Get To Know Highland Park

Highland Park is the name for both the neighborhood and the sprawling greenspace bordered by East Liberty, Larimer, Morningside, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, and the Allegheny River. The neighborhood spans 748 acres — 380 of that being the park.

1 Thing to Know

The federal government designated Highland Park a Residential Historic District in 2007 because of its turn-of-the-century architecture.

Eat & Drink

🍲 Grab Thai food from Smiling Banana Leaf; coffee from Tazza D’Oro; baked goods from Food Glorious Food; brunch, lunch, or dinner from Park Bruges; authentic Japanese food from Teppanyaki Kyoto, and more.

Go, See, Do!

🚲 Walk, jog, or bike the Reservoir Loop! In the late 1800s, the city needed a new municipal water system, so they got creative with Highland Park. The reservoir, surrounded by public land, became a popular spot for picnics and recreation, and Reservoir No. 1 is still an iconic feature today.

🎨 Take a ceramics class at the Union Project, a community center for creativity housed in a renovated church at the corner of Negley and Stanton.

🦒 Visit more than 400 species at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. Right now, you can admire giant handcrafted lantern sculptures of extinct and endangered animals at the Asian Lantern Festival.

• 🎧 The zoo is also celebrating its 125th birthday! Hear about the zoo’s beginnings, how it’s evolved, and why the zoo’s accreditation and land lease are in jeopardy.

🎺 Stop by Billy Eckstine’s house on Bryant Street. The red-brick home has a historical marker honoring the Black jazz balladeer and bandleader whose innovative style and support of new talent helped to revolutionize jazz in the 1940s.