Junction Hollow is a small wooded valley bordering the west flanks of Schenley Park

Schenley Park

Schenley Park is a large municipal park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, between the neighborhoods of Oakland, Greenfield, and Squirrel Hill. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district...

 and the campus of Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

 and the southern edge of the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

's campus in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

The 150 feet (45.7 m) valley runs south to north approximately 2.5 miles. It begins where Four Mile Run empties into the Monongahela River

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

 and runs through the neighborhood of Four Mile Run

Four Mile Run (Pittsburgh)

Four Mile Run is a small neighborhood in the Greenfield section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States."The Run" was named for a stream—about four miles above The Point—that empties there into the Monongahela River. The neighborhood is distinctive because of its severe geographic isolation from...

 north into Oakland

Oakland (Pittsburgh)

Oakland is the academic, cultural, and healthcare center of Pittsburgh and is Pennsylvania's third largest "Downtown". Only Center City Philadelphia and Downtown Pittsburgh can claim more economic and social activity than Oakland...

 along Schenley Park, Carnegie Mellon, and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

, and ends at Neville Street behind Central Catholic High School

Central Catholic High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Central Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school for boys in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and is administrated and partially staffed by the Brothers of the Christian Schools....

.

Junction Hollow is often confused for Panther Hollow

Panther Hollow

Panther Hollow is a small, somewhat isolated neighborhood at the bottom of Joncaire Street in Junction Hollow that runs along Boundary Street and is located in the Central Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The neighborhood was settled in late 19th century mostly by Italian immigrants...

, which at Schenley Lake veers off from it to the northeast into the park.

History

Junction Hollow is named for the Pittsburgh Junction Railroad, which first laid tracks there in the 1880s, and the idea of a Junction Hollow spur line was to divert rail traffic north through Schenley Tunnel

Schenley Tunnel

Schenley Tunnel is a railroad tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Alternate names are Neville Street Tunnel or Pittsburgh Junction Railroad Tunnel....

 (beneath Neville Street) to a rail yard along the Allegheny River

Allegheny River

The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

, thus avoiding rail congestion in Downtown.

Prior to the railroad the area was known as the Four Mile Run Valley, for its stream that was named on account of its distance from The Point

Point State Park

Point State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River....

. Today the stream is piped underground to the river.

In the 1950s and 1960s planners created a grand proposal to fill the hollow with a research complex extending from the University of Pittsburgh

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

 and Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

to the river, but it was never realized.

Since the 1990s the Eliza Furnace Trail extends into the hollow where it is called Junction Hollow Trail.