March 30, 2026

As the only Pittsburgh neighborhood that spans a river, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar earned not one but two visits.

During Pippa and Edmund’s spring break, they took the bus across the Allegheny River to the Waterworks to see Project Hail Mary (amazing btw) and grab ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. Edmund enjoyed Our Strawberry Blonde: strawberry ice cream with strawberries, graham crackers, and caramel; Pippa had Strawberry Marshmallow ice cream with chocolate shavings.

A few weeks later, we took a rainy family drive through the much larger section of the neighborhood. We planned an itinerary that took us through many of the neighborhood’s key landmarks, including Belmar Gardens (a pioneering cooperative housing development), Paulson Park, the art deco-style former Lemington School (now Catalyst Academy), and St. Peter’s Cemetery and its United Church of Christ church. We also visited the hilltop that is home to many large institutional campuses: Job Corps, Shuman Center, the Army Reserve Center, the VA Center nursing home, and the former VA Hospital.

Fun Fact:
The National Opera House in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar was the headquarters of the National Negro Opera Company, and hosted musicians such as Lena Horne, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington. Though the house has sadly fallen into disrepair, earlier this week the Mellon Foundation made a $1.75 million grant to help restore it.