Get To Know Larimer

“Larimer” is one of my favorite Pittsburgh-sounding words to pronounce. Go ahead — try to say it without sounding like a yinzer.

📌 1 Thing To Know

The East End community (which was known as “Little Italy” before Bloomfield claimed the title) is named after William Larimer, who made his fortune in the railroad industry. But coal, steel, and gas industries actually fueled the area’s residential growth.

Get this: Larimer’s daughter Rachel married James Mellon, and the Mellon family got control of the land, selling and renting parcels to finance their company. Some of the Mellon heirs took “Larimer” as a middle name — like Gulf Oil founder William Larimer Mellon.

But the name is all that’s left of that line of the family. Today, the quiet, residential community has a vibrant side with restaurants, business, and community spaces.

🍽️ Eat & Drink

☕ First, coffee: Step inside the hip digs at KLVN Coffee Lab’s cafe and roasting space for a fresh cup served in a stoneware mug.

🍕 Lunch & Dinner: Grab one of East End Brewing’s neighborhood beers to drink alongside pizza from their latest add-on: East End Chewing; or take your pick from restaurants in the Bakery Square shopping plaza like Tako Torta, City Kitchen, and Alta Via Pizzeria.

🍹 More Sips: Buy highball-style drinks in reusable and returnable kegs and growlers from Goodlander Cocktail Brewery, or head across the street for something spicy at Jackworth Ginger Beer — a brewery with delicious NA brews and cocktails steeped in the spirits of Pennsylvania.

👟 Go, See, Do!

🌱 For green thumbs: On Meadow Street, you’ll find the peaceful African Healing Garden, lush with perennials, a pond, and a grand pear tree — led by community matriarch Ms. Betty Lane.

• Want to get involved? Work groups meet every Saturday in the summer.
• Have a space of your own? Check out Grow Pittsburgh’s Garden Resource Center on Putnam Street. A membership gives you access to their tool-lending library and garden materials depot.

🎤 For arts lovers: See bold theatrical work from Black youth at Alumni Theater Company — a year-round program that encourages kids grades 6-12 to voice their perspectives, free from stereotypes and otherism.