By Victoria Stevans

This July, join the Allegheny City Society (ACS) for free, historic walking tours through two of the Northside’s neighborhoods as well as interactive History Roundtables.

There will be an Allegheny City History Roundtable hosted by the ACS on Wednesday, July 12. History Rountables are informal events that center around attendees sharing their memories of 20th Century life on the Northside.

July’s event will start at 6:30 p.m. at The Commonplace Coffee, 1501 Buena Vista St, and will be focusing on the topic: “transportation, how folks get around.” The ACS asks attendees to remember the flying fraction trolley, the old yellow trollies, long-gone auto dealerships, the Harmony Trolley line, and the Harmony Shortline bus routes, along with whichever of their recollections are the strongest.

On Thursday, July 13, there will be an evening walking-tour through Fineview. Starting at 6:15 p.m. on Catoma Street’s observation deck, attendees will learn about Fineview’s rich history. The tour will touch on the neighborhood’s early settlers – a community of Nuns who opened a convent north of Allegheny Town – and its industrial development –  the inclines and trollies that connected the area to “lower North Side.” The jaunt will also take participants past some of the neighborhood’s newest homes and some of its oldest, like Heathside Cottage.

On Thursday, July 27, the ACS will be leading a walk through Upper Wood’s Run Valley. Participants will gather across from Younger Brothers, 1441 Woods Run Ave, at 6:15 p.m., and then work their way through the community’s history. The tour will highlight works of notable architects – Alden, Harlow, Longfellow, and Scheibler – that are nestled throughout Woods Run. The attendees will also ruminate on the community’s origins as a hub of working and middle class families and its journey through the consequences of urban renewal. The tour will touch on the departed Schwerd’s Column plant and St. John’s Hospital, as well as the bustling intersection of Brighton Road and Woods Run Avenue. The walk will end where it started, at Younger Brothers, with a few drafts inside the bar.

All Summer Walks are funded by the Buhl Foundation’s One Northside Program and IOBY.

For more information on Summer Walking Tours or History Roundtables, check the ASC Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AlleghenyCitySociety) or call Amelia Gehron (412-766-5670).