George Washington’s journal entry described the area as a “field of many blooms,” which led to the name, Bloomfield. The land was first settled by the Delaware tribe; John Conrad Winebiddle later settled Bloomfield in the early 1800s and sold pieces of it to German immigrants.
German immigrants built the majority of the Liberty Avenue storefront buildings. It wasn’t until after World War I that waves of Italian immigrants, largely from the Abruzzi region, came to the neighborhood. The original Italian “main street” was located on Lorigan Street, which runs parallel to Liberty Avenue, and as German businesses moved on, Italian business owners took over their spaces.
Bloomfield, Pittsburgh’s Little Italy, was built for working families, many of whom were first generation immigrants. Many of Bloomfield’s residents today grew up on the same block or went to school together; some of their grandparents went to school together. Houses were handed from one relative to another without ever coming onto the market.
Many Italian immigrants began moving to the neighborhood, purchasing row homes on our narrow streets, and establishing their own community and business district.
Bloomfield Development Corporation founded.
Bloomfield Development Corporation founded the Bloomfield Saturday Market.