in the 1980s a student would joke and say when asked where do you live ,his reply was wilkinsburg, and then say birds don't even fly over wilkinsburg.

[@KutWrite]

Some pretty nice vehicles on those streets.

[@ImTheJoker4u]

Why invest in property thats only losing value?

[@michaelwhite2823]

T hats why they live there. Cheap rent.

[@OvercomeEverythingJosh]

The car lot on penn only sells high mileage Mercedes, BMW cars with wheels etc. Its the only place close that sells vehicles to people with no credit. So…

[@callipitter8474]

Can't something be done w/these once gorgeous mini mansions? And, the churches...they dont make em like that anymore! I'm from Grove City, an hour north, & this is absolutely heartbreaking!

[@hoodsnhollers]

I believe that the borough has been trying to get a revitalization together for a while now. It's a shame because there are some absolutely stunning buildings and houses around the area just going to waste.

[@callipitter8474]

@@hoodsnhollers Seesm like I recall Detroit doing some amazing things with houses & building in their run down areas. I should look that up.

[@hoodsnhollers]

@@callipitter8474 In some parts of Detroit they are, but a lot is in shambles like this and much worse. I'll be uploading Detroit in the near future.

[@michaelwhite2823]

No one wants to live there so why invest?

[@elizabethorsillo7187]

I’m from Grove City, too. We don’t really have very many blighted homes, but we do have a lot of abandoned businesses. I wish they can do something with the closed Perkins and Rite Aid businesses.

[@11mralman]

I think it's the saddest when you see churches and high schools abandoned. That says it all.

[@timtnr.6177]

And homes where you can literally see daylight looking through the windows because the walls and roof have virtually collapsed

[@timtnr.6177]

Check out Braddock, unfortunately not much better

[@OvercomeEverythingJosh]

There’s dozens of churches. It’s a dry Borough. Only 1 beer distributor and Students started going to charter schools. I lived next to the high school on north for awhile. My uncle graduated there in 98.

[@qqutieked6161]

Ohh Lord, the place needs a Southwest Florida developer!!! My coworker from Wilkinsburg shared stories about this place... so sad.

[@miriamalfonso64]

The real face of the poverty in USA

[@patfallon3395]

Not to much scared me in life. I wandered these streets.

[@kristinadospoy7347]

This is clearly the most desolate, dilapidated suburb I've ever seen

[@ImTheJoker4u]

Watch his Mckeesport video😉

[@kristinadospoy7347]

@@ImTheJoker4u I already did, before I saw the Wilkinsburg one

[@s5adventures]

I never knew how bad that area was. Used to drive through it to go to kennywood all the time

[@lexalee5795]

Where can we see before & after houses… see what these beautiful dilapidated landmarks once used to look like?

[@channah6498]

This is downright depressing. Unbelievable.

[@masterspin7796]

You could only Imagin how it might have looked in the 1950's

[@prestonforayter7747]

It seems like the whole of Pennsylvania is a disaster area.

[@phaedrabacker2004]

So much potential for those historic homes.

[@dawnsites4232]

The old homes around the 8:50 mark are still beautiful, they just need some TLC. It is such a shame to see them in disrepair.

[@InsaneSurvivors6]

I am a atheist;Still the churches I appreciate.It's not cool to see them not cared about.

[@dougcoates4283]

I know what happened there.

[@aarondixon460]

Looks terrible