West Homestead, Pennsylvania

West Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh, on the Monongahela River. Heavy industries associated with nearby steel mills existed here, such as axle works, brickworks, and manufactories of machinery, car wheels, etc. The largest concern was Mesta Machinery, which was one of the world's leading industrial manufacturers from 1898 until 1983. The population was 1,872 at the 2020 census.

thumb|left|[[Allegheny Valley Railroad (1995)|AVRR bridge across the Monongahela River ]]

History

There are two primary residential communities in West Homestead: the historic district and the Village, a post-World War II hilltop community. The historic district consists of a series of hillside residential streets adorned by intact working-class houses reflecting the architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century period when Homestead first flourished.

West Homestead's historic district includes Doyle Ave, originally home to several notable glass manufacturing company owners. The homes of William Beck and Joseph Doyle, who co-founded Doyle & Co Glass, are both excellent examples of late Italianate architecture. The ruins of the Bryce house are still visible, home of the founder of Bryce Brothers, Doyle & Co's main competitor. By the 1890s, their separate companies joined United States Glass Company, and the street became home to steel and machinery workers and their management.

Among this second wave of entrepreneurial owners, one noteworthy structure is the Mesta Mansion, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and considered the cornerstone of the district. Built in 1900 by machining engineer and magnate George Mesta, founder of Mesta Machinery, he expanded and renovated the home extensively in 1916 to welcome his bride, the celebrated socialite and political hostess Perle Mesta. After Mesta's death in 1925, by 1932 new owners split the mansion into apartments, a fate shared by several of its neighbors during the Great Depression and after.

Fortunately, today the Mesta Mansion continues to stand alongside its neighbors on the historic street, including the Beck-Kelly Estate (1867), the Doyle-Smith House (1872), the Wahr-Siebert House (1887), and the Mesta-Martin House (1898).

Another feature of the historic district is the Bulgarian Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center on West Eighth Avenue. Since 1935, this facility has continued to be the center of Bulgarian and Macedonian cultural activity in Western Pennsylvania. West Homestead's Eighth Avenue itself is a tree-lined boulevard adorned by Victorian shops, also on the National Register of Historic Places, and the neighborhood is surrounded by the largest group of ethnic churches on the National Register.

Geography

West Homestead is located at (40.394369, −79.915224).

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and , or 9.90%, is water.

Surrounding and adjacent neighborhoods

North – Hazelwood (a Pittsburgh neighborhood) via Glenwood Bridge across the Monongahela River
North east – Homestead (an Allegheny county borough)
South east – Munhall (an Allegheny county borough)
South west – New Homestead (a Pittsburgh neighborhood)
West – Hays (a Pittsburgh neighborhood)

Attractions

In 2000, Continental Realestate Companies opened The Waterfront. This large "LifeStyle" shopping center was built on the former site of the US Steel Works. Most of the structures associated with the steel mills on this site were demolished during construction. Still standing in the Waterfront development are some of the brick stacks from the Homestead Steel Works. In addition, near the river is a former mill structure known as the Pump House which was restored by the developer.

Sandcastle Waterpark is a waterpark that has 14 water slides and 3 speed slides and the newest addition the Blue Tooba Looba.

There are two parks located in West Homestead: Calhoun Community Park (Located off of Fieldstone Drive) and Eighth Avenue Playground (Located next to West Homestead Volunteer Fire Department, entrance on Eighth Avenue). For park rules and hours visit .

The Great Allegheny Passage, part of a shared-use path connecting Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., runs through the borough parallel to the river.

Government and politics

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Presidential election results

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! Year

! Republican

! Democratic

! Third parties

| 2020

| style="text-align:center;" |47% 520

| style="text-align:center;" |51% 567

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.9% 10

| 2016

| style="text-align:center;" |47% 473

| style="text-align:center;" |52% 531

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1% 8

| 2012

| style="text-align:center;" |42% 424

| style="text-align:center;" |57% 573

| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1% 8

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+West Homestead borough, Pennsylvania – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|1,961

|1,612

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,474

|89.26%

|83.57%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |78.74%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|189

|248

|style='background: #ffffe6; |249

|8.60%

|12.86%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.30%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.18%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|Asian alone (NH)

|12

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9

|0.55%

|0.41%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.48%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10

|0.00%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.53%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|19

|42

|style='background: #ffffe6; |84

|0.86%

|2.18%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.49%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|12

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |45

|0.55%

|0.88%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.40%

|Total

|2,197

|1,929

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,872

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,