Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania
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Mt. Lebanon is a home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA.
An affluent suburb of nearby Pittsburgh, Mt. Lebanon is well known for its excellent educational facilities, especially its high school's fine arts department.
The town was initially established in 1912 as "Mount Lebanon"; the official name changed to "Mt. Lebanon" in 1975. The town's and high school's longstanding nickname is "Lebo". As of the 2000 census, the Mt. Lebanon population was 33,017.
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[edit] History
The first white settlers arrived in 1773-1774, having purchased the land from the descendants of William Penn; other pioneers soon bought land from the state government.
In 1912, Mount Lebanon Township was incorporated as a "First Class Township" under Pennsylvania state law. It had formerly been a part of Scott Township, which in turn traces its origins to the long-defunct St. Clair Township. Mount Lebanon was named for two Cedar of Lebanon trees from Palestine that were planted in 1850 on Washington Road near the top of Bower Hill Road. Prior to the incorporation of the township, the "Mount Lebanon" name was used for the area of Upper St. Clair Township near the cedar trees. In the 1880s, a post office was located near the transplanted cedar trees was named "Mount Lebanon". Incorporators of neighboring Dormont Borough initially tried to use the "Mount Lebanon" name in 1909, but were opposed by residents of the future Mount Lebanon Township.
In 1928, Mount Lebanon became the first First Class township in Pennsylvania to adopt the council-manager form of government and has had an appointed manager serving as the chief administrative officer since that time.
Mount Lebanon was a farming community until the arrival of streetcar lines. After the arrival of the streetcar lines, which enabled daily commuting to and from Downtown Pittsburgh, Mount Lebanon became a streetcar suburb. Further, the opening of the Liberty Tubes in 1924 allowed easy automobile access to Pittsburgh. The first streetcar line through the area opened in 1902, the second in 1924. Between the 1920 and 1930 censuses, the township's population skyrocketed from 2,258 to 13,403. Today, Pittsburgh's mass transit agency, the Port Authority Transit of Allegheny County, or "PATransit," operates a subway system whose 42-S line runs underneath Uptown Mt. Lebanon, merges with the 47-L line in Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington section, and connects to the WBA and EBA busway lines at Downtown Pittsburgh's intercity rail station, Penn Station. Mt. Lebanon's only platform station, Mt. Lebanon Station, is in Uptown Mt. Lebanon; the adjacent Dormont Junction and Castle Shannon stations are in neighboring municipalities. And as of the census[1] of 2000, there were 33,017 people living in Mt. Lebanon.
On May 21, 1974, the electorate approved a Home Rule Charter, which took effect on January 1, 1975, Mount Lebanon ceased to be a township and became one of the first municipalities in Pennsylvania to adopt a home rule charter.[1] In the charter, the official name of the municipality became Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania; the word "Mount" is abbreviated in all government documents, although the U.S. Postal Service continues to use "Mount."
[edit] Geography
Mt. Lebanon is located at (40.375, -80.05)[2]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 15.7 km².
[edit] Surrounding neighborhoods
Mt. Lebanon is a suburb of Pittsburgh seven miles south of Downtown Pittsburgh. There are two small borders with Pittsburgh neighborhoods to the northeast (Banksville and Brookline), but most of the northeast border is with the borough of Dormont. Immediately north, the borough of Green Tree has an intersection bordering Mt. Lebanon. The entire western border is with Scott Township. To the south are the two towns which, due to their comparable size and affluence, are most often compared with Mt. Lebanon: Upper St. Clair to the southwest and Bethel Park to the southeast. To the east is Castle Shannon, and finally, to the northeast, Baldwin Township (not to be confused with the Borough of Baldwin).
[edit] Commercial districts
Uptown Mt. Lebanon is the central business district and has Washington Rd.[3] (U.S. Rt. 19 Truck) as its main thoroughfare. (U.S. Rt. 19 Truck continues into Pittsburgh and back out into the city's northern suburbs and beyond.) Uptown Mt. Lebanon is one of the more built up central business districts outside of Pittsburgh, featuring numerous coffee shops, small galleries, pizzerias, and clothing boutiques. The neighborhood is organized as The Uptown Mt. Lebanon Business and Professional Association.
There are sizable business districts along the borders with Upper St. Clair and Castle Shannon, as well.
[edit] Communities within Mt Lebanon
Neighborhoods within Mt Lebanon include: Cedarhurst Manor, Hoodridge Hilands, Mission Hills, Sunset Hills, Virginia Manor, Twin Hills, and Woodridge.
Virginia Manor is an affluent subdivision[4], with streets designed to follow the natural contours of the land.[4] Future Governor James H. Duff helped found Virginia Manor in 1929.[5]
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 33,017 people, 13,610 households, and 9,023 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 5,457.2 people per square mile (2,107.1/km²). There were 14,089 housing units at an average density of 2,328.7/sq mi (899.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.21% White, 0.61% Black, 0.07% Native American, 2.29% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.
There were 13,610 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,783, and the median income for a family was $79,744. Males had a median income of $56,183 versus $37,008 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $33,652. About 2.2% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Religion
Mt. Lebanon is home to a wide range of religious denominations. Among the organized religious institutions within the town's borders are:
- Catholic
- Protestant
- Beverly Heights United Presbyterian Church
- Bower Hill Community Church
- First Church of Christ, Scientist (Mt. Lebanon)[6]
- Mt. Lebanon Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Church
- Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church
- Southminster Presbyterian Church
- St. Paul's Episcopal
- Sunnyhill, Unitarian Universalist
- Soul Cafe (Reverend Terry Timm)
- Jewish
[edit] Education
Mt. Lebanon is well known in the region for its public school system. Mt. Lebanon High School has been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education each of the three times it requested certification: 1983-84, 1990-91, and 1997-98. The other schools have been awarded with similar frequency. The High School is also widely recognized for having one of the best fine arts departments in the nation. Mt. Lebanon School District plans to replace or renovate the High School by 2010.[citation needed]
Note: Keystone Oaks High School is physically located in Mt. Lebanon, but it serves the youth of the adjacent communities of Greentree, Dormont and Castle Shannon. Seton-LaSalle High School, a Diocese of Pittsburgh school, is also physically located in Mt. Lebanon.
The Mt. Lebanon Public Library, founded in 1932, is funded almost entirely by the municipality and county. Its home is a $4.2 million building, with shelves for 140,000 books, seats for 165 persons, and more than 50 public computers. When the building opened in 1997, it won an architectural design award and was featured in the architectural issue of Library Journal. Circulation is 563,000 items/year, and attendance averages 111 per hour.[2]
[edit] Recreation
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Mt. Lebanon provides many recreational opportunities for its residents. Twelve parks are scattered throughout the community. In addition to the parks, there is an olympic size swimming pool, open in summer, and a regulation size ice rink and recreation building located adjacent to Mt. Lebanon Park on Cedar Blvd. Mt. Lebanon also boasts one of the oldest public golf courses in western Pennsylvania and has several tennis and basketball courts which are open year round.
[edit] Famous people
- Further information: Category:People from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Due in part to its excellent school system and its longevity as a populous and desirable suburb, Mt. Lebanon has a fairly large number of famous people associated with the town. People from Mt. Lebanon have excelled in acting,[7] such as Ming-Na (Joy Luck Club, ER, Mulan); athletics, such as gold-medal wrestler Kurt Angle; politics, such as Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch; business, such as self-made billionaire Mark Cuban[8]; and science, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation pioneer Peter Safar. Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux used to reside in Mt. Lebanon as well.
[edit] References
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Washington Road - Mt. Lebanon, PA - Something for Everyone. www.washingtonroad.com. Internet Archive Wayback Machine (2007-08-21).
- ^ a b Susan Fleming Morgans. "A Grand Tour", Mt. Lebanon Magazine, December 2006, pp. 26-27.
- ^ Elaine Wertheim. "Shades of Mt. Lebanon", Mt. Lebanon Magazine, October 2003, pp. 46-53.
- ^ Mt. Lebanon
- ^ Mary Niederberger. "Mt. Lebanon High School marks 75 years of theater", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 17, 2005., pp. South Section.
- ^ Cathy Booth Thomas. "A Bigger Screen for Mark Cuban", Time Magazine, 2002-04-22.
[edit] External links
[edit] Official government websites
- Mt. Lebanon Municipal government
- Mt. Lebanon Public Library
- Mt. Lebanon School District
- Mt. Lebanon Fire Department
- Medical Rescue Team South (MRTSA)
[edit] News Sources
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